Fluffy Wings
AO3 Link
Word Count: 1,902
Summary: Some magical shenanigans put Virgil on edge, but Roman is all too happy to help preen his boyfriend's fluffy wings to help soothe him.
@prince-rowan-of-the-forest, your medium Herb Ball (Magic AU) with Heavy cream (Fluff) featuring Cherry (Roman), Cranberry (Virgil). Established romantic relationship please! Please include: Crushed Animal Cookies but it's specifically a wing fic where one of the characters has wings is served! Thank you for shopping @tss-camp-and-coffee's 2025 Sleepy Bean Cafe!
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Roman and Virgil's courtship was made up of exchanges. They would share songs for delicacies, handmade gifts for enchanted items, and the finest jewels for the shiniest river stones around. They treasured each moment together, and each gift became a memento commemorating their courtship.
However, what Roman loved most about his boyfriend was his beautiful glossy, black wings that seemed almost purple depending on the light. The inside of the wings had the edges tipped with a striking white. The outside of the wings were an onyx black, except for near the base of his wing where the black faded into purple.
Those wings were as beautiful as they were powerful, and Virgil was proud to show off his flight to his boyfriend. Not only was flying a delightful rush, seeing Roman's awed face once he landed made Virgil's world feel whole.
One such day, Roman was watching Virgil do loops and dives in the sky, and Roman realized that he longed to join him there. He wanted to be able to touch the clouds and to see not only Virgil's happiness after his flight or his excitement before taking off. Roman wanted to see for himself the peace Virgil found in letting air woosh over and under his wings.
When Virgil landed, Roman of course showered him with compliments that made Virgil practically preen with pride. Then Roman popped the question, asking if he could one day join Virgil in his flight.
Virgil's eyes lit up as he imagined soaring through the clouds, holding his beloved securely in his arms. He imagined showing Roman the waterfall and where he kept his treasures. Yet it didn't take long for his excitement to dim. There were so many ways flying with Roman could go so terribly wrong.
"What if I drop you?" Virgil asked, his wings already tensing up at the thought.
Roman eyed the puffed up feathers as he drummed his fingers against his crossed arms. Sometimes Virgil's fears could be unfounded, but Virgil had a valid point this time. He did not want to become pancake if he fell out of his angel's arms.
"Then why don't I find a spell to protect me from falling?" Roman suggested, the impish smile that he wore whenever he was planning something stupid beginning to grow on his face.
But Virgil couldn't deny that it was tempting, just so he could show Roman what the world looked like from the clouds.
So the two started experimenting with different magical spells and potions that all claimed to negate the effects of falling, albeit not always in helpful ways. They didn't do testing every day—Virgil's nerves would never survive that. Some spells seemed more promising than others, but none of them fit their needs. They had been testing spells for two weeks, and despite the spaced out testing sessions, Virgil's nerves were being worn thin.
Roman brought a new spell, promising that this would be the one that would help. After jumping off the small ledge, a height that Roman swore was safe, it did indeed making landing on the ground not hurt in the slightest. Then it launched him into the air until he was twice as high as he once was. Roman let out an exhilarated whoop even as Virgil lunged forward to prevent his boyfriend from hitting the ground.
Once safely landed, Virgil reached out to adjust Roman's windswept hair, carefully looking him over for injuries.
Roman, for his part, was bouncing on his feet from the exhilaration. "Can we do that one again?" Roman asked.
Virgil rolls his eyes. "As hilarious as your face looked as you plummeted to the Earth, no."
"Why not?" Roman pouts.
Virgil scowled, his feathers practically standing on edge from the adrenaline rush. "You could have been hurt! You're lucky we start the testing off at such a small ledge, otherwise you could have died."
"But my dear guardian angel, you were right there to catch me," Roman reassured, pressing a kiss to Virgil's pouting cheek.
"I'm still not letting you test that one again," Virgil told him, but he couldn't help the fondness from creeping into his tone. Virgil poked Roman's side, causing his love to giggle.
"Alright, love. But this spell is definitely interesting! Do you think it was formulated to safely transport objects across bridges without worrying about loosing them to the water below?" Roman gasped, "I could sell this potion as a bridge insurance!"
Roman launched into a dramatic story of other possible uses for the spell, illiciting a chuckle from Virgil.
Still, Virgil couldn't seem to get his feathers to unfluff from the stress of seeing Roman falling. The panic from Virgil's desperate rush to catch Roman clung to his mind no matter how much he wished to shake it. As Roman continued his grand tales, Virgil pulled his small boyfriend closer and closer until Virgil was cradling Roman in his lap wand petting his hair in an attempt to soothe the human—even though he was the one who actually needed the soothing.
Roman's stories began to trail off as he took in Virgil's frazzled state. Roman gently reached up to grab Virgil's hands in his own, stopping Virgil's attempt to preen him. Roman's forest green eyes met Virgil's chocolate brown. "My love," Roman began as he began rubbing circles on Virgil's hand with his thumb, "Would you allow me to preen your feathers now?"
Virgil bristled. "But I'm fixing your hair!" Virgil pouted, pulling Roman closer to his chest so he could rest his chin on the top of Roman's head. It was one advantage of having a short boyfriend.
Roman sighed in contentment as Virgil's warmth surrounded him like a cocoon. He made no attempt to push Virgil away. "My loveliest dove, I truly am all right. You have surely made my hair return to its originally spectacularly perfect and handsome state by now," Roman teased.
Virgil chirped unhappily, knowing that Roman's hair really was just getting fluffier the more he tried to groom it. They both knew that happened any time Virgil tried to preen Roman's curly hair, but he couldn't stop. Virgil pulled one of his hands free to play with Roman's hair.
Roman held in a sigh, not liking the distress in his boyfriend's chirp. The last testing probably took more of a toll on Virgil's anxiety than he wanted to admit, but if he played his cards right, Roman knew just the trick to break Virgil from his spiral.
"I think it would help my nerves if I could preen your feathers," Roman said lightly, brushing his thumb over one of Virgil's hands.
Virgil cooed in concern for a moment in sympathy for Roman, only for his coo to cut off sharply as Virgil recognized his instincts being played. Virgil turned his face away from Roman to hide his growing blush. "You're just saying that so that I let you preen my feathers and I calm down," Virgil pouted.
Roman smiled softly as he looked at Virgil's adorable pout. "How do you know for sure, my angel? I truly do not like to see you in distress, so soothing you is something that would truly give me peace of mind."
The avion knew that Roman was using reverse psychology or some other trick that played into his instincts, but it was his instincts that were making him worry right now, and all Roman wanted to do was help. Besides, Virgil couldn't help but long for Roman's gentle fingers to card through his feathers, smoothing them down and away from their fluffed out panic.
"Fine," Virgil grumbled, "If you think it'll really help you feel better, you can preen my feathers."
Roman cheered, climbing out of Virgil's lap to inspect Virgil's wings, trying to decide where to start. Roman let out a thoughtful hm as he took in the beautiful onyx feathers before him. Well, first things first, before he helped his boyfriend relax with a massage, had to make his boyfriend's wings the finest set of wings in the whole kingdom! Well, they already were the most magnificent wings. So maybe Roman could make the wings the cleanest then?
He started to gently pick out twigs and leaves that had gotten stuck in Virgil's wings, sliding them gently out of the dense feathers, carefully untangling the foreign objects from any feathers they wanted to stick to.
Virgil's wings were twitchy and tense through the whole process, and that would simply not do! Humming to himself, Roman began massaging Virgil's wings under the guise of smoothing down feathers, gently picking out any of Virgil's loose feathers as he came across them.
Roman rubbed circles near the base of Virgil's wings, and Virgil seemed to melt into a puddle of content feathers, chirping happily at the ministrations.
Roman nearly melted himself from the sheer adorableness. Roman bent down to put his lips by Virgil's ear. "Isn't that better, my love?" Roman asked, his voice so soft it was merely a whisper meant only for Virgil's ears, not loud enough for even the wind to carry.
Virgil cooed in agreement, and Roman pressed a kiss behind Virgil's ear.
"Good," Roman told his boyfriend, pressing a line of gentle kisses down Virgil's neck that was steadily growing more flushed.
"Stop that!" Virgil chuckled, batting Roman away playfully. "You're supposed to be preening my feathers right now."
"Oh?" Roman said with a raised eyebrow. "So you do want me to preen your feathers then?"
Virgil groaned. "Yes, you nincompoop. Now start preening my feathers again," he said, acting grumpy to hide his eagerness.
"Right away, my dark and stormy knight," Roman promised, moving on to smooth down all the black feathers that flashed an iridescent purple in the dappled sunlight that managed to filter its way down from the tree tops.
A contented hum vibrated in Virgil's chest.
Eventually, Roman finished his task and nary a feather was out of place nor an inch of Virgil's muscles tense. "All done, my dear," Roman told his love, stepping back so Virgil could safely sit up without smacking him in the face with a freshly preened wing. That was one learning curve that Roman was glad to be past. Kissing feathers and getting a face full of feathers were two very different things.
Virgil shook out his wings as he stood up, stretching his arms into the air until he heard a pop. Then he settled back down, making grabby hands towards Roman.
"Alright, my love. Let me put the preening supplies away first," Roman said with a laugh. True to his word, soon he was curled up in Virgil's lap so the two could contentedly snuggle.
"Ro, my love," Virgil hesitantly asked.
Roman traced circles onto Virgil's chest. "What is it, my beautiful angel?"
Virgil sighed, leaning his cheek against Roman's fluffy hair. "Can we take the break from testing out the falling spells for a while?"
"Of course," Roman promised, but his finger paused its tracing as he shifted to look up into Virgil's eyes. "But you will let me fly with you eventually, right?"
Virgil chirped an agreement. "I can't think of anyone better to share the sky with," Virgil reassured.
The two gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. Roman reached a gentle hand behind his lover's head, pulling Virgil close so they could share a passionate kiss.
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Taglist:
@virgeandhis-pocket-protector @deathbydumbass
