Winged!ATEEZ x Reader - Chapter 1 [Fantasy/College AU]
i had this idea for angel/winged!ateez (since we call them all demons anyway) and kinda spat this out on paper. lemme know what yall think and thank you in advance! (if the read more link doesn’t work again i’m sorry >< i’ll fix it)
[ CHAPTER ONE ] You never thought you’d receive a letter of acceptance into the University of Aerobic Arts and Physiology. And yet, here you were, wind buffeting your hair and snowy-checkered wings as you stood at the edge of the landing platform and stared out at the ocean before you. The waves hurled themselves over each other, foamy whitecaps almost spilling up over the platform. You winced and took a step back as the cold water splashed your sandals.
“You’ll do fine,” your mother said at your right. She smiled down at you, loving and proud. Her own black and white wings, almost identical to yours, shielded you both from the howling Pacific wind. “I believe in you. They accepted you for a reason. So go out there and show them they made the right decision.”
You smiled faintly to yourself at her words; she’d always been your #1 fan. “Thanks, mom.”
“I’ll accept your thanks when you get out there,” she said, nudging you forward. Her wingtips brushed against yours as you once again stood at the edge of the worn wooden platform. “Prove me right, y/n.”
You looked back at her, your hair curling and whipping in the wind, and gave her one last smile. “Okay.”
With that, you snapped open your wings and jumped into the sky.
The University of Aerobic Arts and Physiology was by far one of the most unique schools in the world. Built on the peak of a rock spire reaching thousands of feet above sea level, students were expected to fly miles from the American west coast into the middle of the Pacific in order to reach the campus itself, and that was only if you were accepted. You couldn’t help but wonder if your acceptance had been a mistake as you beat your wings against the updrafts, as you’d never considered yourself a particularly talented flier. Perhaps it was your wings themselves that got you accepted–owl wings were a rare occurrence, much less that of a snowy owl.
Your eyes flitted to the churning ocean below you. What if you never even made it to the campus? After all, the weather wasn’t sunny by any means, and even more clouds seemed to be rolling in from the south. You tilted your wings and looked back, but the landing platform, and more importantly, your mother, were already disappearing into the fog and sea smoke. You shook your head and continued on. This was your first test as a new student of the University, and you would not let your mother be proven wrong.
Time passed. How long had you been flying? Your wings ached, your lungs heaved, and your eyes were starting to burn from staring towards the sunset for so long. Every once in a while, you’d spot a tiny rock outcropping protruding from the sea, and would stop to rest, but these were becoming fewer and fewer as you progressed. Or maybe you were just getting tireder. Not only that, but the clouds seemed to be getting darker and darker. They glared down at your wobbly shape, silently placing bets on your tenacity. Still, you surged ahead.
And then it started to rain.
Fat, wet droplets splattered on your wings, and despite your best attempts to stay warm, you felt the water soaking in and chilling you to the bone. The water weighed you down, and you struggled to stay aloft. At some point, you remember kicking off your sandals, as they’d become sopping wet bricks strapped to your feet. Lightning pierced your immediate vision more than once. Just find one more outcropping. You had to, though flying blind through the downpour was proving more than difficult. Lightning struck again and again, and with every strike, more and more of your resolve dripped away. Thunder rattled your body, and the campus still had not come into view. Or had it?
You squinted. Something had begun to tower in the distance. A large rock wall reared up out of the fog, and you beat your wings harder, desperate to reach reprieve. You blinked, trying hard to see, but your muscles were beginning to give out, and you were dropping altitude. Fast.
In a final attempt to avoid hitting the ocean, you banked your wings and dove straight for the bottom of the approaching cliff, and as you instinctively used your wings to protect you from the fall, the dust and battering rain vanished, and you fell, quickly and silently, into the comforting void of exhaustion.
Once again, time passed. The wind and rain fought over your crumpled shape, tearing away loose feathers and berating you senseless. You’d collapsed right before a large rock boulder, onto a bed of gravel and sand that stuck to your wet skin and flight tunic, and the ocean balked at your bare feet, only barely touching the tips of your toes. It was clear the storm was not intent on regressing any time soon, and you were too busy being unconscious to do anything about it. Only the will of God or the voice of a cute boy could bring you out of your slumber, and lo and behold, one did.
“He… Hello?!” the voice of a patrolling student pierced the rumble of the storm, one who’d found the sudden upheaval of gravel and sand rather odd. He banked his own large chocolate wings and soared closer, the heavy rain seemingly weightless on his limbs. “Is someone there?!”
No response. He dove closer. “Hello?!”
It didn’t take long for him to make out your shape on the rocky shore. He immediately went in to land, stumbling a little as he ran up to your limp body. “Oh my god, are you okay?!”
You grit your teeth and groaned, trying to communicate to him that you were, in fact, alive. And yet, suddenly, you felt the ground drop out from under you. “I’ve got you, don’t worry.”
You coughed as you suddenly felt yourself being lifted and secured in his arms, your wings tucked in as close as he could make them. Rain continued to whirl around the two of you, and you could barely make out his face as he looked up and spread his large brown wings. You tried to clear your vision, wondering who had come to your rescue.
“Who… are..?”
He glanced down at you, his brown eyes making contact with yours. “Choi Jongho. Now hold on tight, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
thanks for reading! we’ll see how long this one lasts hahaha
comment if i should do more of this au because honestly i’m just taking shots in the dark here
ahhh the wings fic is so fun so far!!! like the concept itself is just so?? unique??? I love it??? also good luck with your midterms (if you still have more) 💖💖💖
aaaaa thank you!!! i came up with it at like 1am and was just like FUCK IT
each member has different personalized wings too which is really neat!! and thank you, midterms were last month and i did pretty ok ^^ i will try my best to write a second chapter !
