Complete~
WHO: Lavi and Hyuuga Neji.
WHAT: Playing with those wings they had~
WHERE: Apartments then Salkia Park.
WHEN: Backdated to the first day they had wings.
WARNINGS: What's the usual with these two?
Peering over the edge of his window, the Hyuuga tapped his finger against his cheek in thought, soft white wings folding in against his back as he did so. He continued looking down, making calculations in his head, wondering if his legs would break if he just tried to float down.
Well, if he did it right, it wouldn't be anything too horrible and the wind under his wings would soften his landing, so perhaps it would be alright to try.
He stood up and climbed onto the windowsill, crouching down and murmuring to himself. He'd jumped from the window before, but that was when he didn't have wings that would catch and maybe throw him backwards.
Neji shrugged and leaned further out the window, stretching his wings out and jumping down.
Lavi was walking to Neji's apartment, the newly formed black feathered wings on his back being more of a burden than a blessing, trying to get a new balance with all of that weight and extra muscle on his back. He was without a shirt because knowing the island, these would be gone soon and it would be a waste to cut holes into his shirt.
Rolling his shoulders and flexing his wings outward, he stood and waited for Neji to come down from his apartment building. Little did he know was that the ninja was going to come down a different way than just taking the stairwell. He saw a rush of white and deep brown coming down fast and his first reaction was to hold out his arms to try to catch him. But the drop was so fast and heavy, that he collapsed under the weight and landed on his back, his wings getting crushed in the process.
"Ow.....", the red head groaned.
His eyes widened at the sight of the redhead below him, his hands lifting in front of himself and his wings flapping quickly, trying to keep him airborne. Of course, it didn't really work, aside from the wind catching the white feathers and barely softening his landing on top of Lavi.
He winced slightly when his cheek bounced off of Lavi's chest and he landed with his knees on either side of the older male. A hand came up, rubbing the side of his face before he leaned up and looked down at the other, a surprised noise escaping him before he quickly moved to stand and help him up.
``I'm sorry,`` he whispered. Perhaps I should have thought that through a little more . .
Lavi stood up and rubbed his backside and rolled his shoulders again to stretch out his hurt wings. It was strange to feel pain in a place that had never been there before. "It's fine", he said dusting himself off. "Yeah ya should have", he said in response to Neji's thoughts as if he had said them outloud. Well, at least he thought he said them outloud.
All day he had been hearing a lot of talking and the island was a lot chattier than normal. He heard some mean things, too, by some of the natives. He didn't know what was going on. Maybe the heat was getting to them?
As soon as he went to reply, he blinked then hesitated. He hadn't said that out loud, had he? Well, maybe he was just imagining things and he did say it. ``I will have to make sure that no one is coming around if I do that again.`` That really isn't the best way to be practicing this, but I had to try somehow.
Neji shook his head and reached up to touch Lavi's cheek with his fingertips, carefully turning the male's head one way then the other, curiously examining him for bruises then stopping when he spotted the wings on his back. ``...black,`` he breathed.
Lavi allowed Neji to examine his face. "I think jumping out of windows isn't a good way to be practicin', Neji", he said taking the ninja's hand to let him know he was fine.
His emerald eye glanced back at his set of wings when Neji looked at them. "Yup. They're pretty neat lookin' yeah? I don't think I would get somethin' as angelic as your white wings", he said lifting his other hand and reaching his fingertips out to dust the fluffy white feathers.
He relaxed a bit more when Lavi took his hand, smiling lightly and eying their hands for a long minute. Hopefully, he hadn't fallen on him hard enough to hurt his wings any or he'd feel really horrible for jumping out of that window.
``I think they are wonderful on you.`` Nodding slowly, the brunet blinked then tensed and shivered ever so slightly at the touch on his wings, his hand tightening in Lavi's some. Ah, that . . felt rather nice . .
"Your wings look pretty good on you, too", he said with a smile, admiring how pearly they looked against his porcelain skin.
Lavi grinned at hearing the thought, still thinking that he was speaking outloud. He began to stroke the white wings, occasionally scritching the feathers. "How about that? Does that feel nice, too?", he chuckled. His own pair of wings started to hurt less and less and he folded them back against his shoulder blades.
``Thank you,`` he answered, turning his head enough to look back at the white wings, another smile crossing his face. They really were beautiful to look at.
Neji blinked once more when Lavi began to stroke the feathers, his eyes slipping shut and his hand tightening a bit more, fingers curling around the other male's. ``How did you . . ?`` He couldn't quite finish the sentence with his lover touching the wings like that, so he tilted his head forwards, allowing Lavi to pet the feathers. I didn't say anything outloud . .
Lavi continued to stroke and pet his wings, even going to the underside to smooth the sensitive, soft down feathers there. He blinked at what the ninja 'said'. "Didn't say anything outloud? But I can hear ya loud and clear", he said, looking at Neji's face. Was he going crazy or something. He could have sworn he heard the brunette speak.
The second Lavi's fingers touched that spot on his wings, he tensed and tilted his head up, pale lilac eyes widening just barely. He thought for a moment then pursed his lips, making sure that his mouth wasn't moving at all when he thought next. Loud and clear? I promise you that I did not say anything, aside from the things in my head.
Lavi pulled his hand away and his eye widened when he noticed that the other's mouth didn't move or anything. "Wooooah...what is this?" he gaped. "Are ya doing some ventriloquist thing? Or have I just gone crazy?"
Neji pulled his hand away also, lifting it to cover his mouth. He couldn't believe that Lavi could hear him when he wasn't even speaking. His hand dropped now, clenching into a fist on his hip when he rested it there. I am doing no such thing. I think you can hear my thoughts . .
Lavi's face continued to be in a shocked expression. "Whaaaaaaat? How the hell am I doin' that?", he paused for a moment. "AND I'M STILL DOIN' IT!" This was so strange for him. He never had this sort of ability before. Was this the wing's doing? And if it was, how could he make it stop? And did Neji have some kind of ability, too? "Can ya hear my thoughts?" he asked. I could really go for some yakiniku right now. He thought, trying to project it somehow to see if Neji could hear what he was thinking.
He shut his eyes in an attempt to try and hear what the other male was saying, but he couldn't get anything. Nothing, he thought, biting the inside of his cheek and bringing his hand up to touch his chin. ``This is so strange.`` Shifting slightly, he stretched his wings out and fluttered them, lowering his hand once again. ``Do you think it could be the wings?``
Lavi glanced back at his own wings again. He wondered what kind of ability Neji had if it wasn't reading minds like his own. "I think it is. Ever since the wings came, Salkia's gotten a lot more chatty. I think I've been readin' everyone's thoughts without realizin' it", he said with a sigh attached to the end. "D'ya know what your ability is? If ya have one?", he asked curiously.
For a long moment, he was silent, trying to think of something that he hadn't been able to do before the wings came, aside from the obvious flying. Neji tapped his cheek then lowered the hand, lifting his shoulders in a half shrug. I guess I can't do anything special, he thought, unbeknownst that he was actually placing his thoughts into Lavi's head.
Lavi tilted his head a bit and looked at his shorter lover. "Are ya sure?" he paused and placed his hand behind his head, ruffling the mess of red that was flopped over with a headband. "Ack! I'm doing to again! I can't help it, I guess..." he fretted. Well, there wasn't much that Neji could think negatively about, right? He hadn't done anything bad and they were on really good terms, so there shouldn't be any problems. Or so the thought.
``Wait,`` he started, raising an eyebrow then lifting his hand once again, tapping his index finger against his temple this time. You can hear this then? Again, his thoughts were placed into Lavi's head, though he was mostly doing it to see if Lavi was still reading his mind or not. If this was possible, would he be able to block his thoughts or did it not matter who was doing what?
"Yeah, I can hear it, but all of the other voices are quiet 'cause I'm tryin' to block them out", he said scratching the side of his cheek now. "How is it that I can hear ya, but I can't hear anyone else?", he asked. Then it hit him. Maybe Neji can project his thoughts. Well that wasn't fair. Plus, that meant he couldn't block out his thoughts even if he wanted to. "Weeeeeird."
Well, this was slightly disheartening and worrying; he didn't want to keep putting his thoughts into Lavi's head, especially if the other male was trying to quiet down all the other voices. ``I'll just have to . . not think so much then.``
Sighing lightly, he stretched his wings again and flapped them hard enough to where he was hovering off the ground, but only a few inches. ``Would you like to practice flying with me? I'll try and be quiet.``
"That's probably easier said than done", Lavi said with a chuckle. He didn't know anyone that could turn their brains off. Well, maybe Kanda, but he was good at that meditation stuff. That and he wasn't the brightest candle on the alter.
The exorcist watched the ninja as he started to hover off of the ground. The flaps from his wings creating a gust and blowing his hair back. "Alright. I've wanted to give these things a go" he said, stretching out his own wings and giving them one powerful and mighty flap, which pushed his weight off of the ground. This was still a new feeling to the Bookman Junior. Utilizing muscles that he had never had before.
``Perhaps,`` he replied absently, flapping his wings a bit harder to keep himself held up, though it was strange to do so with all these new muscles. His hands came up, fingers curling into his palms as he attempted to use his arms to keep balance, glancing down only to see how high he was getting.
Neji shut his eyes when Lavi flapped his wings, the slight breeze sending his loose hair over his shoulders and into his face. He shook the strands back, watching the older male curiously and smiling faintly. It seemed like he wasn't the only one still trying to adjust to the new wings.
Lavi let his weight rest back onto the ground and he took a step back from Neji and started to beat his large wings a bit harder and faster until he was lifting himself off of the ground completely. "This flyin' thing might not be so hard, yeah?", he said with a slight grunt from pushing his wings against the wind.
The ninja continued flapping his wings, urging himself higher into the air then letting out a shocked noise when he suddenly dropped, barely landing on his feet. He moved his arms to balance back out, frowning slightly then jumping back up and trying to hover once more. ``Perhaps not . . ``
Just when Lavi thought he was getting the hang of it, his own wings missed a beat and he plunged downward, black feathers scattering about as he frantically tried to lower himself gently. When he was back on his feet, he panted. "Yeah...I was wrong", he said. He was already working up a sweat.
Neji couldn't help but laugh softly at his lover, forcing himself to fly higher. It was really straining his muscles, but he was determined to be able to fly and enjoy these wings to their fullest before they ended up disappearing. He winced his eyes shut, going higher still and only looking down when he was a few feet away from the ground. ``...ah.`` Was the only thing he could respond with at the moment.
Lavi caught one of his own feathers in between his fingers as he took a brief break to flex his wing muscles. He let out a sigh and blew the black feather away, watching it float and drift upwards, only for it to fall slowly back down to the ground. He rolled his shoulders and his neck and tried again.
He jumped up and gave his wings a strong flap to give him that initial push off of the ground. Then he began to rhythmically beat his wings to get him even higher off of the earth. He was doing better now than before, he guessed.
Shutting his eyes again, he flapped the wings harder and continued upwards, finally stopping when he was steady in the air, a smile crossing his face at how easy it was now. He pushed himself into a back flip, righting himself and flying down to be face to face with his lover.
He carefully reached out and took hold of Lavi's hand, using his own wings to help lift the both of them higher into the air. ``You have to flap really hard for a while and then it will get easier.``
Lavi took a hold of Neji's hands and allowed himself to be pulled higher into the air. He started to flap his wings even harder, but he kept it at a steady pace so he wouldn't fall again. The ninja was right, his muscles got used to it the harder he worked them to stay in the air. He still had his hammer in his pocket, just in case they were really high and fell, but this was pretty nice.
"I think I'm gettin' the hang of it", he grinned, a light chuckle attached to the end.
The brunet's smile widened, but just barely, his hands tightening before he slipped his fingers through Lavi's and continued to pull them both upwards. He stopped when they were above the rooftops, allowing the flexing of his wings to steady out again, though he didn't quite let go of the older male's hands just yet.
``I think so, too.`` He nodded, slowly, hesitantly pulling his hands away from Lavi's.
His green eye drifted downward and saw how high they were. He wasn't really afraid, seeing as how he's been much higher before, but he was a little nervous because he was out of his comfort zone from being on his Innocence. Though, he allowed his hands to be let go of and made sure to steady his own wings so that he wouldn't free-fall suddenly.
"Alright, I think I'm good!", he said with a silly smile plastered on his face. "Where d'ya wanna go?", he asked.
He shifted away from the other just barely, doing another flip then a twirl and landing upright once again. Yes, the wings had been very new and still were, but now that he had the hang of them, he couldn't help but show off a little bit. It was just too tempting.
``Anywhere,`` he replied, lifting his arms to stretch above his head so his shoulders would pop then lowering them once more.
Another laugh escaped from seeing his lover so excited about his new pair of wings. As much as he wanted to, he was still a little wary of his ability and didn't want to try any stunts until he knew he had everything.
"Race you to the park!", he chimed and without any warning, and one powerful beat of his wings, he took off in the direction of aid destination. He flapped rapidly, with plenty of strength accompanying it, until he was level enough to let the air catch underneath and glide quickly.
Blinking lightly towards the laughing, Neji brought his hand up, rubbing his index finger against his cheek and flushing in slight embarrassment; he would have to watch what he was doing now. He tilted his head then smirked and quickly flew after the older of them, flapping his wings harder than before in an attempt to catch up to Lavi, his hand slowly reaching out for his leg.
Flap flap glide, flap flap glide was the rhythm he had going that was working quite well in speeding towards the park. He looked back briefly and saw Neji reaching for his leg. With an even harder, single flap, he pushed himself forward more. He let out a playful laugh and soared through the air, the black contrasting greatly against the white and blue in the sky.
His eyes widened when his fingers barely brushed Lavi's leg, curling into his palm afterward. He narrowed his eyes in determination and pushed himself forwards a bit faster now, flapping his wings as hard as he could until he was beside his lover. He glanced over at him, flashing another smirk before picking up his pace some more to fly past the redhead.
Lavi's eye widened then he let out a huff from seeing his boyfriend pass him. He then started to flap even harder until he was neck and neck with Neji. The wind rushing through his messy mop of red hair was amazing. Sure the feeling was familiar, but it was a bit different this time.
Getting an idea, he slowed down a bit and flapped his wings until he was higher than the ninja he was racing. He sped up until he was directly above the brunette then lowered himself until his hands could reach Neji's body. He grinned a mischievous grin and tickled Neji's sides to get him to slow down.
Neji continued rushing forward, glancing back over his shoulder just to see Lavi catching up to him again. He looked back forwards once they were side by side, trying to push himself to go faster, though it was slightly straining his overworked muscles.
When he looked over again, he raised an eyebrow in curiousity then tilted his head back to look up, wondering what Lavi was doing. Though, the tickling feeling on his sides caught him offguard and made him slow down a bit, his hands moving to grasp onto the other's wrists and make him stop.
Lavi's wrists were caught which made him have to slow down with Neji. He tried to pull his wrists free, but the ninja had a strong grip. He let out a whimpering noise and tried to flap harder to free himself, but it only pulled Neji with him. He felt like some kind of falcon whose prey got the better of him.
He held tight to Lavi's wrists, smirking again when the other male had to slow down with him. Releasing his arms for a mere second, he flipped himself around so he was on his back, his wings still flapping to keep him airborne and his hands grasping the Bookman's wrists again.
His head tilted back, pale eyes focusing on the park that they were quickly approaching. He thought for a moment then shifted again and reached one hand up, brushing over Lavi's ear with a fingertip then releasing his wrist, pushing himself off of his shoulders for leverage to get ahead.
At his ear being toyed with, his body shook slightly with a single shudder. He could even feel his wings ruffle and shift. He definitely slowed down after that stunt. Frowning, he forced his body to get over what had just happened then pushed his wings foreword. But no doubt, his muscles were getting tired. Using muscles that never existed before to this extent was nothing short of exhausting.
Once they finally reached the park, he landed on his feet rather easily in the grass, folding his soft white wings against his back and his arms loosely over his chest. He tried to hide his smirk, though he wasn't doing so well when he turned to look back over his shoulder at Lavi, barely wincing at the protesting muscles in his back and shoulders.
The landing the redhead made was, well, not as easy as Neji's. It was actually quite a hard landing and the not so graceful exorcist ended up toppling over his feet and landing on his stomach. The pair of dark coloured wings folded against his back and he let out a groan. His muscles certainly were feeling some pain. It was still strange knowing that there were muscles that were here just temporarily and it was even more apparent when they were feeling a stronger sensation.
The Bookman junior sat up and crossed his legs. He gave his wings and arms a good stretch upward and then put them back into a relaxed position. "Well that was fun!" he said.
Cringing at the hard landing the older had, Neji brought his hand up, fingers tapping against his cheek as he watched him silently. He nodded his head towards the comment then glanced down at the grass below, his hand dropping back against his side and slowly curling into a loose fist at the throbbing in his back. Maybe he had pushed himself a bit too hard . . .
He shook his head then fell to his knees, lifting his arms up to cross in front of himself then falling face first into the grass, his arms pillowing his head, but only just.
Lavi's eye widened at Neji falling to the ground and he scrambled over to him. "Hey Neji, you okay?", he asked leaning down close to his head then looking over to his wings. He pressed his fingers against the muscles there. They felt tense and a bit hot. Gently, he started to massage them. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea...", he mumbled. His own back felt very tense and he would rather walk back home.
He kept his face buried in his arms for a long moment, biting the inside of his cheek then eventually glancing up when he heard his name and the question. He did his best to not shiver when the sore muscles were touched, shutting his eyes again then propping his cheek up on his arm, letting out a small sigh. ``I will be fine. I just need to rest for a moment . . ``
Lavi continued to massage his muscles to get them to relax some. "Yeah...maybe that really wasn't a good idea. Especially since we've never had these muscles before, yeah?" He pulled Neji upright, leaned him against him, and rubbed his shoulder gently after wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
The massaging slowly began to loosen up the overworked muscles which made him sigh again, his hands curling tighter. ``I suppose you're right, but it just so . . thrilling.`` He blinked and allowed himself to be pulled up, leaning against Lavi and settling his head on his chest, his arms wrapping around him. ``Thank you.``
Letting out a chuckle, he patted his shoulder then went back to massaging his aching muscles. "Ya know, when this..whole..wing thing is over, we can go flyin' on my hammer any time ya want", he offered. He noticed the joy Neji got when he was flying through the air. Wind whipping through his long brown locks and rushing past his body. He knew his hammer wasn't the same, but it was something, right?
He nodded slowly towards the offer, lifting his hand to brush his temple then reaching to touch Lavi's, shutting his eyes afterward. ``I would really enjoy that,`` he murmured, shifting to rest back against his shoulder. It wouldn't be the same as having wings of my own, but I'm sure it would be just as nice . .
He let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know. But maybe we could get you those little costume wings and you can close your eyes and pretend?", he chuckled softly. He rested his own head against Neji's, a content smile sitting on his face.
He blinked quickly when he got a verbal response then relaxed again, reminding himself that Lavi could read minds with those wings of his. A soft laugh escaped him, his head shaking slightly towards that. Or I could always just imagine them. It's not that hard.
"I think it'd be funnier to see you in little fake costume wings", he said nudging him slightly with his shoulder. He wasn't quite aware that he wasn't speaking again since he couldn't see his face at that moment, but it didn't really matter.
Of course you would. What kind would I have then? Smiling lightly towards the nudge, he shifted again to nudge him back, folding his wings a bit more so he could lean back against him completely, his head tilting backwards to look up at him.
Lavi moved his hands to yet again scritch the white feathers that were leaning against him. "You'd have ones just like these", he answered. "They fit you the best, yeah?", he added petting and scritching Neji's wings knowing that it would feel good and possibly relax him even more.
Neji blinked towards that, staring up at the older male for a long moment then shutting his eyes and sighing out in content at the touch on his wings again. It really did feel good. Are you sure that I don't have a darker side for you to worry about?
The red head smoothed down the feathers that he moved out of place when he was petting and fluffing up the other's wings. "I dunno, do you have a dark side that I should worry about?", he asked.
He kept his eyes shut, moving his arms to rest over his stomach, his hands gripping at his hips. I'm not too sure of that myself . . . ``Probably not,`` he finally spoke, though his voice was soft.
"You're not sure?", he repeated. He must be hearing his thoughts again because the voice that came after it felt more tangible and in the air rather than just a sound registering in his mind. "Well, if ya have one that decides to show up randomly, I'll give him a smack, alright?", he said with a warm smile.
``Ah,`` he started, biting the inside of his cheek to cut himself off. He shut his eyes a little tighter and moved, rolling onto his side and propping his cheek against Lavi's shoulder. ``Alright.`` Let's just hope that doesn't happen anytime soon.
"I don't think it will", he said optimistically. Wrapping his arms around the younger boy's shoulders, he gave him a light squeeze. "Wanna go back home? We can always try again tomorrow. I think we've both had it for the day". He said softly.
The Hyuuga looked up once again, staring at him for a long moment; Lavi was always so optimistic . . . Perhaps that is another reason why I chose you. He smiled faintly and nodded his head, loosely wrapping his arms around Lavi's waist and hugging him tightly. ``Yes.``
The smile on Lavi's face just grew upon hearing those thoughts. He was starting to be able to tell the difference between thought and speech, which was very helpful so he would know what he should openly reply to and what should be left unspoken.
"Let's go then", he said ruffling Neji's hair and helping him up along with standing himself.
He took note of the widening smile on Lavi's face then flushed ever so slightly, again reminding himself that the redhead had probably read his thoughts. His eyes shut at the ruffling of his hair, one hand coming up to fix the strands before he shifted to stand up when helped.
``Alright,`` he murmured, taking a tight hold of Lavi's hand now.
He then laced their fingers together and swung them gently, leading them back to the apartment complex. He couldn't help but think that walking felt a lot better than flying. No offense to the wings on his back, but he thought he could do without them. It would have been a lot easier if he were born with them or earned them at an early age, but going eighteen years without them, he found his legs to be a lot more useful.
He glanced down at their hands, tightening his fingers around Lavi's then shaking his head when he began to swing them. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but he found it rather silly because of how happy they could be around eachother; he really enjoyed it. His eyes shut in content again, wings folding tighter against his back. How is it that I can be so happy around you . . ?
Lavi leaned slightly on the shorter male as they walked. "Because ya loooove me~", he teased. "And yeah, I know that was your thought this time. I'm gettin' better at tellin' the difference", he nodded, pointing to his own head with his free had.
Neji frowned slightly, tilting his head a bit when he was being leaned on. He nudged the redhead with his arm and leaned back against him, rolling his eyes towards the teasing he was recieving. ``I do,`` he replied, gripping his hand a bit tighter. You better start practicing then because I'll be testing you on it.
"Awww...no fair", the redhead whined and nudged him back, then leaning on him again. He gave his hand a small squeeze.
``Nothing's fair.`` Shrugging his shoulders, he shifted away from him a bit and moved ahead some, turning so he was walking backwards, still holding his hand though.
Lavi tugged Neji's hand and pulled him back towards him and wrapped an arm around him. "Bah. That's mean", he said bumping their heads together playfully but not to forcefully.
Neji let himself be pulled, lifting his other arm from his side and wrapping it around Lavi's waist again, still easily walking himself backwards. ``Who said I was nice?`` he asked, flashing a barely there smirk before tilting his head enough to rub their noses together.
Lavi continued to walk foreard and rubbed his nose against the shorter male's. "Hahaha. I can be mean, too, ya know", he grinned. He then picked Neji up and put him over his shoulder and started to spin him around.
He blinked then bit back a surprised noise when his feet left the ground, his hands moving to press between Lavi's shoulderblades, though he couldn't really grip onto anything since they were both shirtless. ``Just don't drop me.``
Lavi let out a jovial laugh and stopped spinning then continued onto the apartment with the ninja still thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I won't drop you", he reassured.
Neji shook his head again and opened his eyes when they stopped spinning, relaxing ever so slightly in Lavi's arms. ``Good,`` he stated, lowering his hands, his fingertips brushing against the wings where they started in the others back.
WHAT: Playing with those wings they had~
WHERE: Apartments then Salkia Park.
WHEN: Backdated to the first day they had wings.
WARNINGS: What's the usual with these two?
Peering over the edge of his window, the Hyuuga tapped his finger against his cheek in thought, soft white wings folding in against his back as he did so. He continued looking down, making calculations in his head, wondering if his legs would break if he just tried to float down.
Well, if he did it right, it wouldn't be anything too horrible and the wind under his wings would soften his landing, so perhaps it would be alright to try.
He stood up and climbed onto the windowsill, crouching down and murmuring to himself. He'd jumped from the window before, but that was when he didn't have wings that would catch and maybe throw him backwards.
Neji shrugged and leaned further out the window, stretching his wings out and jumping down.
Lavi was walking to Neji's apartment, the newly formed black feathered wings on his back being more of a burden than a blessing, trying to get a new balance with all of that weight and extra muscle on his back. He was without a shirt because knowing the island, these would be gone soon and it would be a waste to cut holes into his shirt.
Rolling his shoulders and flexing his wings outward, he stood and waited for Neji to come down from his apartment building. Little did he know was that the ninja was going to come down a different way than just taking the stairwell. He saw a rush of white and deep brown coming down fast and his first reaction was to hold out his arms to try to catch him. But the drop was so fast and heavy, that he collapsed under the weight and landed on his back, his wings getting crushed in the process.
"Ow.....", the red head groaned.
His eyes widened at the sight of the redhead below him, his hands lifting in front of himself and his wings flapping quickly, trying to keep him airborne. Of course, it didn't really work, aside from the wind catching the white feathers and barely softening his landing on top of Lavi.
He winced slightly when his cheek bounced off of Lavi's chest and he landed with his knees on either side of the older male. A hand came up, rubbing the side of his face before he leaned up and looked down at the other, a surprised noise escaping him before he quickly moved to stand and help him up.
``I'm sorry,`` he whispered. Perhaps I should have thought that through a little more . .
Lavi stood up and rubbed his backside and rolled his shoulders again to stretch out his hurt wings. It was strange to feel pain in a place that had never been there before. "It's fine", he said dusting himself off. "Yeah ya should have", he said in response to Neji's thoughts as if he had said them outloud. Well, at least he thought he said them outloud.
All day he had been hearing a lot of talking and the island was a lot chattier than normal. He heard some mean things, too, by some of the natives. He didn't know what was going on. Maybe the heat was getting to them?
As soon as he went to reply, he blinked then hesitated. He hadn't said that out loud, had he? Well, maybe he was just imagining things and he did say it. ``I will have to make sure that no one is coming around if I do that again.`` That really isn't the best way to be practicing this, but I had to try somehow.
Neji shook his head and reached up to touch Lavi's cheek with his fingertips, carefully turning the male's head one way then the other, curiously examining him for bruises then stopping when he spotted the wings on his back. ``...black,`` he breathed.
Lavi allowed Neji to examine his face. "I think jumping out of windows isn't a good way to be practicin', Neji", he said taking the ninja's hand to let him know he was fine.
His emerald eye glanced back at his set of wings when Neji looked at them. "Yup. They're pretty neat lookin' yeah? I don't think I would get somethin' as angelic as your white wings", he said lifting his other hand and reaching his fingertips out to dust the fluffy white feathers.
He relaxed a bit more when Lavi took his hand, smiling lightly and eying their hands for a long minute. Hopefully, he hadn't fallen on him hard enough to hurt his wings any or he'd feel really horrible for jumping out of that window.
``I think they are wonderful on you.`` Nodding slowly, the brunet blinked then tensed and shivered ever so slightly at the touch on his wings, his hand tightening in Lavi's some. Ah, that . . felt rather nice . .
"Your wings look pretty good on you, too", he said with a smile, admiring how pearly they looked against his porcelain skin.
Lavi grinned at hearing the thought, still thinking that he was speaking outloud. He began to stroke the white wings, occasionally scritching the feathers. "How about that? Does that feel nice, too?", he chuckled. His own pair of wings started to hurt less and less and he folded them back against his shoulder blades.
``Thank you,`` he answered, turning his head enough to look back at the white wings, another smile crossing his face. They really were beautiful to look at.
Neji blinked once more when Lavi began to stroke the feathers, his eyes slipping shut and his hand tightening a bit more, fingers curling around the other male's. ``How did you . . ?`` He couldn't quite finish the sentence with his lover touching the wings like that, so he tilted his head forwards, allowing Lavi to pet the feathers. I didn't say anything outloud . .
Lavi continued to stroke and pet his wings, even going to the underside to smooth the sensitive, soft down feathers there. He blinked at what the ninja 'said'. "Didn't say anything outloud? But I can hear ya loud and clear", he said, looking at Neji's face. Was he going crazy or something. He could have sworn he heard the brunette speak.
The second Lavi's fingers touched that spot on his wings, he tensed and tilted his head up, pale lilac eyes widening just barely. He thought for a moment then pursed his lips, making sure that his mouth wasn't moving at all when he thought next. Loud and clear? I promise you that I did not say anything, aside from the things in my head.
Lavi pulled his hand away and his eye widened when he noticed that the other's mouth didn't move or anything. "Wooooah...what is this?" he gaped. "Are ya doing some ventriloquist thing? Or have I just gone crazy?"
Neji pulled his hand away also, lifting it to cover his mouth. He couldn't believe that Lavi could hear him when he wasn't even speaking. His hand dropped now, clenching into a fist on his hip when he rested it there. I am doing no such thing. I think you can hear my thoughts . .
Lavi's face continued to be in a shocked expression. "Whaaaaaaat? How the hell am I doin' that?", he paused for a moment. "AND I'M STILL DOIN' IT!" This was so strange for him. He never had this sort of ability before. Was this the wing's doing? And if it was, how could he make it stop? And did Neji have some kind of ability, too? "Can ya hear my thoughts?" he asked. I could really go for some yakiniku right now. He thought, trying to project it somehow to see if Neji could hear what he was thinking.
He shut his eyes in an attempt to try and hear what the other male was saying, but he couldn't get anything. Nothing, he thought, biting the inside of his cheek and bringing his hand up to touch his chin. ``This is so strange.`` Shifting slightly, he stretched his wings out and fluttered them, lowering his hand once again. ``Do you think it could be the wings?``
Lavi glanced back at his own wings again. He wondered what kind of ability Neji had if it wasn't reading minds like his own. "I think it is. Ever since the wings came, Salkia's gotten a lot more chatty. I think I've been readin' everyone's thoughts without realizin' it", he said with a sigh attached to the end. "D'ya know what your ability is? If ya have one?", he asked curiously.
For a long moment, he was silent, trying to think of something that he hadn't been able to do before the wings came, aside from the obvious flying. Neji tapped his cheek then lowered the hand, lifting his shoulders in a half shrug. I guess I can't do anything special, he thought, unbeknownst that he was actually placing his thoughts into Lavi's head.
Lavi tilted his head a bit and looked at his shorter lover. "Are ya sure?" he paused and placed his hand behind his head, ruffling the mess of red that was flopped over with a headband. "Ack! I'm doing to again! I can't help it, I guess..." he fretted. Well, there wasn't much that Neji could think negatively about, right? He hadn't done anything bad and they were on really good terms, so there shouldn't be any problems. Or so the thought.
``Wait,`` he started, raising an eyebrow then lifting his hand once again, tapping his index finger against his temple this time. You can hear this then? Again, his thoughts were placed into Lavi's head, though he was mostly doing it to see if Lavi was still reading his mind or not. If this was possible, would he be able to block his thoughts or did it not matter who was doing what?
"Yeah, I can hear it, but all of the other voices are quiet 'cause I'm tryin' to block them out", he said scratching the side of his cheek now. "How is it that I can hear ya, but I can't hear anyone else?", he asked. Then it hit him. Maybe Neji can project his thoughts. Well that wasn't fair. Plus, that meant he couldn't block out his thoughts even if he wanted to. "Weeeeeird."
Well, this was slightly disheartening and worrying; he didn't want to keep putting his thoughts into Lavi's head, especially if the other male was trying to quiet down all the other voices. ``I'll just have to . . not think so much then.``
Sighing lightly, he stretched his wings again and flapped them hard enough to where he was hovering off the ground, but only a few inches. ``Would you like to practice flying with me? I'll try and be quiet.``
"That's probably easier said than done", Lavi said with a chuckle. He didn't know anyone that could turn their brains off. Well, maybe Kanda, but he was good at that meditation stuff. That and he wasn't the brightest candle on the alter.
The exorcist watched the ninja as he started to hover off of the ground. The flaps from his wings creating a gust and blowing his hair back. "Alright. I've wanted to give these things a go" he said, stretching out his own wings and giving them one powerful and mighty flap, which pushed his weight off of the ground. This was still a new feeling to the Bookman Junior. Utilizing muscles that he had never had before.
``Perhaps,`` he replied absently, flapping his wings a bit harder to keep himself held up, though it was strange to do so with all these new muscles. His hands came up, fingers curling into his palms as he attempted to use his arms to keep balance, glancing down only to see how high he was getting.
Neji shut his eyes when Lavi flapped his wings, the slight breeze sending his loose hair over his shoulders and into his face. He shook the strands back, watching the older male curiously and smiling faintly. It seemed like he wasn't the only one still trying to adjust to the new wings.
Lavi let his weight rest back onto the ground and he took a step back from Neji and started to beat his large wings a bit harder and faster until he was lifting himself off of the ground completely. "This flyin' thing might not be so hard, yeah?", he said with a slight grunt from pushing his wings against the wind.
The ninja continued flapping his wings, urging himself higher into the air then letting out a shocked noise when he suddenly dropped, barely landing on his feet. He moved his arms to balance back out, frowning slightly then jumping back up and trying to hover once more. ``Perhaps not . . ``
Just when Lavi thought he was getting the hang of it, his own wings missed a beat and he plunged downward, black feathers scattering about as he frantically tried to lower himself gently. When he was back on his feet, he panted. "Yeah...I was wrong", he said. He was already working up a sweat.
Neji couldn't help but laugh softly at his lover, forcing himself to fly higher. It was really straining his muscles, but he was determined to be able to fly and enjoy these wings to their fullest before they ended up disappearing. He winced his eyes shut, going higher still and only looking down when he was a few feet away from the ground. ``...ah.`` Was the only thing he could respond with at the moment.
Lavi caught one of his own feathers in between his fingers as he took a brief break to flex his wing muscles. He let out a sigh and blew the black feather away, watching it float and drift upwards, only for it to fall slowly back down to the ground. He rolled his shoulders and his neck and tried again.
He jumped up and gave his wings a strong flap to give him that initial push off of the ground. Then he began to rhythmically beat his wings to get him even higher off of the earth. He was doing better now than before, he guessed.
Shutting his eyes again, he flapped the wings harder and continued upwards, finally stopping when he was steady in the air, a smile crossing his face at how easy it was now. He pushed himself into a back flip, righting himself and flying down to be face to face with his lover.
He carefully reached out and took hold of Lavi's hand, using his own wings to help lift the both of them higher into the air. ``You have to flap really hard for a while and then it will get easier.``
Lavi took a hold of Neji's hands and allowed himself to be pulled higher into the air. He started to flap his wings even harder, but he kept it at a steady pace so he wouldn't fall again. The ninja was right, his muscles got used to it the harder he worked them to stay in the air. He still had his hammer in his pocket, just in case they were really high and fell, but this was pretty nice.
"I think I'm gettin' the hang of it", he grinned, a light chuckle attached to the end.
The brunet's smile widened, but just barely, his hands tightening before he slipped his fingers through Lavi's and continued to pull them both upwards. He stopped when they were above the rooftops, allowing the flexing of his wings to steady out again, though he didn't quite let go of the older male's hands just yet.
``I think so, too.`` He nodded, slowly, hesitantly pulling his hands away from Lavi's.
His green eye drifted downward and saw how high they were. He wasn't really afraid, seeing as how he's been much higher before, but he was a little nervous because he was out of his comfort zone from being on his Innocence. Though, he allowed his hands to be let go of and made sure to steady his own wings so that he wouldn't free-fall suddenly.
"Alright, I think I'm good!", he said with a silly smile plastered on his face. "Where d'ya wanna go?", he asked.
He shifted away from the other just barely, doing another flip then a twirl and landing upright once again. Yes, the wings had been very new and still were, but now that he had the hang of them, he couldn't help but show off a little bit. It was just too tempting.
``Anywhere,`` he replied, lifting his arms to stretch above his head so his shoulders would pop then lowering them once more.
Another laugh escaped from seeing his lover so excited about his new pair of wings. As much as he wanted to, he was still a little wary of his ability and didn't want to try any stunts until he knew he had everything.
"Race you to the park!", he chimed and without any warning, and one powerful beat of his wings, he took off in the direction of aid destination. He flapped rapidly, with plenty of strength accompanying it, until he was level enough to let the air catch underneath and glide quickly.
Blinking lightly towards the laughing, Neji brought his hand up, rubbing his index finger against his cheek and flushing in slight embarrassment; he would have to watch what he was doing now. He tilted his head then smirked and quickly flew after the older of them, flapping his wings harder than before in an attempt to catch up to Lavi, his hand slowly reaching out for his leg.
Flap flap glide, flap flap glide was the rhythm he had going that was working quite well in speeding towards the park. He looked back briefly and saw Neji reaching for his leg. With an even harder, single flap, he pushed himself forward more. He let out a playful laugh and soared through the air, the black contrasting greatly against the white and blue in the sky.
His eyes widened when his fingers barely brushed Lavi's leg, curling into his palm afterward. He narrowed his eyes in determination and pushed himself forwards a bit faster now, flapping his wings as hard as he could until he was beside his lover. He glanced over at him, flashing another smirk before picking up his pace some more to fly past the redhead.
Lavi's eye widened then he let out a huff from seeing his boyfriend pass him. He then started to flap even harder until he was neck and neck with Neji. The wind rushing through his messy mop of red hair was amazing. Sure the feeling was familiar, but it was a bit different this time.
Getting an idea, he slowed down a bit and flapped his wings until he was higher than the ninja he was racing. He sped up until he was directly above the brunette then lowered himself until his hands could reach Neji's body. He grinned a mischievous grin and tickled Neji's sides to get him to slow down.
Neji continued rushing forward, glancing back over his shoulder just to see Lavi catching up to him again. He looked back forwards once they were side by side, trying to push himself to go faster, though it was slightly straining his overworked muscles.
When he looked over again, he raised an eyebrow in curiousity then tilted his head back to look up, wondering what Lavi was doing. Though, the tickling feeling on his sides caught him offguard and made him slow down a bit, his hands moving to grasp onto the other's wrists and make him stop.
Lavi's wrists were caught which made him have to slow down with Neji. He tried to pull his wrists free, but the ninja had a strong grip. He let out a whimpering noise and tried to flap harder to free himself, but it only pulled Neji with him. He felt like some kind of falcon whose prey got the better of him.
He held tight to Lavi's wrists, smirking again when the other male had to slow down with him. Releasing his arms for a mere second, he flipped himself around so he was on his back, his wings still flapping to keep him airborne and his hands grasping the Bookman's wrists again.
His head tilted back, pale eyes focusing on the park that they were quickly approaching. He thought for a moment then shifted again and reached one hand up, brushing over Lavi's ear with a fingertip then releasing his wrist, pushing himself off of his shoulders for leverage to get ahead.
At his ear being toyed with, his body shook slightly with a single shudder. He could even feel his wings ruffle and shift. He definitely slowed down after that stunt. Frowning, he forced his body to get over what had just happened then pushed his wings foreword. But no doubt, his muscles were getting tired. Using muscles that never existed before to this extent was nothing short of exhausting.
Once they finally reached the park, he landed on his feet rather easily in the grass, folding his soft white wings against his back and his arms loosely over his chest. He tried to hide his smirk, though he wasn't doing so well when he turned to look back over his shoulder at Lavi, barely wincing at the protesting muscles in his back and shoulders.
The landing the redhead made was, well, not as easy as Neji's. It was actually quite a hard landing and the not so graceful exorcist ended up toppling over his feet and landing on his stomach. The pair of dark coloured wings folded against his back and he let out a groan. His muscles certainly were feeling some pain. It was still strange knowing that there were muscles that were here just temporarily and it was even more apparent when they were feeling a stronger sensation.
The Bookman junior sat up and crossed his legs. He gave his wings and arms a good stretch upward and then put them back into a relaxed position. "Well that was fun!" he said.
Cringing at the hard landing the older had, Neji brought his hand up, fingers tapping against his cheek as he watched him silently. He nodded his head towards the comment then glanced down at the grass below, his hand dropping back against his side and slowly curling into a loose fist at the throbbing in his back. Maybe he had pushed himself a bit too hard . . .
He shook his head then fell to his knees, lifting his arms up to cross in front of himself then falling face first into the grass, his arms pillowing his head, but only just.
Lavi's eye widened at Neji falling to the ground and he scrambled over to him. "Hey Neji, you okay?", he asked leaning down close to his head then looking over to his wings. He pressed his fingers against the muscles there. They felt tense and a bit hot. Gently, he started to massage them. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea...", he mumbled. His own back felt very tense and he would rather walk back home.
He kept his face buried in his arms for a long moment, biting the inside of his cheek then eventually glancing up when he heard his name and the question. He did his best to not shiver when the sore muscles were touched, shutting his eyes again then propping his cheek up on his arm, letting out a small sigh. ``I will be fine. I just need to rest for a moment . . ``
Lavi continued to massage his muscles to get them to relax some. "Yeah...maybe that really wasn't a good idea. Especially since we've never had these muscles before, yeah?" He pulled Neji upright, leaned him against him, and rubbed his shoulder gently after wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
The massaging slowly began to loosen up the overworked muscles which made him sigh again, his hands curling tighter. ``I suppose you're right, but it just so . . thrilling.`` He blinked and allowed himself to be pulled up, leaning against Lavi and settling his head on his chest, his arms wrapping around him. ``Thank you.``
Letting out a chuckle, he patted his shoulder then went back to massaging his aching muscles. "Ya know, when this..whole..wing thing is over, we can go flyin' on my hammer any time ya want", he offered. He noticed the joy Neji got when he was flying through the air. Wind whipping through his long brown locks and rushing past his body. He knew his hammer wasn't the same, but it was something, right?
He nodded slowly towards the offer, lifting his hand to brush his temple then reaching to touch Lavi's, shutting his eyes afterward. ``I would really enjoy that,`` he murmured, shifting to rest back against his shoulder. It wouldn't be the same as having wings of my own, but I'm sure it would be just as nice . .
He let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know. But maybe we could get you those little costume wings and you can close your eyes and pretend?", he chuckled softly. He rested his own head against Neji's, a content smile sitting on his face.
He blinked quickly when he got a verbal response then relaxed again, reminding himself that Lavi could read minds with those wings of his. A soft laugh escaped him, his head shaking slightly towards that. Or I could always just imagine them. It's not that hard.
"I think it'd be funnier to see you in little fake costume wings", he said nudging him slightly with his shoulder. He wasn't quite aware that he wasn't speaking again since he couldn't see his face at that moment, but it didn't really matter.
Of course you would. What kind would I have then? Smiling lightly towards the nudge, he shifted again to nudge him back, folding his wings a bit more so he could lean back against him completely, his head tilting backwards to look up at him.
Lavi moved his hands to yet again scritch the white feathers that were leaning against him. "You'd have ones just like these", he answered. "They fit you the best, yeah?", he added petting and scritching Neji's wings knowing that it would feel good and possibly relax him even more.
Neji blinked towards that, staring up at the older male for a long moment then shutting his eyes and sighing out in content at the touch on his wings again. It really did feel good. Are you sure that I don't have a darker side for you to worry about?
The red head smoothed down the feathers that he moved out of place when he was petting and fluffing up the other's wings. "I dunno, do you have a dark side that I should worry about?", he asked.
He kept his eyes shut, moving his arms to rest over his stomach, his hands gripping at his hips. I'm not too sure of that myself . . . ``Probably not,`` he finally spoke, though his voice was soft.
"You're not sure?", he repeated. He must be hearing his thoughts again because the voice that came after it felt more tangible and in the air rather than just a sound registering in his mind. "Well, if ya have one that decides to show up randomly, I'll give him a smack, alright?", he said with a warm smile.
``Ah,`` he started, biting the inside of his cheek to cut himself off. He shut his eyes a little tighter and moved, rolling onto his side and propping his cheek against Lavi's shoulder. ``Alright.`` Let's just hope that doesn't happen anytime soon.
"I don't think it will", he said optimistically. Wrapping his arms around the younger boy's shoulders, he gave him a light squeeze. "Wanna go back home? We can always try again tomorrow. I think we've both had it for the day". He said softly.
The Hyuuga looked up once again, staring at him for a long moment; Lavi was always so optimistic . . . Perhaps that is another reason why I chose you. He smiled faintly and nodded his head, loosely wrapping his arms around Lavi's waist and hugging him tightly. ``Yes.``
The smile on Lavi's face just grew upon hearing those thoughts. He was starting to be able to tell the difference between thought and speech, which was very helpful so he would know what he should openly reply to and what should be left unspoken.
"Let's go then", he said ruffling Neji's hair and helping him up along with standing himself.
He took note of the widening smile on Lavi's face then flushed ever so slightly, again reminding himself that the redhead had probably read his thoughts. His eyes shut at the ruffling of his hair, one hand coming up to fix the strands before he shifted to stand up when helped.
``Alright,`` he murmured, taking a tight hold of Lavi's hand now.
He then laced their fingers together and swung them gently, leading them back to the apartment complex. He couldn't help but think that walking felt a lot better than flying. No offense to the wings on his back, but he thought he could do without them. It would have been a lot easier if he were born with them or earned them at an early age, but going eighteen years without them, he found his legs to be a lot more useful.
He glanced down at their hands, tightening his fingers around Lavi's then shaking his head when he began to swing them. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but he found it rather silly because of how happy they could be around eachother; he really enjoyed it. His eyes shut in content again, wings folding tighter against his back. How is it that I can be so happy around you . . ?
Lavi leaned slightly on the shorter male as they walked. "Because ya loooove me~", he teased. "And yeah, I know that was your thought this time. I'm gettin' better at tellin' the difference", he nodded, pointing to his own head with his free had.
Neji frowned slightly, tilting his head a bit when he was being leaned on. He nudged the redhead with his arm and leaned back against him, rolling his eyes towards the teasing he was recieving. ``I do,`` he replied, gripping his hand a bit tighter. You better start practicing then because I'll be testing you on it.
"Awww...no fair", the redhead whined and nudged him back, then leaning on him again. He gave his hand a small squeeze.
``Nothing's fair.`` Shrugging his shoulders, he shifted away from him a bit and moved ahead some, turning so he was walking backwards, still holding his hand though.
Lavi tugged Neji's hand and pulled him back towards him and wrapped an arm around him. "Bah. That's mean", he said bumping their heads together playfully but not to forcefully.
Neji let himself be pulled, lifting his other arm from his side and wrapping it around Lavi's waist again, still easily walking himself backwards. ``Who said I was nice?`` he asked, flashing a barely there smirk before tilting his head enough to rub their noses together.
Lavi continued to walk foreard and rubbed his nose against the shorter male's. "Hahaha. I can be mean, too, ya know", he grinned. He then picked Neji up and put him over his shoulder and started to spin him around.
He blinked then bit back a surprised noise when his feet left the ground, his hands moving to press between Lavi's shoulderblades, though he couldn't really grip onto anything since they were both shirtless. ``Just don't drop me.``
Lavi let out a jovial laugh and stopped spinning then continued onto the apartment with the ninja still thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I won't drop you", he reassured.
Neji shook his head again and opened his eyes when they stopped spinning, relaxing ever so slightly in Lavi's arms. ``Good,`` he stated, lowering his hands, his fingertips brushing against the wings where they started in the others back.