small warning: old writing? i posted this on tumblr months ago (oct 2013) so hmm

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"I really don't mind what kind of sky it is,"

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He sat on the most comfortable spot he could find on the branch he was perched on, a sketchbook firmly clasped in his hand. He wanted to draw. Today, he decided to draw the morning sky, so he went all the trouble of going out of his nest, despite her warnings. He shuddered a little as he thought of getting caught by her. Since there was no going back now, he just then decided to do a quick sketch instead and return home immediately.

Looking up, he saw his friends having fun in the sky, their joyous laughter ringing in his ears. His wings fidgeted a little. He gently stroke them. A frown came up to his face as he examined his own weak wings. His feathers were raven-colored, but they faded into a shade of yellow downward, as it was his flight feathers. His frown deepened. He ran his fingers through his yellow feathers, wondering when he would be able to use them.

Haruka Kokonose was a fragile avian. Ever since he was just a hatchling up until he became a nestling, his body was so weak he was always sick. Because of that, during the time he was supposed to learn how to fly for the first time in his life, he couldn't because of the risk of falling down to his death. He remained a nestling while the others were becoming fledglings already. He felt so lonely that he stayed in his nest, drawing things that he could only see through the opening.

That was until he met her. She was sick, too, like him. She could fly though, and was already a fledgling. But flying was dangerous for her, since her illness caused her to suddenly sleep at unpredictable times. This forced her to remain in her own nest. Just like him.

He remembered the first time he met her. Kenjirou, the father of the Tateyama nest in the Canopy, visited him often, teaching him things that a normal fledgling should know. He once told his supposed teacher that it was useless for him to know these things since he couldn't fly, but he refused and told him that there was still a chance for him to be able to. He smiled fondly at the memory.

One time, his teacher came with another winged. She had raven-colored wings just like his, but her flight feathers were blue. She was hiding behind Kenjirou, while he greeted the weak avian who was looking at the both of them with curious eyes. It seemed that his teacher noticed how lonely Haruka was, being by himself all the time, so he figured he could introduce another one of his students to him. Her name was Takane Enomoto.

Their first meeting wasn't really that great. Haruka tried to be friendly and was always smiling, but Takane seemed so shy that she always hid behind her wings, after Kenjirou left the two of them to get themselves to know each other. Haruka wanted to be friends with her, so in a few more days of being together and being taught by Kenjirou, he always tried to talk to her. Eventually, she opened up, and he soon found out about her grumpiness and her illness.

Takane was the best at flying. At least that was what he thought. It was too bad she had that illness of hers. Otherwise, she could have joined that Aerial Maneuvering Race that she always talked about with him. She always seemed so happy talking about it that he didn't even mind her talking about flying when he couldn't even fly.

They always watched the other avians play in the air together. He kind of liked it, his sketchbook at one hand and and a pencil at the other, sketching the different scenery as his smile never left his face. Takane, on the other hand, always glared. She hated it. She hated how she could fly, but how she couldn't at the same time. It frustrated her so much that the only reason she always agreed to watch the avians in the sky with him was because of his request.

Haruka chuckled slightly at the image of her annoyed face. "Again? Why do you like watching them so much? Ugh, fine. But only because you might lose your footing and fall down again. It was a good thing Teacher was around last time, or else you'd be dead flat right now."

He grinned at himself, her different annoyed faces flashing across his mind. "What do you think you're doing here, Haruka?!" Ah, that was the most common thing she always told him. She always shouted that whenever she found him outside his nest without a companion. That happened often because he liked to sketch things without bothering anyone to come with him. It'd be really dangerous though, because of the high risk of his death, and the horror of being caught by Takane herself.

"I said, what are you doing here?!" A familiar grumpy voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts, feeling a sharp pain shoot across his right cheek. "Haruka!"

"E-Eh?"

He caught a glimpse of blue feathers at the side, and when he turned to look over, he was greeted with the sight of another one of Takane's annoyed faces. She was pinching his cheek, her face a little red from being ignored for a moment. For a while, he blurted out apologies as he pleaded for her to let go of his cheek, on which she did after a few moments.

He rubbed the part where it hurt as he looked at the bluewinged apologetically, wherein the latter responded with a glare. Ah, it seemed that he was caught again. "Haruka, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your nest without me? Or even someone else, just to keep you company!"

She reprimanded him as she sat beside him.

Haruka let out a sheepish laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Haha, I didn't want to bother anyone, so I went by myself."

Takane shot a look at the yellowwinged. "It's the same reason as always." Haruka laughed. "Stop it! You're really going to fall down if you keep on doing this, you know."

"That's okay," he chirped. "I know Takane'll save me!"

The bluewinged instantly blushed as she stared at him, stammering over her words as she held her beet red face. In the end, she shoved Haruka's smiling face away, nearly making him actually fall. "I-I-Idiot! You don't say something like that when it's about the possibility of your death!" Her wings were folded tightly at her back as she crossed her arms, the sight of her flustered face amusing the flightless avian.

He laughed as he let his own wings rest, letting it sloppily hang behind him without letting it catch the wind. Takane then sighed as she felt her face cool down, and then took a peek at the item he was holding. "Hmph. Anyway, what are you drawing again?"

As soon as she pointed this out, Haruka paused, a stiff smile on his face. After a few seconds of confusion from Takane, the yellowwinged looked down at his sketchbook, and, as expected, it was blank. He was so busy thinking that he forgot to draw. Was he really not that good at multitasking?

"Haruka?" Takane called out to him. "What's wrong?"

He looked up at the sky, seeing it empty with only clouds rolling by. The playing avians had already left; it was rather obvious because he couldn't hear their laughter anymore. He sighed, before letting out a laugh to not worry the bluewinged.

"Oh, haha," He turned to her with an embarrassed smile. "I went out to draw our friends playing again, but I sorta drifted off, so…" He gestured to the blank page of his sketchbook, that smile on his face not leaving. Takane quickly looked away, her wings fidgeting as she tried to tuck them behind her back. "I guess I'll just draw the sky then." He then proceeded to sketch.

The bluewinged quickly recovered and looked back at him though, and then gave him a small glare. "You know," She let out an annoyed sigh. "You're still calling those guys your 'friends',"―insert air quotation marks―"even though you don't even know their names." She folded her legs and hugged her knees, resting her chin on top. "Stop it. It's annoying."

Haruka continued to smile and draw, his gaze only shifting from the sky and his sketchbook. Takane looked at him with a rather panicked face, suddenly worried that she made the yellowwinged sad. She was about to apologize, when he suddenly asked her a random question.

"Hey, Takane," Haruka started. "What kind of sky is your favorite?"

It was a sudden change of topic, but she figured he just didn't want to dwell on the part that he didn't have any other friends except her. Who would want to be friends with a flightless winged anyway? That's why Takane made sure to visit him at least twice a day, so that he wouldn't feel too lonely by himself.

"Favorite sky, huh?" The bluewinged repeated. She didn't even have to think before answering, "None. I hate the sky, remember?"

Haruka laughed as he turned to her, making her feel relieved that he at least felt fine enough to pay attention to her reply. It actually made her smile a little. The yellowwinged then went back to sketching, but the smile on his face seemed more bright than before.

"Me," He looked up, pointing the pencil up in his hand. "I like the morning blue sky."

Takane just looked at him, waiting for his explanation. Haruka smiled at her, making her blush slightly. "It feels kind of refreshing, doesn't it? It's like saying that there's always a new day, and a new beginning," He chuckled. "And new opportunities!"

His wings made a few quick flaps, expressing his sudden excitement. Takane let out a sigh, before letting a smile form on her face. She gazed at the blue sky that he loved so much, her own blue wings hanging behind her. She didn't really want to say that she hated the sky when he loved it, so there must be at least one kind of sky that she must not hate, right?

"Ah," Haruka turned to look at the bluewinged. She was fiddling with her hands as she struggled with her words. "But then again," She blushed slightly. "The sunset isn't really so bad…"

The yellowwinged beamed. "Oh! So, Takane likes the sunset, I see!" He laughed, startling the bluewinged.

She shoved his shoulder lightly, her face red from embarrassment. "No! I-It's not like I said I liked the sunset!" She glared at him. "I just said that I didn't hate it! It's completely different, you know!"

Haruka merely hummed, that smile still plastered on his face. It made her feel weird so much that she felt so irritated at him. She shoved him again to the side. She looked away for a moment, trying to calm her flustered face, her wings partly covering her entire figure. Haruka let out his usual carefree laugh, before going back to his drawing.

"So," He continued smiling. "Why do you like the sunset, Takane?"

The bluewinged turned back to him, her wings still around her, with a scowl on her face. "I said I don't like the sunset, idiot," She huffed. "But I guess," She sighed as she scratched the back of her head, her wings resting back. "It's because I don't see those annoying wingeds playing in the sky when the sun is already setting."

Haruka laughed in response, making Takane blush. "But there are more wingeds who appear in the sky when it's sunset, right? I thought you didn't like seeing others who could fly."

Takane looked a little startled by the sudden realization, but then tried to keep her cool. "A-Ah, they fly back to their nests during sunsets, don't they? So, it just makes me feel better that I won't be seeing them any time soon." She made a contented pose.

"What about the night then?" Haruka asked curiously, his attention now focused on her. "I mean, there are fewer wingeds who fly in the evening, right?"

Takane showed a small glare. "I actually really hate the night more than the day," She gritted her teeth. "I hate nightflyers more because they can see in the dark! They have special abilities that dayflyers don't. Ugh, it annoys the hell out of me just thinking about it."

Haruka nodded understandingly, laughing lightly at the bluewinged's reasons. She glared at him as she puffed her cheeks up, annoyed at her seatmate's response.

"Actually," He suddenly spoke, his eyes on his sketchbook. Takane looked over at him curiously. "I really don't mind what kind of sky it is," He laughed nervously as he turned to Takane, a rather bright smile on his face. "As long as I can watch it with Takane!"

The bluewinged stared at him for a while, before her face blushed different shades of red as her wings jerked up from embarrassment. She quickly held her face, her wings covering her entire figure. "Wh-Wh-Wha…"

Haruka, meanwhile, looked at Takane with a confused expression, unbeknownst to him that his words were the ones that made her embarrassed. His wings folded itself neatly behind him. He tried to call out to her. "Uh, Takane? Are you…?"

"I-Idiot!" Takane suddenly shouted, parting her wings to show her red face. She was pointing at him with her finger. "Don't say that! Y-Y-You…"

Haruka stared before letting out a hearty laugh, startling Takane. "Hahaha! Takane's so funny!"

This made her more annoyed than she already was, and so, she went and pinched the yellowwinged's cheek for revenge. Haruka yelped in pain as Takane continued to stammer with her words. "Sh-Shut up, Haruka!"

After a few moments of Haruka apologizing and pleading to let go, and Takane being her embarrassed self, they both calmed down as they looked away from each other. Takane was still partly covered by her wings, her face red from all that happened. It was Haruka who first made contact again.

He closed the sketchbook in his hand, indicating that he was already done with his drawing. He smiled at her. "Do you like the sky, Takane?"

Countless times before, he had asked this question to her whenever they went out to watch the sky. Her answer was always no. Like she had always said countless times before, she hated the sky. Countless times before, the two of them watched the sky together. Always. Countless times before.

She let her wings rest behind her, her gaze now settled at the clouded sky above her. Above them. She would have loved the sky if only they could fly. The two of them, flying and having fun by themselves, even without those other wingeds. She would have even been happy if she saw Haruka happy with making new friends. If only they could fly in the sky, and not just watch it.

…But she guessed this was okay, too. Watching the sky. Haruka was already happy, because she was with him. And she was happy if he was happy. As long as she can keep him company and not make him feel alone, she can put up with her flightless life.

Because he was an important person.

She sighed. "I guess it's not so bad."