disclaimer: i do not own escaflowne or the characters.

i'm sorry if you don't enjoy this story, but i hope that you do enjoy it, and afterwards feel as if you hadn't wasted your time. thank you.

- midori-thumb

Feathered Wings and Things

Summer Night

It was a calm and clear night, a slight breeze was playing through the trees. Hitomi was peacefully sleeping under her sheets, in the bed chamber given to her at the Fanelia castle whenever she came to visit.

But elsewhere in the castle, Van was tossing and turning. He had long ago tossed his shirt and sheets aside, and tried to stay off his back. It was killing him, his back was itchy and on fire. Van was unable to get any rest at all, so he eventually gave up on trying to sleep.

"Damn," he groaned and got out of bed. He quietly made it through the halls and out of the castle.

He wandered through the woods until he made it to a clearing. He kneeled down on the grass, and tried to meditate to take his mind off the pain.

Hitomi turned in her bed, she found a new position in which to fall back asleep, but she had sensed something. She tried to ignore it, but curiosity got the better of her. She crept out of bed and made to put her bathrobe on, but thought against it. It was too hot of a night to wear an extra layer.

She then silently left her room. Hitomi made her way out of the darkened castle, coming across a few sleepy guards on her way. They simply nodded to her as she passed by. She blushed slightly, she was wearing her short, spaghetti-strapped nightgown.

"I probably should have put my bathrobe on," Hitomi thought as she continued on her way. She had forgotten that there were people about in the castle halls even at night.

She had made it out of the castle and walked around the grounds a bit, looking and feeling for any type of sign. Hitomi then took her pendent off, using it to direct her to him. She knew who it was who had disturbed her sleep.

The pendent swung in the direction that was slightly to her right. Heading off in that direction, she placed her pendent around her neck once again. She finally came across a clearing, and spotted him.

Hitomi stood back for a while and watched him from behind a tree.

Van was kneeling on the ground, in the center of the clearing. The moon light spilled across the grass in the clearing. His bare back was towards her, and Hitomi could see that the skin around his shoulder blades was rather red.

She was worried for him, but she didn't interrupt.

Hitomi watched then as Van's shoulder blades became larger, and the skin broke. Long white feathery wings began to slowly sprout upwards from his back, each wing about twice the length of Van's height. The white coloring of the feathers was like that of the moon.

Van's wings had fully emerged. Van spread them out, and stretched them as much as he could. He flapped them a little, and ruffled the feathers, a few feathers fell free from the wings and slowly drifted to the ground.

Van was still on his hands and knees when Hitomi carefully came around the tree and began to approach him. He jerked his head in her direction. He seemed startled at first, but then his face relaxed. He gave her a smile before he dropped his head.

"I'm sorry," Hitomi began as she walked the rest of the distance between them, "for intruding." She knelt down in front of him, and arranged the skirt of her night gown.

"You weren't intruding," Van said, his head was still bowed. "Sorry if I woke you," he apologized.

"Don't think about it," she responded, shaking her head.

Van settled down further on the ground by sitting cross-legged. He let out a deep breath, sounding relaxed.

"My back was killing me, every now and then I have to stretch out my wings," he said, his eyes closed. "It was uncomfortable in the castle, I think the heat agitated them," he explained, looking up and giving her a smile. Hitomi smiled in return.

Van closed his eyes and bowed his head again. She gazed at him. Beads of sweat covered his brow and collected on his bare chest. His hair was even slightly curled at the tips, due to his sweat.

Hitomi reached out and moved the soaked strands of his hair away from his forehead. As she did, he tilted his head slightly upwards so that her fingertipsrested on his forehead. Her skin was delightfully cool compared to his. Hitomi kept her hands there for a moment before letting them slip gently off down the sides of his face.

"They're beautiful," she quietly remarked, gazing upon the feathered wings as they shined in the moonlight. He lifted his face to see her. She met his eyes and her gaze fell down to the ground as she blushed. He grinned at that.

"May I . . . I touch them?" she asked timidly. Van smiled and nodded to her. He then laid down on his stomach, on top of the cool grass. The breeze was picking up, sending another feather from his wings to float to the ground.

Hitomi shifted her position so she was beside him. She lifted her hands to his wings and gingerly stroked them. Van closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle stroking of his wings.

As Hitomi continued to stroke his wings, she began to hum. Van found it quite relaxing, and he closed his eyes. He lay there silently listening to her hum a soft melody unknown to him.

They carried on like that, until Van noticed that the humming became softer and was broken apart. Hitomi's strokes became slower, until eventually they stopped all together, along with Hitomi's soft humming.

Van felt Hitomi's hand on his back, it was lying still, draped over him. He lifted his head slightly and glanced over at Hitomi. She lay curled up against his side, asleep on the ground, her one hand resting on his back. Hitomi then sleepily moved her head, to where her forehead rested against his shoulder.

Van knew that he should wake her, and that they should both go head back to the castle to go to sleep.

In their own rooms, and their own beds. But he told himself he was too tired to do all that.

Van smiled, and then shifted one of his wings so that it was folded on top of Hitomi, blocking her from the now stronger breeze. He then closed his eyes, and drifted slowly to sleep, his head resting on his folded arms.

it gets better, i hope. but then again, a kiss makes everything better. (hint hint)

thanks for reading.

- midori thumb