"I used to have wings..."
Kuroko's head whipped around. His voice had been so quiet he wasn't even sure Kagami had said anything but they were the only two beings in sight, sitting as they were in the Moors' meadow. The fae boy was staring at the sky, eyes glimmering with longing as he watched Takao, in his hawk form, gliding through the air.
Kuroko hesitated, curiosity burning in him. Ever since they'd first met Kuroko had wondered how Kagami could be a faerie with no wings but the other boy never gave him the opportunity to ask. His usual loud mouth, brash behaviour and tendency to get them into trouble effectively worked to drive those sorts of questions from Kuroko's mind whenever they were together but now... something seemed different in his friend.
Since they had met that morning, Kagami had seemed out of it. He was quieter and often got lost in his own thoughts, which was completely unlike him. When Kuroko had commented on Kagami's odd behaviour, stating "You might hurt yourself if you think too hard, Kagami-kun. Your brain's not used to that sort of work" Kagami hadn't even gotten mad. He just shrugged and turned back to watching the skies.
Kuroko's eyes glanced over Kagami's back. Right now it was covered by the thin doublet he usually wore but Kuroko had seen Kagami shirtless enough times (gods help his heart) to know that right between his shoulder blades were two course stubs. He couldn't count the number of times he had itched to run his fingers over them and test how sensitive they were.
"What happened to them?" The words were right there, on the tip of his tongue but what came out instead was, "What were they like?"
That made him smile with a slow curve of his lips that made Kuroko's heart skip a beat.
"They were big," Kagami said, red eyes glancing at his smaller friend for a moment. "So big they used to drag behind me when I walked." And Kuroko could imagine it. In his mind he could see Kagami with his wings, broad and powerful reflections of his own strength, standing tall above everyone else. How big he must have seemed to the other fair folk in the Moors. Wingless Kagami already towered over every other occupant in the land he must have been a giant with his wings.
"They'd carried me for years, this big bulky body, and they never failed me. Not once " Kuroko nodded. He had heard tales from soldiers who'd attempted to sneak into the Moors years ago only to meet with it's blazing protector. One soldier told him that Kagami had hoisted him on his back and flown straight across the Yosen Kingdom to deliver him at King -then Prince- Murasakibara's feet with a fiery warning to never return.
Then Himuro came along, claiming to have killed Kagami, and moved up to become Murasakibara's right hand man and consort. But here Kagami was, sitting right beside him. So how exactly had Himuro proven to Murasakibara that Kagami was dead...?
"I guess you're wondering how I lost them..." Kagami said, breaking Kuroko out of his musing.
"I wasn't sure it was something you wanted to talk about," Kuroko replied.
"Usually, no. But for you, I don't mind," Kagami said with a grin. Kuroko's face turned red.
"They were stolen, by someone I trust," Kagami said. "A person I used to call brother."
"Himuro?"
Kagami nodded then shrugged, forcing himself to look nonchalant. "He had his own goals..." then he sighed. "But sometimes I wished he's just killed me. Alex could have taken care of the Moors without me... and it would have a lot less than it does now..." he finished, curling up slightly.
Kuroko's arm shot out and sunk into Kagami's side making him to cry out in pain.
"I'm going to kill you you little bastard! What the hell was that for?!" Kagami wheezed.
"For being a bakagami," Kuroko said simply. "I would be very sad if Kagami-kun wasn't alive. Even if he doesn't have his wings, Kagami-kun is still my most precious person."
Kagami's face turned as red as his hair. "W-what kind of nonsense are you saying now?"
"I'm saying that Kagami-kun is someone very important to me," Kuroko said, fighting down his own blush now as he avoided Kagami's eyes. "So please don't think something like 'I wish I was dead'. It hurts to think that the person you love is suffering like that."
Kagami was uncharacteristically quiet and when Kuroko chanced a look up he saw Kagami burying his face into his hands.
"Are you crying?" Kuroko blurted out.
"Of course not dumbass!" was the response but Kuroko could see Kagami grinning as tears slid down his cheeks. "Why would I be crying?!"
"Because you're an idiot," Kuroko said with a small smile, relieved that Kagami didn't seem displeased by his sudden confession.
"You're the bigger idiot, you little bastard!" Kagami said loudly, grabbing Kuroko and pulling him under his arm. Kuroko could practically feel the heat radiating from Kagami's body as the faerie continued to blush. "And of course you'd say shit like this today of all days," he muttered into the hand still covering his face.
"Today was special?" Kuroko asked.
"Well, kind of, I suppose. Today was the day my wings were stolen all those years ago," Kagami said plainly.
"You remembered the date?" Kuroko asked, surprised. He thought Kagami would have brushed it off and pretended it didn't bother him as he usually did with most things.
"Kind of hard to forget it," Kagami said solemnly. "But hey, I think I got a better memory to replace it!"
"You think?" Kuroko repeated, a bit impishly, heart punding in his chest.
Kaami grinned, bringing his head down to seal his lips against Kuroko's. "I know."
~/\~
Logically, Kuroko would fit better as Maleficent but I just can't ge over my image of Kagami with those huge wings.
I liked how this turned out and I hope you did too. If you really liked it please leave a review and I might consider fleshing this out and turning it into something longer.