Hey there ! Sorry for this christmas break, but I'm back ^^ I'll try and publish every saturday from now on ;)

Diaval returned at the ruins an hour before night. The fairy changed him into his human self, listened to his report and hastily sent him grab some food and water. She didn't want him to be out after nightfall, especially within those woods. If something was to happen to him, she wouldn't be able to help and she hated that thought.

When he got back, they ate together on the bed once again, and he proudly showed her the herbs he had found to brew another balm for her back.

"Speaking of which, I have to apply it before bedtime," he reminded her nervously.

Great, thought Maleficent with irony. He could never remember to cover his mouth with his hand while yawning, but that he remembered. She just didn't have the will to go through the trouble of arguing with him again. Things hadn't gone that bad last time, and if it could get her to her feet faster, she wouldn't object. She nonetheless hoped they wouldn't have to endure this on a daily basis.

"Do you have to do it every day?" she inquired.

"Yes, at least until the infection is gone," he said, sitting back next to her on the bed with the balm. "After that, the healer fairy told me you would brew another balm that ease the pain to apply when it's too painful."

So as soon as her life wouldn't be endangered by the wounds, the choice belonged to her. That was acceptable. She wasn't sure she would be willing to put aside her pride and ask for the balm, though, but she trusted him to notice when she was in pain and talk her into it. He was a very perceptive bird. As for the balm he talked about, it was pretty easy to brew, and the herbs needed for it were very common.

"Alright," she finally said, shifting her sitting position a little to let him access her back.

She noticed he was unlacing her gown with trembling fingers, in very slow motions. The fairy remembered how hard it had been for him to confront her stumps last time, and she wondered if the same thing was going to happen again. She felt him parting the fabric gently and waited for his touch, but it didn't come. After a minute, she turned around.

He was looking down, taking deep breaths. He didn't want to cry again. It felt so gross and stupid. He didn't want his mistress to think that of him.

"Diaval? Are you going to be ok?" she asked in concern.

He raised his head to look at her with tormented eyes. The raven turned man ended up answering her with another question: "Mistress, how do humans stop crying?"

She smiled. Truth is, she was expecting something like that. Crying must have been a very distressing experience for him. It was only normal he didn't want to go through that again.

"Most of the time, they can't. It takes a lot of will and inner strength to avoid crying. The best advice I can give you is to think about something else," she explained quietly.

He lowered his head again, before replying, "I don't know if I can do that."

It didn't matter anyway, he thought at once. He would cry but at least she would heal, and that was the most important. But suddenly, a thought struck him. He raised his gaze to her and he found himself speaking before thinking, "How…"

He stopped, remembering it was not his place to ask such things.

"Speak your mind, Diaval," she encouraged him.

"How do you manage? How come you never cry? How are you so strong about it?" he asked, his voice filled with admiration.

She liked his tone. It made her feel like she was still amazingly brave and strong. To be honest, since her wings were stolen, she had always thought of herself as weak. Both because she hadn't see Stefan's betrayal coming and because of what was left of her now. She never expected she would find someone that made her feel so different from that.

Their eyes locked, and she answered him with a weighty voice, "You shouldn't try to mimic me on this. You are too kind to be messed up by such emotions."

The resolve in her voice convinced him not to insist.

"Ok then. I'll try to think about something else."

She nodded and turned around, exposing her back to him once more. She was kind of hoping he would start low like the other time. She could have asked for it, but that would be conceding she liked his touch, and it was out of the question to let him know he had such a power over her.

She barely managed not to moan when she felt his hands on her lower back. She enjoyed it even more this time as the pain had lessened.

As for Diaval, he grew a liking to touching her and kept massaging low, only to feel her bare skin against his fingers a little longer. He had thought she would get mad at him for staying this long on the same spot and was paying close attention to her reaction, but she didn't seem to get annoyed, and she didn't protest either.

The two of them shared a very pleasurable moment, but eventually, he had to reach the infected area encircling the stumps. He applied some extra balm, hoping her scars would heal faster and that it would be less painful that way. Her body tensed the second he touched the stumps and she took a sharp breath. The lump in his throat was growing and he tried to think about something else, but his eyes and thoughts were drawn to her ripped wings.

She turned to face him as soon as he had finished tying the knot of her gown. A few tears were silently rolling down his face. He smiled at her genuinely to let her know he was ok, and she smiled back.

Outside, the sun was long gone, and the only thing lightning the room was a single candle on the rock next to the bed. Maleficent blew it out and pushed the blanket to lie down in the bed. She settled on one side of it and looked up at him.

"Come," she simply said.

Her back was still aching and she wanted him close. She had noticed yesterday how his arms around her seemed to soothe her pain and ease her mind, even though the situation was still kind of disturbing for her.

He docilely obeyed, lying down on his back next to her. She pulled the blanket on top of them and proceeded to cuddle up against him.

"Hold me," she whispered to his ear when she noticed he was hesitating.

The first time they cuddled, he held her because he was responding to her embrace. He couldn't make the first move on his mistress without her asking. It just didn't feel right.

He slowly circled her waist with his arms, pulling her gently to his chest.

She let out a contented sigh and moved her face forward to the crook of his neck. Like the day before, she had one arm resting on his chest and the other under his nape. The fairy was a little sleepy, but forced her mind to do some thinking in order to stay awake. Even if she trusted him, she wasn't ready to give up willingly on slumber just yet.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she called for him.

"Diaval?"

He answered with a little groan while yawning.

Maleficent held back a deep sigh as he – yet again – forgot to cover his mouth.

"I hope you know this doesn't mean we're going to sleep like this all the time," she pointed out rather coldly.

That was a point she had to clarify with him, so he wouldn't see too much into those stolen moments. To be honest, she liked being in his arms, but she didn't know if she could afford that kind of closeness with him, as it would never be more than a way to get comforted for her. She didn't want him to imagine it could lead to something more, because there was absolutely no way that would happen.

"Don't worry Mistress, the nest you made me is also very warm and comfy," he answered with an understanding voice.

He seemed to accept the situation quite well, so she dropped the stern look and her features relaxed.

"Speaking of which, I was considering moving your nest up to my tree. What do you think?"

"Sounds great. That way you won't have to yell at me when you need me."

At this, she raised her gaze to meet his.

"I never yelled at you," she protested with an outraged look.

"You sure did, Mistress. It actually took me two weeks to understand you weren't mad at me all the time," he explained.

Hmm, maybe she did, thought the fairy. However, she hated to lose an argument, even if she was wrong.

"No," she insisted with a firm voice. But then her tone lightened, and she added, "I only spoke… rather loudly."

Diaval looked at her, totally stunned. Was she joking? She almost never joked before. He studied her face closely, and at the dim light of the moon, could catch a glimpse of amusement in her eyes. He then chuckled lightly, and her lips curled up into a peaceful smile. That was a good one, he thought.

A serene smile appeared on his face as well. He was glad to see her so light-hearted, and he liked holding her. He didn't remember feeling this good before and was utterly relishing the moment.

He was assuming, even without her telling him, that this wouldn't last, that it happened only because of unusual circumstances. But something was bugging him about the way she said it, and he had to be sure.

"Mistress? Does that mean we're never going to sleep like this again?"

She remained silent for a while, choosing her words carefully, then let out a deep sigh and finally answered, "I'm… not sure. I have to think about it."

Her servant looked at her, agape. Was she really considering doing it again? A warm feeling went through his chest, and he breathed shakily. That was more happiness than he could handle.

The fairy felt the change in his breathing and even though she wasn't sure what had caused it, she tried to lighten the mood.

"So… You feel warm and comfy?" she asked, amused.

"Sure," he said at once. "You?"

She held him tighter.

"Very," she breathed into his neck.

A lot of thanks to RavenDiablo and DancingKitKat for beta-reading ;)