Series: Beat of Wings||Title: Where I Tell You
Characters: Yuuri, Dennis||Ship: N/A
Chapters: 2-8||Words: ||Total:
Genre: Friendship||Rated: G
Note: This is the AU where people have wings. Among them is Yuuri, who has demonic/dragon wings. This is how he & Dennis met one another in this world. This takes place about a year or so prior to the interdimensional war. Beware headcanons.
Summary: Certain events require help, like it or not. No one does everything alone. And so Yuuri searches for someone to scratch his wings and does something he didn't expect: makes a friend. Meanwhile, Dennis would just rather not be carded by the notorious sadist.[[MORE]]

Bits of feather fluff floated through the air. Most people ignored it; just the perils of living in a place where Fliers flew. Dennis did his best to ignore it as well, but that wasn't all that easy, not for him.

Dennis was allergic to feathers.

He stifled a sniff, smiling broadly as he did, fanning his cards through his hands. "It's really not that good of a trick," he lied. "Do you really wanna see it again?"

He didn't get the answer he expected. Part of him wasn't surprised; finding people who enjoyed card tricks here could take forever.

But today's reason for the unexpected response wasn't an annoyed teacher of even a grumpy upperclassman demanding the lower years clear out.

No. Who came striding over was someone a head or so shorter than Dennis, but who carried himself as if a golden carpet spread itself out before him. And at the far end of that carpet was Dennis himself.

Yuuri. Everyone in the Academy knew who he was. It was all but impossible to not know. He had no relations. He had no family name. What he did have was the fear he conjured up in everyone around him just by existing and a large set of pink, purple, and black scaled wings.

At thirteen, Yuuri shouldn't have flown for another two years. His wings, according to everything known about young Fliers, shouldn't have matured enough to do more than short hops, usually from rooftop to rooftop.

Yuuri flew. He flew very well, in fact.

Now he stood in front of Dennis, violet eyes meeting his. For a moment All was silent. When it broke, it wasn't due to Yuuri saying anything. Dennis's small audience broke up, muttering about assignments that needed to be done and chores that needed completion.

Dennis started to do the same, raising one hand to bid farewell, hoping he could get away before Yuuri wanted anything from him.

There were a lot of rumors about Yuuri. Dennis wasn't eager to find out which ones were true.

A hand folded around his wrist, keeping him from going anywhere. Yuuri stared at him. Dennis drew a breath, ready to ask what the problem was, when Yuuri shifted and presented him with his back.

"My wings itch," he said. "I want you to scratch them. Carefully. Right now."

Dennis blinked; this wasn't what he expected. Almost automatically he reached to the wide spread of wings and touched the first pale pink scales he saw. Yuuri breathed out as he touched, then flicked his wing.

"Don't stop until I tell you to."

Dennis blinked again. He knew for a fact that touching a Flyer's wings without permission could get you carded. He'd even heard it happened to someone in a higher year. But Yuuri wanted him to do this?

He started scratching, being careful not to hurt. If one could get carded for unauthorized touching, then what about authorized but accidental pain?

"Why did you want me to do this?" Dennis asked after a few moments. Yuuri didn't seem quite so terrifying when he purred at Dennis' touch.

"Hm?" Yuuri glanced back at him, ruffling his wings, presumably in pleasure. Dennis hadn't spent enough time around Fliers to learn their body language. To the best of his knowledge, no one had ever spent enough time around Yuuri to know what his body language was.

"You could get anyone to do this. Why me?"

"I don't want anyone to do this. I might not even want you to keep doing this." Yuuri considered for a few seconds. Dennis kept on scratching, feeling hints of dryness on the scales. Was that normal for Fliers like this?

Yuuri spoke again. "It depends on how good of a job you do."

Dennis wasn't quite sure of how to take that. He decided to ask something else instead. "Did you know your scales are very dry? Are they supposed to be like that?"

"Explain."

How did you explain dry scales to a Flyer who presumably had scales all of his life, or at least since his wings emerged from their sack? Dennis tried.

"Right here. And here." He pressed against the appropriate places. Dry as the scales were, Yuuri's wings were also very firm but flexible. A faint odor wafted up from them, one Dennis hadn't encountered before, but he thought it pleasant. "They're dry. Not flaking, though. Do scales flake?"

"Not unless a Flyer is very sick. I think I need a new scale oil." Yuuri pulled his wings away, folding them closer to his back. "Come along."

He'd taken half a dozen steps before it properly dawned on Dennis that Yuuri wanted him to come with him. He caught up quickly, trying to figure out just what was on Yuuri's mind.

"Where are we going?" That might be a good place to start.

"Where I can get scale oil, of course." The withering look didn't feel quite so withering, not when he'd heard Yuuri's contentment at having his wings scratched.

Before he could restrain himself, the words tumbled out.

"Did you know that you purred when I was scratching your wings?"

Yuuri stopped. Yuuri turned to look at him. Dennis hadn't ever seen someone look at him like that in his entire life. He only shrugged. It wasn't as if he were lying.

Not that he had any problem with lying in general. But doing so to Yuuri could end with one sealed into a card, and worse.

Off the top of his head, he didn't know what would be worse, but if worse existed, then Yuuri of all people would know what it was and be more than capable of dishing it out.

"I purred?" Yuuri sounded as if the concept hadn't ever occurred to him. Dennis nodded. What else could he do?

For a few seconds, Dennis found himself treated to the sight of a purely shocked Yuuri, a sight few had ever seen.

He found he liked that. To surprise Yuuri and live through the experience?

Then Yuuri started walking again and Dennis followed. In the space of a few heartbeats, he found himself fascinated. If there were more ways to startle Yuuri, he wanted to find out how to do it.

To Be Continued

Notes: So, now Dennis and Yuuri have met. I have fun plans for the future!