Hellboy knew he had seen it before the other day but the immense of her wings still astounded him. The span of it stretched more than two feet, making her seem small in comparison. The pure whiteness of the wings nearly blinded him. As much as he wanted to touch the feathers to see how soft they were, this was her moment, and he wasn't about to step in the way of it. He glanced at her face and the world turned upside down.

The way Angel smiled nearly took his breath away. She held no pain in her eyes, she had the expression of someone who had just discovered the outside world for the first time. He knew right then he finally made the right choice for someone else, not for himself. The broken bracelet still laid in her hands, and she looked down at it.

"No more," She said as she tilted her hands towards the ground and the pieces fell with a clink. As the two men watch, her wings began moving, swishing through the air back and forth. They could feel the wind that generated from it. And before they knew it, it swung hard, and she went up in the air. They had to hold their stance to brace against the rush of air that almost pushed them to the floor.

Angel felt exhilarated. She knew she had no experience flying and had no clue how to do it. But when the bracelet broke and her wings broke free, suddenly she knew. It was almost as if the spell of the bracelet withheld knowledge of how to use it. She could feel the wings on her back, barely twitching her muscles. The air brushed past her cheeks as she rushed up towards the ceiling. She stopped before she hit the ceiling, her wings spreading out. Then she shifted direction.

Around the room she went, stretching her wings in every way; she flew for as much as she could in the space. When she looked down and saw Hellboy and Abe still watching her, she tucked in her wing and dived down. She landed on her feet and her wings pulled into her back. Her cheeks were flushed with red, and her eyes glimmered with happiness.

"That was amazing!" She said as soon as her feet touched the ground.

Hellboy nodded, agreeing with her, "That was great." He wanted to say more…to say how beautiful she was gliding through the air. How beautiful her wings were. But Abe was standing there, and he felt embarrassed to say something that might sound corny. If it had been Liz, he would have said it in Abe's presence, but this was Angel. She was different.

Angel looked over to Abe when the other man spoke.

"I'll go dispose of these," Abe said as he gestured to the bracelet in his hands. He had picked it up while she flew.

She nodded, "Thank you. I never want to see those again."

Abe tilted his head towards her then turned around. "Oh."

Hellboy turned at Abe's exclamation and looked in the direction Abe faced. They had attracted a small crowd of agents. Angel flushed with embarrassment knowing they had probably heard everything that had gone on and seen her with the wings. She knew there was the possibility that everyone knew about her but that didn't make any difference.

"Oi! All of you-Out!" Hellboy shouted to them with annoyance.

The crowd murmured as they left the gym one by one. Abe followed them out, leaving Hellboy and Angel alone. Once the door clicked shut, Hellboy turned around back to Angel only to have her jump on him, her hair in his face. He grunted from the force of her jump and stepped back to steady himself. She was light but he hadn't been expecting that. He wrapped his arms around her body as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face into his neck, and he heard her muffle voice.

"Sorry?" He pulled her hair back from his face.

She pulled her head back so she could look at him. Tears brimmed her eyes. She repeated, "I was saying thanks. Thank you."

He brushed her hair behind her ear as he nodded with a smile, "Of course. We should've done this earlier. I'm sorry I made you wait."

"Better now than never," She said as she shook her head.

Since he was alone with her, he took the chance. "You were beautiful up there. With your wings and your flying…it was amazing."

She blushed and shook her head, "I…I don't think I looked that good up there. It was-"

"Hey," He stopped her. "Don't. You were beautiful. You are beautiful."

All she could do was nod in reply. She had no words for what he said. He put his hand on the back of her neck and lightly gripped it. He tipped his head forward and she did the same until they met forehead to forehead. They held onto each other for a moment, eyes closed. After a moment, he spoke.

"You want to go back to my room?"

Angel opened her eyes and brought her head back. She nodded and he set her down. He grabbed her hand and led her out of the gym. They both traveled through the hallways silently until they arrived at his room. He cranked open the door and she stepped through first. Then he stepped in and closed the heavy door. He turned around and stepped up to Angel who had stood waiting for him. He pressed his body against her back and wrapped his stoned arm around her shoulder. The other hand glided down her arm and clasped her hand.

Angel loved the feeling of being held like that but after everything that day from waking up to the bed activities to breaking the bracelet to finally flying, she was starting to feel overwhelmed. A tear leaked down her cheek.

"Could you…could you give me a minute?" She asked, cocking her head towards him.

"Yeah," he replied. He kissed the top of her head and gave her a light squeeze of her hand before he let her go.

She didn't look at him as she stepped towards the bathroom, maneuvering around the cats. Once she stepped through the doorway and closed the door, she let herself fall to the floor, kneeling and began sobbing quietly, muffling her mouth with her hand.

It was so much. Even though she knew she was free, she could still feel the bracelet on her wrist. She still felt bound. Still felt stuck. She looked down at her wrist. It was bare and smooth. She had healed quicker than usual. It looked naked. She pulled her wrist down and around her abdomen. She kept sobbing.