Time froze as the feather floated to the ground. Astraea's eyes watched it as it fell, a single pearly feather carried to the floor by the slight breeze in the park. As it hit the grass, she could feel the world shake beneath her. Whether that was the actual Earth shaking, or her body shaking in fear, she didn't know.

Her wings ruffled automatically in the cold air dislodging more feathers. It was like a waterfall of feathers as they slowly cascaded to the ground, one by one.

Fear enveloped her as she saw them fall.

She had never felt fear as pungent as this. The prospect of never being able to fly again, of never being able to return to Heaven. It shattered her. It shattered her body. Her mind. Her very soul. She could feel it tearing into her, it was as if she was splitting right down the middle. Being torn apart by some darker forces as her entire world fell apart around her.

Morpheus rushed towards her, catching her just before she hit the ground along with her feathers. He had been so enamoured with their beauty that he had failed to register as the first feathers dropped and Astraea's face fell to one of pure panic. She collapsed into his arms. Her eyes rolled into her head and she was taken in by fitful dreams as he held her.

He glanced around the park quickly, making sure that no one was watching. He couldn't afford for humans to be made aware of the existence of Angels. It seemed deserted and as his focus was brought back to the cherubim held in his embrace, he quietly glad that she had not been alone when she revealed her wings for the first time and that he had been the one there with her.

He checked around the park one last time before transporting both himself and her corporeal body into the dreaming and leaving a deserted park behind, the feathers littering the ground transporting with them.

If only he had looked behind him, he would have noticed a pair of amber eyes staring at the two supernatural beings - almost like sunlight.

Morpheus and Astraea appeared in the dreaming not half a second after leaving the waking world. They appeared in Morpheus' chambers, lying her down on the obsolete bed, Morpheus turned to fetch a glass of water for when she entered back into consciousness. She was not dreaming, her mind blank as it processed her emotions.

He sat on a chair next to the bed, staring out of the window and out onto the expanse of his kingdom. He often did this. Watching his kingdom pass through time and seeing people come and go as they fell asleep and awoke. The dreaming was ever changing, with new people entering each day and old people leaving for the last time. He didn't communicate with many of the dreamers, knowing that eventually they would awaken and never fall asleep again.

A groan from the bed brought his attention back to the angel currently in his care.

Astraea rolled over, he wings flapping as she moved, dislodging even more feathers. He had thought that most of the loose ones had dropped by now - he had been wrong.

"How are you feeling?" His voice was raspy, he must have been looking outside for longer than he had thought.

"Like shit." He chuckled at that, he had learnt quite early into their friendship that Astraea wasn't afraid to swear when she thought the occasion called for it. This occasion clearly called for it. And he must agree, she looked like shit.

"Yes, I suppose you would." She slowly sat up, coughing as she did so. Her very being ached. It was as if the ache in her bones ran deeper than her physical form, infecting her soul and corrupting her aura.

She had some bare parts on her wings now, where he could see the bone and flesh beneath. He held his breath as she looked over her shoulder at where her extravagant wings should have been. She couldn't stop the sob that wracked through her. Her entire body jerked forward and she collided into Morpheus' chest. His hand cupped her head into him, stroking her hair as she cried. She could feel his fingers running through her hair and his heartbeat beneath his clothes. It was calming. A single point of quiet in the storm that was raging in her. She needed to get a hold of her emotions before the spilled out of her in a more dangerous way than crying.

She sniffled before pulling away from him, "I still have loose feathers. I have to remove them by hand." He grasped one of her hands in his and wiped away her tears with the other, cupping her face in his hand. She leaned into his touch, savouring the peace.

"How can I help?" His voice was quiet, almost hesitant. He was afraid of upsetting or startling her.

"You can't really. Just sit and keep me company." Her answer was just as quiet, if not more so. She was so afraid and drained emotionally. She was still trying to process her imprisonment now that she was free, now she had to deal with her wings as well.

"Could I not help to remove some of the feathers that you cannot reach?" Her reaction had been almost immediate, panic striking her face like a bolt of lightning.

"NO!" He raised an eyebrow at her, a frown settling on his face, confused by her reaction, "I mean, you can't. It... It's complicated. Wings are... delicate and... sacred. Only... only family and... lovers can touch them. It... it would be inappropriate."

He smirked. The asshole smirked. "Cherub. I've seen you practically naked, and you have seen me naked. For a century. I think we are way past appropriate." Heat raised in her face as he spoke. He made valid points. But seeing and touching were entirely different things.

"No, no. Thank you, but I should be okay." He sighed and leaned back in his seat, no longer smirking at her, but smiling. A genuine smile, timid and small but sweet

."That's alright, Cherub. I'm here if you need me." He took her hand back in his and squeezed it in reassurance. Any tension between the two dissipated. She smiled back at him, squeezing his hand in thanks.

She went to begin grooming her feathers before she whipped back around to him, "And don't call me Cherub. I don't like being called Cherub."

He smiled again at her, this time it was more mischievous, "Of course... Cherub." He dodged out of the way of the pillow before it collided with his head.

Astraea laughed at the offended look on her face before sobering and getting to work on removing the loose feathers that coated her wings. It was an arduous task that took many hours to complete. Morpheus had sat by her for the entirety, speaking with her when she grew tired of plucking at the feathers and cradling her in his arms when her emotions tipped over the edge and she found tears spilling down her cheeks.

By the end of the fifth hour most of the feathers had been removed, she had around 30 feathers still attached. They were loose, but were out of reach and too stuck in to come out with ease. She could feel how loose they were, yet they were still refusing to fall. It was torturous. Like an itch she couldn't scratch.

"Do you have a bath?" Water usually helped unstick feathers and after a century she was quiet craving a chance to bathe. Morpheus looked at her, taking notice of how bare her wings were. She wouldn't be able to fly.

"I'll draw some water for you." He turned to leave through a door to the left and Astraea could hear the faint trickle of water as it fell into what she assumed was the bath that she asked for. She looked around and saw how many feathers were on the floor. Even for an angel, she had quite large wings and she was reduced to nearly no feathers remaining on her wings. There must have been at least 500 feathers coating the floor if not more. Piles of them littered the ground and she had the overwhelming urge to flop down into a pile of feathers and curl up for a well deserved nap.

As she was just about to get up and go through with her thought, Morpheus came out of the bathroom. His had changed clothes whilst she was plucking her feathers. He was now wearing a pair of dress pants and a crisp white shirt. The sleeved on his shirt were rolled up from testing the temperature of the water and he had run his wet hands through his hair. Astraea had the thought that he was quiet attractive.

"Your bath is ready if you still want it." She nodded and stood up to make her way to the bathroom. "I need to go and check in with Lucienne, I'll be back soon. Take your time and make yourself at home." He nodded to her once before sweeping out of the room with all the glamour of someone wearing the finest billowing robes.

The bathroom was more beautiful than she could have anticipated. Swirls of black and white met in a battle of shades on the walls. Accents of gold brightened up the room. It wasn't big, enough room for an average sized bath, a sink and a towel rack. It was comfortable and modest.

She could smell the bath, ginger and lemon. She faintly recognised that it was the same scent that followed Morpheus wherever he went. She slowly dipped into the water and felt her entire body relax as she continued to sink into the bath. There was bubbles up to her neck and as she leant back into the rim of the bath she felt some thing point into her back, reaching behind her, she revealed a small, yellow runner duck that she appeared to be sharing the bath with.

It was twenty minutes later when she exited the bath, fully relaxed. She glanced at her wings in the mirror and saw that the remaining feathers on her wings had washed off in the bath and her wings were now bare. She tucked them back away and out of sight. She didn't want to look at them. She dried off and changed back into her clothes that she found had somehow been washed and dried whilst she was bathing.

She left the bathroom and entered back into the bedroom where Morpheus was waiting. A cup of tea was in his hand, another cup sat on the table in front of him that she swore had not been there half an hour ago. He offered her the chair in front of him and moved the cup closer to her.

"I thought you might enjoy a cup of tea. How are your wings?" He took a sip from his cup, pulling a face at the heat.

"Featherless."

He sighed and placed his cup down.

"My apologies, Astraea." He reached across the table and grasped her hand in his. She didn't speak and drank her tea instead.

They sat in silence, thinking of everything and nothing and holding hands across the table."I should be getting back home. Zira will be starting to worry about me by now." She unclasped her hand a stood from her seat, brushing imaginary dust off of her clothes.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I'll drop you off at the park." He stood next to her and grabbed onto her arm. They were gone in a second.

Reappearing a moment later in the exact spot they had departed from a few hours prior.

"Well, this is goodbye, Cherub." He looked down at her, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

"Goodbye, Morpheus. And don't call me Cherub!" He smiled down at her before disappearing without a trace of ever having been there.

"Aww, cute." A voice came from behind her, freezing her nerves. Turning to look at the owner she was met with a familiar face that made her heart drop.

Golden curls, tanned complexion and amber eyes like starlight. It was impossible.

"Apollo?"

A smirk flashed into her vision before everything went dark.