You Are My Escape (G/T) (Completed)

11

Matt was extremely gentle, putting more caution into his movements than he ever had before in his life. He could tell that Ezriel was putting a lot of trust in him to do this properly, and the last thing he wanted would be to tear his wing even more or possibly break their pact. He wasn't quite sure what would happen to him if he did, but the thought of it deterred him from ever trying.

It became real quiet as he concentrated on his fingers, dipping them in the water first before starting at the base of the crookedness. The fairy jumped slightly at the contact and Matt was quick to whisper an apology, but he didn't stop him from continuing. It was a very strange texture, one he'd never felt anything like before, soft to the touch like wax paper and cold like early morning mist. It was mesmerizing, and the reality that he was touching a real fairy's wings started to creep in. He was probably one of very few humans to ever do so.

He pinched the wing delicately over and over, carefully stroking upwards to smooth out the creases and re-wetting his fingers when needed. Whatever the appendage was made out of it seemed to soak the water right up, and Ezriel was right about it practically being sculptable. The wet wing was starting to bend to his finger's command, and before long he was making good progress in reshaping it to look like the other.

Ezriel kept his face covered while Matt worked, preparing himself for the worst. But, to his surprise, nothing hurt. He could feel the colossal fingers running up and down the tip of his wing but it was only mildly uncomfortable, and he didn't feel it tear in the slightest. 

His shakiness vanished after he took another deep breath. He was overthinking things again. 

The human may be giant compared to him, but he wasn't using that to his advantage. Matt was gentle in every sense-- on the eyes and ears and with his hands, and everything about him radiated safety and comfort. He'd treated Ezriel as an equal from the very beginning, like a regular person, which the prince had only experienced a handful of times in his life.  The more he thought about all of their interactions so far the more he was able to calm down, focusing on the sound of the rain falling outside as he tried to stand perfectly still. 

"There, how's that look?" Matt asked after a couple of minutes, taking his hands away. 

Ezriel turned at breakneck speeds to check the results, letting out a small sigh as he saw his wing still in one piece and looking better than before. It looked in almost flyable condition, if it weren't for the water currently trapped in it, and the fairy stood there speechless for a moment as he admired the outcome. When it dried, it might actually work well enough to get him home. 

"Is it good? Bad?" The brunet pressed, unable to read the expression on Ezriel's face. 

"Good," he nodded quickly, relief flooding through him.  "Very good. I-- I can't express how much I appreciate your help; I didn't think I'd be faced with such generosity upon being found like this." 

The prince let himself fully relax now, finally not feeling intimidated by Matt anymore. The uneasiness in the air melted away, and the gaps in conversation no longer felt awkward and tense. He was lucky to have found this human, this one who was different from the rest. But maybe all humans had changed over the years, he wondered; They certainly seemed less calloused and morally grey than the books in the palace had prepared him for.

Or maybe fairies had been hidden for so long that the two were simply starting to forget each other.

"'Very good'?" Matt echoed playfully, "You think I should apply for a full time job?" He chuckled-- a sound Ezriel wanted to listen to for hours-- and leaned back in his chair, relieved that he'd done well.

The two of them shared a warm smile and said nothing for a minute, but something had been stuck on the brunet's mind and he couldn't help but ask it after the thought began to fester. 

"Why did you come here, by the way?" The curious question slipped out. "I mean, if you were so worried about someone being cruel to you. Why.. disguise as a human? If you wanna answer that, of course." 

Ezriel took a moment to respond, trying to find a way to explain everything without mentioning his royalty. He didn't want Matt to know, he'd just treat him like everyone else did.

"I don't get to leave my home very often," he answered vaguely, his smile faded slightly. "This was my first trip into a human town, where it's forbidden to be-- Being found was clearly unintentional, I didn't expect my magic to backfire so poorly." 

He looked down at his hands as he spoke, still unable to feel a single spark of magic within himself since he'd passed out. It was starting to get worrisome, at least some should have replenished by now. But he still felt exhausted in every sense. Maybe he just needed more sleep.

Matt felt more than a little flattered at Ezriel's answer; It was his first time in town and he chose to spend so much of it at his show, to the point where he couldn't be human any longer? And his compliments and interest in the music, those must have been genuine as well since the fairy couldn't lie. Was he sincerely so interested in his boring human life?  Matt felt his face heat up the more he thought about it. 

But Ezriel was oblivious to the other's face journey, his fatigue starting to take over him again. A yawn pushed past his lips as he tried to stretch the ache out of his limbs, to no avail.

The musician felt like he could sit there and talk to the fairy all night, but it was easy to tell that the two of them were starting to drift off. It had been a very long day and night for both of them, and he didn't want to overwhelm Ezriel more than he already was.

"Well, I should let you sleep some more." He sighed, running a hand through his hair and letting it fall to his side. "I'm pretty tired myself. Is there anything I can get you before I head off?" 

The fairy's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Could you open the window?" He requested. "It would be nice to sleep near some fresh air." 

Matt obliged with a nod, and slid the glass pane up about an inch or two. He didn't want it fully open considering the lack of a screen and the incessant rain, so he asked Ezriel if just cracking it open would be okay. 

The prince merely nodded as he climbed back into the same soft fabric nest that he'd woken up in, being mindful of his wet wing. It should be dry enough by morning to get him home. 

'Home', he huffed into the sweet-smelling material with a bitter expression. 

Staying here had been so nice. He didn't want to leave.

The two bid each other a good night, and parted to different rooms. At some point in the night the rain stopped, and morning shone through eventually. Matt began to stir as the bright rays of sun filtered between the cracks in the blinds, and he didn't stay in bed for long. His feet were quick to find their way to the kitchen to check on Ezriel, but when he rounded the corner this time the fairy was gone. 

All that remained was the empty hoodie on the table, and a lone blue flower resting on the windowsill.