Swooped | ✓

Chapter 22: Sharing the Nest

When I returned with the bundle of goodies in my hands, Milo's expression was exactly what I had imagined it to be. 

"No," Milo said sternly, and I giggled, swinging some leather straps around my fingers. "C, I'm not going to fly around in the air in... whatever bondage shit that is. What the fuck?"

"No one's going to see you, baby! And it's not like I'm going to strip you naked and tie you up, though I'm sure you would be very pretty," I said, Milo glaring at me. "Seriously. I'll just tie you in a cross over your torso, not to my bedposts. Please? There's something I really wanna show you, and I can only do that if we go by air." I gave him a gentle smile, tugging on his hand softly. 

There really was something I wanted to show him, and I was going to sometime, even before we started dating. I had been waiting for the perfect night, and what night was more perfect than this?

Milo looked at me slowly again, before conceding. 

"Thanks, Milo," I said, my boyfriend rolling his eyes as he raised his arms to allow me to tie him up (non-sexually, unfortunately). When he was securely strapped to me, I hoisted him into my arms, princess style. 

"C!"

"Hold on!" I said, Milo's mouth opened in a silent, shocked scream as I launched us off the balcony and into the air. 

"Oh my God I'm going to die," Milo said, clinging onto my neck for dear life despite being held in by my red cord. He had dropped his head onto my shoulder, the ski goggles he was wearing digging into my skin, making me chuckle a little.

"Come on, look up, baby. You're missing the view," I said, Milo shaking his head against my shoulder. "I'm serious. I wanna show this to you. Share it with you. No one else can see the world like this, you know." I squeezed my arms around my boyfriend a little tighter, kissing the side of his head coaxingly. 

At that, Milo stiffly lifted his head. I couldn't tell if he had his eyes squeezed shut or not behind his goggles, but the way his mouth opened told me that he saw everything. Since I had stopped us high in the air, the wind caused by my high speeds wasn't an issue, and Milo slowly pulled the goggles to rest against his forehead. His face was trapped in awe as he looked around him. 

"Wow," Milo breathed, and I smiled happily.

On this cloudless night, everything was clear. Even though we were surrounded by a blanket of midnight, the satiny sky was studded with bright stars, which seemed so much closer this high up. The moon was a looming crescent above our heads, casting a silvery glow against my ebony wings, which glimmered in its rays. Below, there were some slow-moving blips of coloured light as cars moved along the freeway, and lights from buildings painted a pool of artificial stars under our hovering feet. Milo spared a glance below him at the sleeping city, stiffening at the sheer height, his arms locking tighter against my neck. 

"Nice, right?" I said, voice quiet, not wanting to disturb the soundlessness of being so high. Milo nodded, smiling a little. 

"Yeah, it's beautiful," Milo said, knocking his forehead against mine. "Scary, but beautiful."

"Yeah? Well, I think you'll be able to enjoy it more when you're not worried that you're gonna fall to your death. Put your goggles back on, I wanna show you this little spot I found." 

Milo did as I asked, biting back a yell as I began moving us again. I could tell that Milo was beginning to relax in my arms as he stopped burying his head against me, instead looking up as I swooped and climbed through the air, before landing on top of a towering roof top. 

On a night when I couldn't sleep, I had explored the air, finding this little particular roof top. It was nothing much, the building itself being a skyscraper full of business offices, but it had one of the most unobstructed views in the city. It wasn't as high as when we were completely airborne, but it was a nice perch to rest my wings, so to speak.

Milo was much more comfortable when his feet found the concrete. I untied the two of us, not holding back the suggestive jibes I directed his way much to Milo's embarrassment. 

In the centre of the rooftop was a medium-sized concrete box with a ladder bolted into its side, which held the doorway the stairs that normal people had to use to access the rooftop. Considering the door was completely rusted and had a chain around it, I doubted that they had been used in a long time, another perk this particular rooftop had. Using my wings to jump on top of the box, I waved Milo over, the boy climbing up the ladder. 

"So, this is my spot," I said, plopping down onto the concrete, patting the space next to me. "I found it when I was flying around. No one is ever here, especially not at this time of the night, and it has the best view of the city. Plus, it's away from the freeway, so it's nice and quiet."

When Milo settled himself beside me, I quickly wrapped a wing around him, pulling him in close. It was pretty cold, particularly this high up, and I regretted not giving Milo something warmer to wear. The slightly taller boy was shivering a little, the sleeves of his hoodie wrapped around his hands.   

"I'll bring a blanket next time. Maybe some fold-up chairs, too. A few beers, some weed. What do ya think?" I said, Milo laughing quietly, leaning into my warmth. My wings blocked out the chilly wind, Milo soon melting into my embrace. 

"Bring whatever you want, as long as you bring me as well," Milo said, his voice a whisper.

"I thought that was a given," I said, Milo humming. Milo shifted a little so he was facing me better, his fingers tickling beneath my chin to make me turn his way. His eyes searched mine, half in wonder, half in disbelief as something crossed his mind.

"I still can't believe this sometimes, you know," Milo said, and I gave him a confused look. "You know. Us. Being like this." As he spoke, Milo pointedly laced his fingers with mine, our palms flush together. His hand was a little cold like always, my wing instinctively tugging around him like a down blanket.

"I've sucked your dick and you basically have your tongue in my mouth at every possible moment, so I'm worried that you're having belief issues," I said with a chuckle, Milo rolling his eyes.

"You know what I mean," Milo said. "I've loved you for almost 6 years, C. So sometimes, I don't know, it just hits me. That I have you."

"Okay, I know that my... actions may have said otherwise," I said, referring to the numerous (failed) relationships I've had in the past. "But trust me, I think you've had me since you met me - I just didn't know it yet. My lazy ass didn't follow you around school for no reason."

"I've always been glad that you did," Milo said, voice serious, catching a little as his gaze dropped down to our entwined hands. 

"Yeah? Well you sure didn't make it seem like it back then," I said, Milo laughing, pressing a kiss to my mouth.

"You were annoying as shit, C. But I wouldn't change that for anything, not because it brought me this."

Milo and I stayed there on that rooftop wrapped in each other's arms for a long time after, just talking, and kissing, and repeating. We didn't move until we realised that the night had long since passed by, an orange glow beginning to creep up on the stirring city. 

When we were flying back home with the sunrise on my back, Milo's eyes were beginning to drift closed with tiredness, our all-nighter finally crashing into him. 

"The sunrise is beautiful," Milo murmured as his eyes slid shut, head resting against my shoulder. I laughed, dropping onto my balcony as delicately as I could to not wake up the boy in my arms. Even though he was slightly taller and broader than me, the way he curled up in my arms half-asleep made him fit inside my entire heart, leaving little room for much else.

"Yeah. Beautiful," I said, not looking at the sunrise at all.

A/N: Considering I had rooftop date-ish scenes in both Sheets and here, I think I have a roof fetish or something. Oh well.