[ mild nsfw warning ]
- no grammarly used.
The 27th of October.
2 days into Halloween break.
A Saturday.
And most importantly - my incredibly amazing, handsome, sexy, funny boyfriend's 18th birthday.
I was up at 5am with excitement, even though I knew he would most likely be asleep until way past 9am. I decided to use my extra time wisely by finishing up the present I had created. Fang had helped - I genuinely wouldn't have been able to do it without him. Like literally - he had something I needed. My new bed had been set up just after my own birthday, so my drawing desk and equipment was now under my bed and became my own little hideout when I drew the curtains over.
I eventually closed the present away into a secret place I will not mention, since it's secret. Then, I busied myself with procrastinating putting on some of the clothes Kat had bought for me after learning my size. Oh dear god - the amount of clothes Kat had bought for me. How do I even get into that? Let's just say that until school started, I had 4 sets of clothes I could wear presentably outside. Now? There almost wasn't enough room for them all.
I was specifically trying to muster the courage to put on both Kat's bought clothes and, well, underwear. I wanted to wear the good set I had bought while out with Kat, but I was nervous. I knew what I wanted to try to do that day, I had wanted to do it for a while actually, but I was freaking out now. What if he thought it was stupid that I had matching fucking sexy underwear? Would he laugh? I just wanted to look somewhat pretty for him...
"God." I groaned. I sat on the floor in only my towel and opened my phone in defeat. No new messages from Iggy, obviously. Though, there was around 100 messages from my friend's groupchat. I didn't open them, I just stared blankly at nothing.
Just put the damn underwear on and seduce your boyfriend, you horny tiger bitch. I chided at myself.
I eventually got them on an hour later, and got some pretty clothes on too. I kind of ruined the outfit with my appearance though, and ended up throwing and oversized jumper over it when I realised how much of my skin you could see. I still tried, though. That's what counts.
Once I had finally gotten myself changed, I went down to our empty kitchen and began making breakfast for Iggy. I wasn't the best cook, not like Iggy - but I wasn't as bad as Max. I could hear Alisha or Annabelle vaguely downstairs thanks to my intense tiger-bird combo hearing, setting up for the morning. It was 9:17am. The rest of the older flock must've gone down to help. The younger flock, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel had all ended up moving in with Alisha and Annabelle so they had adult supervision instead of 4 teens. It means us older birds also got their own place. Pretty fun.
By the time I was finished with breakfast, it was closing in on 10am. I had made a whole bunch of bacon, french toast, waffles, sausages, basically everything you'd have on a Christmas morning breakfast - but like, 4 times as much. I had also made him tea - something he had discovered he really liked recently. I put all the food on a tray with 4 short legs he could set over his lap to eat in bed, put his birthday card on the tray and carefully made my way upstairs.
With my telekinesis, I momentarily hovered the tray to knock on the door lightly. I had heard very quiet vague movements and noises that indicated he was most likely awake a few minutes before. As I suspected, Iggy's rough voice from only just waking up responded. "It's open." He spoke through a yawn. I gently pushed the door open, peeking around it to see him put on his glasses.
"Happy Birthday." I said with a giggle as his beautiful blue eyes lit up at the tray of food. His strawberry blonde hair was a mess as usual, his cheeks were tinted red, and I was so in love with him. I gently set the tray over his lap, and he looked between me and the tray in awe as I walked around the bed to sit on the right side of the bed, the one I usually slept on.
"You made this?" He said in a quiet voice. He looked like he was going to melt. I nodded, fiddling with my hands. "Sorry if it's bad, I'm not as good as you are at cooking." I watched from the corner of my eye as he took a careful bite of one of the eggs, and then watched as his eyes sparkled. "This is so good..." He groaned after swallowing his third bite. "This is the best morning ever. Thank you sweetheart." He grinned at me. "I mean, sleeping in and then breakfast in bed made by the best girlfriend in the world - the only thing I'm missing is cuddles and kisses."
I rolled my eyes and gestured to his food. "It'll get cold." was my input. He pouted but continued to eat, before hesitating. He cut off a small bit of the French toast and held it towards me with his fork, smirking. "Say 'Aaah'." He demanded. I looked to the fork, sighed and opened my mouth. He fed me the food and began laughing happily. He had finished his food within 15 minutes, careful to set the tray down beside his bed before he reached out towards me. I let him draw me into a hug, wriggling under the covers with him until my back was pressed against his chest, and my head rested on the front of his shoulder, sort of near the collar bone.
I tilted my head up and kissed his jaw, then his cheek and finally his lips once I could reach them. It went from innocent to heated faster than I could fully register. Suddenly we were tangled together, and I couldn't figure out where one limb ended and the other began. Where my body ended and his started. His hands slid under my shirt and brushed against the back of my bra, and for a moment, he hesitated. Then he pulled away gently, a dopey smile on his perfect, slightly swollen lips. "What's this, beautiful?" He whispered, gently tugging at the strap behind my back. I pulled his arms away and sat up as much as his body hovering above me would allow, wrapping my own arms around the back of his neck and nipping his earlobe. I felt the shiver go down his spine. "It's a birthday surprise. Be patient, okay?" The whisper made him shiver again and tighten his arms around my back. He nodded obediently.
With a small grin, I kissed his neck carefully, barely able to hold myself up. "The others want you to come down for breakfast. They're going to do the same thing they did on my birthday. Some presents came in dangerously late." I mumbled. He kept his arms tightly around my waist, and slowly leaned over so I was lying back in the bed. He lay his head on the pillow I was lying back on, just to the right side of my ear.
"I'm going to have to pass." He purred. "I already had a delicious breakfast made by an absolutely gorgeous woman that happens to be my girlfriend, and who happens to be in the same bed as me. I think this is better than a second breakfast." He was seconds away from kissing my neck and probably giving me a hickey when I pushed him back slightly. He frowned and made a whining noise in protest.
"Breakfast." I spoke in a warning tone and slid off the bed before he could protest. My heart was practically hammering out of my chest - that was about as intimate we had gotten since my birthday. I was totally obsessed with the feeling of him, I felt like an addict. I left the room and pressed my back against his closed door, letting myself slide down into a sitting position. I needed him. I couldn't live without him. Never. I didn't know how to show that to him, hell, I didn't know how to show that to myself.
"Why're you on the floor?" Iggy's voice asked. I flinched, looking up to see the most handsome man in the entire world standing above me, a smirk on his perfect lips with the little white scar around it. He was already dressed - I probably zoned out for a while. I stood up as fast as I could, almost knocking into him in the process. "No reason." I practically squeaked. Iggy's attention went to my chest, where my blue necklace sat.
"You need to replace the chain, sweetheart." He mumbled gently, carefully lifting it to inspect it better. "It's getting pretty weak and rusted. It's been, what, 2 years? I'm not surprised." Iggy slowly lowered his head until his soft lips pressed against mine. His fingers travelled over my waist, making me feel like I was burning. I made a nervous noise, which caused him to pull back.
"What, beautiful?" He said in a careful voice. I shook my head and gestured down the stairs, towards the flock that could easily walk up two stairs and have us making out in view. He pouted and pulled away, obviously trying to hold back a grin. "One of these days I'm going to make out with you in front of them. I just gotta wait." He decided, before skipping down the stairs and laughing as everyone cheered and yelled happy birthday.
I leaned against the wall, my heart thudding against my tight chest. I wanted him. I wanted him so god damn badly.
"We're going out! You keep the birthday boy company, won't you?" Alisha grinned at me as the others left the shop. She waited until everyone left before she winked. "Condoms are where they always are." She laughed and my burning red face and Iggy's choked cough.
I kept my eyes on the floor. "I have my own, but thanks." I mumbled under my breath. Alisha laughed and walked out, while Iggy stared at me wide-eyed. His mouth was wide open as I smiled sheepishly and walked back upstairs to the first floor, turning on the stove to make myself something to eat. It took Iggy about 5 minutes to come back upstairs and sit on the couch, reading a book. He looked so handsome like that. He was in a simple white shirt and jeans, with his glasses on and his hair slightly messy as usual. He was lying on the couch, one leg bent and one hanging off the edge. His arms looked so... strong.
I nudged his leg away when I finished getting my food, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from him and turned on the TV. I flipped through the channels, rolling my eyes as I passed corny fake comedy after corny fake rom-com. I dropped the remote by accident after about 2 minutes of this, and almost knocked my food over when a moan came from the TV. I scrambled for the remote as Iggy dropped his book onto his lap, his cheeks flushed bright red as he tried to keep his eyes off the dirty film that had decided to turn on.
"Eyes off, moron." I growled as the remote flew into my hands. I elbowed his leg, turned the TV off and turned to Iggy, who was laughing his ass off. I hated feeling so insecure, but I couldn't get the image of the pretty woman out of my head. I wanted to look like her. I knew I couldn't.
I crawled on top of Iggy's lap, kissing him insistently. That shut him up. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, pulling us together until there wasn't a gap between us. He let out a growl-like noise, and it was enough for me to pull him off the couch and drag him into our bedroom, leaving my food behind. I tugged off my oversized shirt as I closed the door and fumbled with the lock.
Iggy let out a sharp breath. "Where'd you get that outfit, sweetheart?" He mumbled. My response was shoving him onto the bed and kissing him roughly. He didn't protest. I needed him. I needed him more than I needed air. I needed to be entirely his or I'd lose my mind. I needed to know no other girl would ever see him like this. No other girl would ever be his first. I wanted to be his first everything. His first and last. I needed him. It was as simple as that.
"Sweetheart..." Iggy mumbled, hovering over me with the covers over the both of us. "Are you sure? After this there's not really any going back." He brushed some stray hair out of my face. I giggled and nodded. Even though I was trembling, it wasn't because I was scared or unsure. I was nervous, yeah, but I knew what I wanted. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his, letting my hands trail down his bare back.
For once I was glad I had perfect memory, because I knew the details of that moment would never fade. The feeling of his warm breath tingling against my neck, his strong hands and how massive and comforting they felt against my bare back. How gentle he was with my dumb, sensitive body. How he looked at me entirely and hadn't once seemed wary of everything I felt self conscious about. How it felt to be truly his, to be as close to him as I possibly could've been. I was glad I couldn't forget for once, because I knew I would never lose that part of him. Any part of him.
I needed him.
Always.
-
Iggy was gently tracing the patterns on my bare back with the tip of his finger, his other arm wrapped around my waist. I wasn't facing him, I was still trying to catch my breath. His hand brushed up against my bare chest before resting over my speeding heart. He let out an amused breath and pressed a kiss on the back of my neck. "Okay?" He whispered gently. I nodded in response, shifting so I could see him over my shoulder. His hair was an absolute mess, and had a pretty dark hickey mark just below where his shirt would sit.
I grinned and silently reached up to run my hand through his tangled, soft hair. His eyes fluttered closed as he bent his head forward to allow me better access. I love him so much. I thought. His hand stayed against my chest as I sat up a bit to properly fix his hair, the blanket over me sliding down to my lap. I was nervous, but tried not to curl up into a ball and hide forever. "You're so handsome." I mumbled under my breath as I set my head against Iggy's.
"Thank you." Iggy laughed. "You're the most beautiful woman in the world, though." He looked up at me teasingly, then down at my bare chest and towards the blankets that covered the rest of my body. I shoved him with my shoulder lightly and looked at the time. The others would be back in less than half an hour, and I still wasn't fully calmed down. I didn't know how I'd calm down before they came back. I mean, we'd finished over an hour before.
"I need to get clothes on." I murmured under my breath, lifting my underwear. Iggy whined and snatched it away, holding it behind his back. "Noooo..." He pouted. "You're so sexy without clothes. Just keep them off."
"And flash everyone?" I raised my eyebrow. "No thanks." I tried to reach for the clothes Iggy had stole, and ended up on top of him. I rolled my eyes and snatched them back, before lowering myself and pressing my lips against his collarbone. He chuckled under his breath, his hand coming up to stroke my hair. It then traveled down my back, no doubt soaking up the colours through his skin.
"I love you, sweetheart." Iggy's voice melted my brain into the slow, honey mess that I had come to love despite the fact it had freaked me out the first time it happened. I pulled my clothes on while sitting on the edge of the bed, Iggy still flat on his back. I tapped his shoulder after a moment. "Let your wings out. Don't keep them in for too long." I warned. "We need to go flying soon too, or we'll lose muscle strength."
"Yeah yeah, baby. I know." He scoffed teasingly. "You need to let your wings out too, you know. You rarely do it." He pointed out, pressing in the middle of my back as he sat up behind me. I huffed and crossed my arms. "I'm used to hiding them. I've been doing it for years before you. I have a longer time period I can keep them in. You do not." I grumbled.
Then I cried out as Iggy lifted my shirt up and pressed hard against my wing scars. It was less out of pain and more out of surprise. My wings extended automatically, and I used the same wings he had just forced open to slap him off the bed. "Asshole! That hurts!" I yelled. Iggy laughed sheepishly, clearly not taking me seriously. Not until I jumped on his lap and kissed him so roughly he was pushed back onto the floor. He made startled, slightly pained noises as I tugged at his hair, and when I pulled back, he was panting wildly. "Asshole."
"You win." was his only response. Of course I won.
-
"Citrus, its your turn for Iggy's present!" Gazzy yelled practically in my ear. I flinched out of the daydream I had seemed to have slipped into, leaning against Iggy's shoulder. He moved slightly, bending to get a better look at my face as we both sat on the floor. "Alright?" He asked gently. I blinked once in confusion, before nodding. "Yeah. I was just in another world for a moment. What's going on?"
"Presents. It's your turn." He laughed. I looked around the room, then to the wrapped rectangle package and square package I was hiding. Iggy has gotten so many amazing things from everyone - my stupid presents were nothing. I spent so much time on one, yet it still turned out like crap. The other one was just pure childish. I slowly shook my head.
Fang frowned. "Don't you dare chicken out, carrot." He warned. Fang had helped me with the first present. He knew the general idea of what I had made. I took a deep breath in and placed the rectangular package into Iggy's hand. I brought my hand up to my face, wincing at how warm my cheeks felt. I was probably blushing. "It... can be for the others to look at too." I whispered.
Iggy unwrapped it, being met with a simple dark army green hardback cover of a thick folder. On the front, written in my handwriting was The Flock. In big looping handwriting. Iggy opened the first page, and the sparkle that lit up his eyes eased some of my worries. It was the first time I had properly seen the outdoors. The scene I had shown him through Angel years back. Then, the entire next few scenes' important moments drawn out.
Then, the next few days. The years we had spent in our house, drawn out to photo-like quality. The first time it snowed. The first time Max tried to cook. The first time Nudge tried (and failed) to make a dress out of an old curtain. The first time we had all picked strawberries. The first time we had painted Iggy's room. The first summer. The first time I learnt how to braid. The first time we went outside of the mountains and forest we lived in to the city together. The beach. Each small yet meaningful moment. Every single moment that meant anything in the house. Iggy kept looking, but I couldn't take the silence anymore. I stood up and walked over to the kitchen, collapsing into a sitting position with my back against the cabinet that was out of view from the rest of the flock.
I didn't like sharing how vulnerable I really was - and my memory was a vulnerability. Showing the flock and my family everything positive I could remember, also meant I was showing what else I could remember. I was showing them how far my memory could go, in both a happy context and a horrifying context. My heart was beating faster than I could register. Bad idea. This was a bad idea.
A body sat next to me. Nudge. She was officially taller than me when standing now, but when sitting, she was shorter. She slid with her back against the cabinet until her head was against my shoulder, her hand on my knee. It'd been so long since we'd done something like this. She apparently had gotten an amazing friend group in her middle school and spent a lot of time with them. I was so, so happy for her. She deserved friends like that.
"You know," I whispered. "You were the first to learn that I drew." I didn't know if she'd remember it or not, it was so long ago. Despite that, Nudge nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to see but you wouldn't let me. Now look, everyone's in awe in there. It's like you printed out their entire life for them. Look." Nudge gestured to the mirror sitting nearby, that happened to perfectly direct onto the faces of the flock and my family, looking at the art I had taken too many all nighters to count for. The photos I had begged Fang for to add into the book. I held the second present I was going to give Iggy close to my heart, which hammered heavily.
"What's that?" Nudge whispered. I looked to the box and quietly unwrapped it, handing it to Nudge. I could tape it back up with telekinesis as long as I didn't rip the paper. When the jewelry box was opened, it revealed a simplistic yet beautiful ring with a small emerald green gem in the middle. Nudge's eyes widened as she looked from the ring's gem that mimicked my eyes to my blue necklace that mimicked Iggy's. "That's beautiful, Cee." She whispered with a bright smile. "He'll love it. It'll give him something physical to remind him of you when he's doing things. He cam touch this ring and feel your eyes." She giggled. "So romantic."
"Shut up." I elbowed her lightly before drawing her into a hug. "Hey." I whispered in Nudge's ear, which made her giggle from the tickling feeling. "Yeah?" She asked.
"I'm proud of you."
Nudge pulled away, her eyes sparkling with tears.
"And I'm so grateful I ever met you. You're my little girl, Nudge. I'm so glad you finally are getting the life you deserve." I added on, but I didn't get any further. She tackled me with a hug, smiling like an idiot. She laughed lightly before whispering in my ear this time.
"I'm the one who should be proud of you, Cee. Thank you so, so much." She pulled away, handed me back the box and skilled back into the living room with the others. I wrapped the box back up carefully and looked back in the mirror. Iggy closed the book and quietly stood up. My blood went cold. Had I upset him? He's not happy... Shit...
He rounded the corner to the kitchen quietly, before bursting into sobs and collapsing into my arms. He was so big now - I couldn't really do much with him in my lap. I used to be able to cradle him and hold him tightly, but now he was too big without making him lie down. He hugged me tightly, head buried deep into the crook of my neck. "Thank you..." He sobbed. "You gave me my sight back... You showed me everything... Thank you Citrus..." He sniffled.
"I gave you what you deserved to have, Igs." I pushed him away slightly, tracing my thumbs under his eyes to wipe the tears away. "I'll always be here, okay?" I held his face carefully. "I'll be here to be your rock, or your eyes, or whatever you need me to be. I promise. I'll do whatever I can to give you what you want."
Iggy nodded tearfully and put his forehead against mine.
-
"Another present?" Iggy asked, fixing his pillow. "Really?"
I nodded and held out the small wrapped box. He took the box and sat down, and I sat next to him. I watched carefully as he unwrapped the box and slowly opened it to reveal the ring once again. His face flushed. "I um... I thought you'd like it. You don't need to wear it or anything. I just... It's..." I wish I could've finished the sentence. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't while facing him. His face lit up brightly with a smile as he took the ring out of the box. "It's so pretty, sweetheart. It's like your eyes." He laughed. "Do you wanna put it on for me?" He offered.
My cheeks went bright red. "Um... Sure. What finger?" I managed as I took the ring carefully from Iggy's hand. He smiled smugly at me. "Your choice, pretty girl." He cooed. He took joy in my embarrassment. I hated him sometimes.
I slowly but surely took his left hand in mine, and took satisfaction in his bright red face when I put the ring onto his ring finger. I smiled in content as I adjusted the ring slightly. "It also... can work as a promise ring." I looked up to Iggy. "Until... Until we're old enough." His silence made me nervous. Everything about him made me nervous, but in a way that made me never want it to stop.
"Okay." He whispered, then cleared his throat to get his voice to work. "Yeah. Until we're old enough. That means I have to get you one though." Iggy grinned as he bent his head and pressed his lips against mine, gentle and soft, his fingers intertwining with mine. Sure, the passionate and rough kisses were hot and all, but these were so much better. Love and warmth.
-
"Can I tell you something?" I asked, looking up at the painting on the wall. I was sitting on the edge of Iggy's bed, facing away from him while Iggy read on his side, glasses too far down his nose once again. I heard the book close, and felt the faint vibrations through the floor as he set it and his glasses onto his bedside table, where the lit lamp sat nearby. "Yeah, of course." He shifted, probably sitting up straight. "What's up, sweetheart?"
"When you got me my necklace," My hand drifted up to the blue gem swinging over my chest. "I was lost and alone. I didn't know what was right and what was wrong, or what I could and couldn't feel. I didn't know how to smile or cry properly. I didn't know how to show my emotions, or how to show weakness. I tried to stay strong every second of the day, refusing to admit that I was just as scared and broken as the rest of you. I was in pain, and I was confused. I didn't know how to look myself in the mirror, I didn't know what or who I was. I was a wreck, losing myself before I had even learnt what myself was."
Iggy seemed to shift slightly. This was what I had wanted to tell him when I gave him the ring.
"But after that, things began to change. I started to cry more often, or laugh. I started to show more of my emotions and weaknesses, I started to learn right from wrong. I began to learn that I couldn't keep up being the perfect image of someone unaffected by my past much longer. I started to be able to look at my stripes, or my hair, and look in a mirror occasionally. I stopped trying to keep everything in - and I know it didn't happen overnight, but everything started to change. I'm not perfect yet, I have a lot more work to do to be able to do things a normal person can do without thinking - but the truth is..."
I took a breath.
"This necklace, to me, is not just a way for me to feel constantly close to you, but a landmark in my life. The symbol of a new beginning. It reminds me how far I've come when I feel it move under my shirt in class, the way it did when I tucked it under my School uniform the days we were taken in when we went to find Nudge. Whenever I take it off, I remember taking it off when I got that shower in the hotel the morning after you gave it to me. Whenever someone asks me what the chain is under my shirt, it reminds me of how terrified I was of losing you when I admitted my feelings, yet still did it in desperation to try to push you away. It reminds me of every single misstep I took that taught me that I was really a human. And it reminds me of you, the stupid, loving dork that helped guide me despite me being beyond frustratingly confusing."
I felt Iggy's head rest in between my shoulder blades, and his hands wrap around my waist to rest on my stomach. I placed my hands over his larger ones, running my thumb over them.
"So, when I gave you that ring... I wanted it to be a landmark of our new journey together. I know it's a few months late, but I still want it to have that feeling. We're together now, and the labs are gone. We can finally live like normal humans, but I want you to remember where you came from too. So you can look back at this moment every time you recognize the ring is on your hand, and be proud of how far you've come. I want to to symbolize the new us, and that even though were in a totally different world we were in 5 years ago, 10 years ago, even 16 years ago when we first met, we're still the same people." My voice drew off. I had gone on a ramble again.
"You act like you're so awkward," Iggy mumbled against my back. "Then go and say the most beautiful shit I could imagine and leave me awestruck." His left hand drifted up to my necklace, his ring touching it slightly. "So that's what this means to you, huh? I got that for you because I liked the idea of you wearing something I got you, y'know." He smiled as he slid me back so I was pressed against his chest.
"I know you knew you liked me for a while before, but I only registered something was different a day before you gave me the necklace." I smiled as I sat forward and turned my head towards him. "It's like you gave me a necklace on the date I fell for you. How could I not connect it to something sentimental?" I laughed.
Iggy's eyes sparkled, his cheeks flushed. "I didn't realize they were so close together. That's perfect then." He pressed his lips against my forehead. "I love you, sweetheart." Iggy murmured as his lips travelled to my cheek, then my jaw, then my neck. "I love you too." I responded as he pulled us both into bed, snuggling close to me in the way he used to in the labs, his head on my chest. I didn't mind. It was his birthday, after all.
I carefully unclasped my necklace and took off his ring, setting them on my bedside table to make sure nothing would happen while we slept. Next to each other, sat side by side.
Two landmarks of different eras in our lives, finally together.