Xavier hummed to himself as Akeli whirled through the air around him. He watched her shadow dance amongst the trees below them, his blue eyes sometimes wandering to find her near him. He smiled as he found her carefree smile and he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh; he was afraid he would ruin what they had if he told her how they felt.

He shook out his hair as Akeli approached him, grinning even wider when she mumbled about needing a hair cut. She gently pulled at his own black hair and he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said with a shake of his head. "And that's fine with me," he said through a yawn. The day's events had completely exhausted the boy. "We could stop now," he said as the sunk sank even lower.

He surged upward with one powerful downstroke of his wings, his lithe form carrying him just over Akeli. He smacked his wings against hers before pulling into a dive just in front of her. Letting out a whoop from the adrenaline, he pulled his wings even closer to himself and spiralled downward. He landed rather shakily in a pine tree, grinning widly as he looked up at Aki.

With a move slightly less graceful than Xavier's already awkward descent Akeli thumped down next to him, 'accidentally' smacking the poor guy in the face with her open wings. Crowding up the branch Akeli smirked and stretched out her wings to their full extent, taking up even more room. Done with her teasing she folded them up neatly and reached back to rub her soar muscles, letting out a small yawn.

"What a day," she mumbled, speech slow with fatigue. Adrenaline gone Akeli felt like someone had just tied a six-ton weight to her body, weighing down her arms and legs and even eyelids similarly. Sliding her legs down so they hung over the edge of the branch she looked around, watching as the sun set slowly darkened the forest. The tree they sat on was fairly large, the branch itself about two feet wide at the trunk. Soft patches of moss and dirt clumped in hidden nooks and crannies, providing a fairly comfortable bed for the two. Animals chittered in the distance, a forest symphony to tired ears.

"What are we doing tomorrow, though?" she asked, leaning her head against Xav's shoulder contentedly. 

Xavier was going to turn when she landed, but one of her wings ended up smacking him in the face. Ungracefully, he cartwheeled his arms through the air as he fought to find his balance back on the branch. When Akeli took up even more room, he teetered over the edge before finally finding some core balance and straightening himself.

"You're funny," he said sarcastically before he settled down in the nook of a splintered branch. He leaned his head back against the trunk and sighed when Akeli rested her head on his shoulder. Automatically, he draped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly for a moment, suddenly feeling extremely sleepy and extremely buzzed at her touch.

An idea sparked in his mind at the question. He had almost forgotten the small cabin nestled in the woods, and from the looks of the area around him, he realized they weren't far from it. It would probably be a day or so's travel to get there, but if that was their goal, at least it was something. "I'd like to show you a place," he said softly as he absentmindedly brushed his thrumb against her arm in gentle strokes.

"A place you say?" Akeli mumbled sleepily, though she was interested. Xavier seemed at peace now, his hand moving up and down her arm rhythmically. Humming contentedly Akeli tried to nod, only to slip off of Xavier's shoulder and jolt upwards in surprise.

"Hm, yeah? Oh, how far is it?" she asked distractedly, pulling a hand through her ratty hair. Wincing dramatically as her fingers stuck Akeli could only let out noises of frustration as she slowly worked her firey hair into some semblance of order. She wanted to cuddle with Xav some more but after nearly falling off the tree her heart was beating rapidly and she didn't think she could rest now. Which sucked, because Xav's warmth had been welcomed. That, among other things.

Glancing around she smiled and turned her gray eyes on Xavier, grabbing his hand between her two ice-cold ones. "Guess who's got cold feet!" she crowe with a chuckle, kicking up her legs in an example. 

"Yes, a place," Xav chuckled at her nearly inaudible words. She fell away from him and Xavier's heart lurched for a moment before she managed to pull herself back up and almost smack the back of her head into his nose. "Jesus," he muttered, smile falling slightly as she didn't resume her normal position. He could hear, could feel the quickening of her heart and he rolled his eyes.

"Not very far," he murmured, but he was distracted just by watching her; the obvious concentration as she pushed her fingers through her snarled hair, slightly gray from the ash they had flown from. He tried to read the expressions in her pebbled gray eyes, but the shadows of the night were shrouding most of both of their bodies, including their faces.

She grew bored with her hair, he assumed, still smiling to himself when he noted the places where some of the locks stuck up awkwardly on her head. He eyed her legs as she pushed them into the air, but his gaze fell back onto her face. His breath hitched in his throat for a moment before he let the words pass, only a soft murmur of a sigh of regret slipped from his lips.

Instead of giving in to the kindling flame that threatened to overwhelm him, he turned to his cocky side again. "Well, you know what they say. We have to be close to stay warm," he said as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against him. "That's better," he breathed as warmth flooded through him.

"Creep," she murmured in a heavy voice, letting herself relax against his grip. Though muscled from activity and flying Xavier's warm skin against hers felt like heaven. That and his cool peppermint scent filling her nose. Letting go of his arm she blushed fiercely as she wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling rather daring for doing so. 

"But...you're my creep. I guess that counts for something." Smirking lightly Akeli closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest.

Her scent, her closeness, and her warmth was dancing teasingly over Xavier's skin and parts of him ached for her, his heart, his lips. He didn't catch sight of her blush, but when she rested her head on his chest, he could still feel the lingering heat in her cheeks. He listened to the sound of her voice as she talked, everything about them feeling so right, especially with her in his arms. He needed her.

"Aki," he murmured, her name formed almost as a question as he phrased it. His fingers found her chin and he tilted her face upward, eyes so close that he could finally see the gray gaze he loved so much. "I want, need you to know--" he said, his gaze flickering as he broke off. Finally, he brushed his lips against hers, hesitant at first, but the shock and heat that struck him the moment he did so, he pushed a bit harder. Please don't hate me after this, he begged.

She hadn't expected the kiss. She hadn't even known Xavier felt this way about her. Call her dense but romance wasn't exactly Akeli's cup of tea. And considering the lack of social lessons she'd received in the school, she probably took this sudden development quite well.

Letting go of Xavier she put her hands on his chest, fingers splayed as if to push him away. But the energy didn't come. Rather, Akeli felt more like a limp dishrag with Xav's lips on hers and his hand on her neck, caressing the sensitive skin.

After a few seconds Akeli's breath grew short and she leaned back, cheeks red and breathing heavy as if she had just surfaced from a deep dive. Shaking her head she tried to clear it of muddled thoughts, failing terribly.

"What...what was that?" she whispered, putting a hand to her lips. She wasn't upset, but she was confused and uncertain of her own role in this. Did she like Xav? She didn't know. She'd never met another guy besides Shay and the Eraser certainly held no soft spot in her heart. 

He closed his blue eyes, flinching slightly, and began to untangle himself from true close and confusing embrace. "It's called a kiss, Kitten," he said softly as he pulled away from her; his whole body screamed at him to return to her conforting warmth, to her hold, but he couldn't. He was going to give her space; she needed to think. /She had no idea.../

"Well, I understand that," Akeli retorted tartly, flushing slightly at Xavier's gentle reminder. She wasn't completely...non-world-knowledgable? Unsure of how to put it she shrugged at herself, biting her warm lips nervously. Akeli could feel her fingers and toes tingling gently, her heartbeat thumping even faster in her ears. The gentle thump-thump-thump pounded in her mind for a moment, before fading away as she tried to figure out her nervous feelings.

"I...wait. Don't pull away from me!" Without a moment's hesitation Akeli leaned forwards and grabbed the sides of Xavier's head, pulling their foreheads together. Breathing lightly she stared into his clear blue eyes, flushing a little at her bold move.

"Do you think I'm upset?" she asked gently, lifting one hand to brush his raven locks from his face. 

Xavier blinked, but didn't fight Akeli when she placed her hands on either side of his head and pulled his face close to hers. His blue eyes searched hers before he tilted his head slightly and sighed. When he opened his eyes again, she was pushing away his hair from his face. He breathed out the breath of a chuckle and gave her the ghost of a smile.

"From your initial reaction, yes. Was it a mistake?" He asked the question softly, his hands moving to hers to gently pull them from his hair. He folded them in his own warm hold and settled their hands between them. He glanced down, though didn't move away.

"Xav, no matter how much I complain about you being a complete idiot with no sense, that wasn't a mistake. Just startling." Snorting Akeli smirked and lifted her head, hands moving to Xavier's soft locks as she planted a light kiss on his forehead. She could feel her fingers tremble slightly as a cool breeze swept over them, removing any trace of Xavier's previous warm hold.

"Stop being so worried," she mumbled against his skin, feeling the curved worry lines on his face. "It's not as if you just morphed into an Eraser and threw a grenade at me." 

Ooc; Hard writing romance, I say. Akeli wants to call Xavvy Baby, btw. o3o

Ooc; She should totally start calling him Xavvy. o3o

Bic;

Xavier looked back up to her again, his typical cocky smile gone and in place, a shy tugging of his lips. He leaned back agains the tree trunk and when Aki shivered, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again. "I was just afraid I could have lost you, that you didn't want me like--" he broke off and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"We should get some sleep," he murmured, eyes half closing as Akeli's comforting scent and her warmth spread to him.

"I haven't gone anywhere, bright one," Akeli mumbled, though the stinging retort lost some of its fire when her voice faded away at the end. She was falling asleep, and fast. With a grumbly sort of yawn she snuggled into Xavier's arms, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Pausing to give him a swift kiss on the neck she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm going to call you Xavvy now," she said quietly. Then, without waiting for his response, fell into a deep sleep.

Ooc; Akeli cute-snores. o3o Just sayin'. 

"I know that now," he whispered back and found his own eyes closing. He smiled when she placed a light kiss on his neck and grinned for a moment when she gave him his nickname. "Okay, kitten," he murmured back, but she was already asleep. When he knew she was safely asleep and unable to hear his words, he kissed her cheek and murmured a soft 'I love you.'

As the sunlight filtered through the trees Akeli was woken by a light breeze playing over her cheek. Shivering as it caressed her pale skin she blinked her slate-gray eyes open, deliberating for a moment as she struggled to remember where she was.

Oh, right. In Xavier's arms.

Flushing suddenly she looked to her left and stared at Xavier as they sat loosely together, his arms resting around her waist. With a shiver she unwrapped her arms from his body and hugged them to herself, confused and uncertain.

Last night had been pretty eye-opening, but Akeli didn't feel ready for the sudden changes. With a sad sigh she slipped out of Xavier's eyes and as quietly as she could she climbed to the top of the tree. It was surprisingly easy and Akeli found her balanced had somehow centered, reaching the spire in record time. Shrugging at this other development she rested on a strong branch high up, staring out into the distance.

The forest stretched for what felt like miles and up here, where the air was cool and thin, Akeli felt at home. With a smile she stretched out her wings, feeling the breeze play over the gently, ruffling the inky feathers. 

One thing registered to Xavier when he cracked open his eyes. Cold. It wasn't so much that he was cold than he noticed Akeli wasn't in his arms. With a bemused ex
pression on his face for only a moment, he cracked his knuckles and heard the rustling of leaves above him. Looking up, he spotted Akeli at the topmost part of their tree, wings part-way outstretched and ex
pression calm.

He pushed himself off of the branch and was incredulous when he tried to figure out how she had climbed all the way up there, if she had. He walked out as far as he could on the branch, arms out to steady himself, before flinging himself through the air.

His wings came out with a sharp 'fwip' and after four powerful downstrokes, he had made his way up to Akeli. He circled around her with that typical cocky grin on his face, not daring to try to land on the branches there. "How'd you get up here, kitten?" he asked.

"I climbed," she said absently, swinging her legs loosely. Her heels knocked against the rough bark and the tip swung precariously, but Akeli wasn't fazed at all by the rocky movements. Rather, she lifted up her arms and swung her hands together, stretching out with a small 'oof' and a drawn out groan of satisfaction.

"Not that I know how," she added after a moment, giggling lightly. She put down her hands and clenched her perch gently. "I just...ended up here." Looking down she grinned widely and glanced back at Xavier, eyes bright.

"Watch this," Akeli crowed delightedly. With surprising ease she drew up her legs and balanced on her haunches, toes curling around the branch. Swaying slightly she smiled lightly again, flaring her wings to keep her balance. Knocking against Xavier's own wings she chuckled and lifted her hands off of the branch, waving them in the air.

"Thank god I have wings," she commented. 

Xavier glided to his left after her wings brushed against his, but only to give her more room. He looked at her incredulously, that bemused ex
pression sliding back onto his face. He shook his head and chuckled, cocky smile reaching his lips as he cast his blue eyes back to her body as she stayed perfectly balanced. He fluttered closer to her, his wingbeats a bit more strained because of the restriction of air the branches gave him.

"If you're done being a monkey, let's get to the air and put some more distance between us and the School we so happened to blow up," he said as he lightly knocked his wings against hers. He pulled back and rushed upward to break through the treeline, eyes light as he drank in the crisp morning air.