Something was different. You could feel it.

A change of weight on the mattress.

You did not have to open your eyes to know that Warren was no longer on the bed next to you.

You clenched your fist against your chest, Warren's hand missing from your grip, and you tried to stay calm. His absence could mean many things. Maybe he felt better and went stretching his legs, maybe the Professor had taken him to do more examinations or maybe he was...

You could not say it. You did not want to even think about it. You took a deep breath, then another, and opened your eyes. Light was pouring from the window and blinded you for a short second before you could see what was in front of you. An empty bed. And something else too. From the corner of your eyes, you glimpsed something grey shining in the sun. You rubbed your eyes and tried to sit on the bed but the noise of metallic clangs all around you stopped you. Still a little dazed because of the short amount of sleep you had, it took you a second to realize the grey shimmer you had glimpsed was coming from a sharp feather on the bed.

A grey metallic feather.

Warren's feather.

Your heart stopped.

Fear was starting to creep into you, reanimating your heart and making him pound faster in your chest. As you leaned over to touch the feather you realized dozens of sharp feathers were scattered across the bed. So many you would not be surprised if the entirety of Warren's wings was laid down in front of you. You could hear your brain trying to find a logical explanation to this, something that would reassure you but you did not find any. Staring at the feathers blankly, the only thing you could think about was that Warren was gone. You could feel tears building up again in your eyes as you took one of the feathers in your hand. Maybe it was the last part of Warren you would ever see again. The feather was heavy in your hand and razor-sharp. You slide your finger along its edge. A drop of blood fell from your finger as a tear streamed down your cheek.

"Be careful, angel."

Warren's voice came ringing in your voice in the most perfect way. Dropping the feather on the bed, you jumped out of it and ran toward your boyfriend. He was coming out of the bathroom, water dripping from his hair onto his shoulders and his sweatpants loosely hung on his hips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him to you. Warren circled your waist with his arms and kissed your neck once. Your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and sighed. The smell of pine and leather tickled your nose and you smiled against his neck.

He was alive.

You hugged him tightly for some time before facing him. Moving your hands to his cheeks, you studied his face carefully: his deep blue eyes were no longer showing pain, his lips had the most tender smile on it, and his skin was finally back to a normal temperature. A grin found your lips as relief washed over you. It was finally over.

You crashed your lips on his, tears of happiness streaming down your face. It was a hasty kiss but as you faced Warren again, smiling and crying at the same time, it felt like the most beautiful kiss ever.

Warren smiled at you bashfully before leaning over to kiss your cheeks and jaw. And that's when you felt it: the warm and soft caress on your back. Turning your head to your right slowly, you let out of small gasp at the sight of it. Huge white feathery wings were wrapped around you. Your mouth slightly opened from the shock, you trailed your hand across the smooth and silky feathers. It was beautiful.

Looking at his wings, you remembered your discussion in the garden a few days ago when he had told you about his old wings, how he wanted those back and you smile at the idea that it had happened.

"They're beautiful." You whispered, meeting Warren's eyes. He was still smiling bashfully but pride gleamed in his eyes at your words. "I'll have to call you angel now."

He smiled. "It still suits you better."

You chuckled, resisting the urge to roll your eyes at him. Moving your eyes back on his wings, you asked: "How did it happen?"

Warren shrugged, clearly confused about the situation. "I don't really know. When I woke up I had my old wings back and the metallic ones were everywhere on the bed. I tried to move most of it away from you, I didn't want to you to get hurt." Gesturing toward your hand, he added: "Apparently, you still did."

"I heal." You said, showing him your hand, only dried blood was left on your finger.

"Anyway-", Warren continued, smiling, "-I guess, my wings grew back inside of the metallic ones and shattered them from the inside."

"Which would explain a lot." You whispered, lowering your eyes at the reminiscence of those past events and the pain Warren had gone through. You put your hand on his chest and ran your finger across his scar, hoping than maybe Warren would finally found peace. The metallic wings were a part of his past, of his time with Apocalypse. Now, he was free of it. Your lips curled up in a smile and when Warren lifted your chin gently with his hand, you gave him the most heartfelt smile you could. Smiling too, he said:

"Thank you for staying by my side."

"It was the least I could do."

With your hand on the nape of his neck, you pulled him into a tender kiss. He raised one of his hands to cup your cheek, his wings still wrapped closely around you. As his lips parted away from yours, he rested his forehead against yours. Your eyes closed, you were breathing in unison. It was an enchanted parenthesis, just the two of you in the arms of each other. Nothing could make it more perfect. Opening your eyes, you met Warren's gaze. He was looking at you lovingly, his thumb caressing your cheek tenderly. Taking a deep breath, he whispered to you:

"I love you."

Those three simple words took your breath away. A shy smile found your lips before you could answer:

"I love you too."

His deep blue eyes shined with love. Pulling you to his chest, he buried his face in your neck. You smiled. There was nothing left to say.