Wings of Passion

This is an entry in the ATF Story Writing Contest 2024/I. The story is posted by the organizer. The actual author of the story will remain anonymous until at least the end of the contest.

Wings of Passion

Tags: b/b, angels, masturbation, anal, drama, romance, fantasy, conception, egg, contest,

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Enjoy responsibly.

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Leo sat in a quiet spot in the gardens near the Celestial School. The sun was shining, the weather was temperate, and like the other angels in Year 7, Leo was enjoying a break between classes. He opened a book and settled into a comfortable position. In truth, reading was not why he chose this particular place or time to read in the garden. A cross the way, Leo had the perfect vantage point of Telantes and Lucy, boyfriend and girlfriend, as they kissed.

Both Telantes and Lucy were in Leo’s class; they had been since Year 1, and from the start, they seemed to be an inseparable pair. It helped that both of them came from parents who were Thrones (the highest class of angels). Lucy had long, straight hair that shimmered in the sun like gold and wings that never seemed to have a feather out of place. She was also at the top of the class academically. Telantes, on the other hand, was a star athlete with a natural smile that made puppies swoon. If ever an angel had perfect lips[/I], Leo thought, [I]it would have to be Telantes. Leo would spend hours watching Telantes if he could—his pure white wings with gold highlights, his perfectly crafted dimples, and his smooth thighs... Leo sighed as his wings fluttered silently.

“Leo!” Remi called as she crossed the garden towards him. Everyone called her Remi, but her real name was Remliel, and she happened to be Leo’s best friend. Like Leo, her parents had been regular angels, but she was determined to advance to a higher class of angels once she left school. She approached and said, “Leo, what are you doing sitting here? You know we have to get good seats in class today. Come on!” Remi pulled Leo by the arm to his feet and glanced at the book. “What are you reading anyway?”

“I umm—” Leo started to say before she snatched the book from him.

“The Conquests of Eros?” Remi asked.

Leo shrugged. "It's on the reading list for class, so I wanted to get a head start.”

“Whatever,” she said, and she passed the book back to him. “We need to get to the classroom early; come on.” She turned to leave, and Leo stored the book in his satchel before following. Remi took a shortcut back to the main entrance, which happened to be near the garden springs. Leo did his best to keep pace with her.

As they walked along the path, they happened upon several of their classmates who had decided to take a swim. Neither Remi nor Leo socialize with this lot directly—they were the angels who wanted to serve in the Underworld after graduation. Some angels strive to go and work in the Empyreal City, like Leo, while others want to go and live in the Underworld.

As Leo and Remi passed a pool, a sizable splash of water startled them. The water immediately hit their robes and faces. Leo closed his eyes and shielded his face as Remi yelled, “Hey! Watch it!” When Leo opened his eyes, he saw Malik, a want-to-be fallen angel from his class. Malik had been underwater and had emerged abruptly, sending water in all directions. His eyes were closed as he shook from head to toe, flapping his burgundy-colored wings dry. After Malik finished, he merely smirked at Remi from the pool.

“Malik!” Remi said, wiping water from her face, “You got us wet!” She gave Malik a quick once-over. “And why are you swimming in your undergarments? You should at least have the decency to swim naked so you’re not wet during class.”

Malik shrugged, gave a smirk, and said, “Maybe I will go to class naked then.” Leo looked at Remi, expecting her to give a sharp comeback. Instead, she fumed for a second before turning away and walking towards the school. Leo shook his damp roles and decided not to engage Malik; he quickly followed after Remi.

When they were a good distance away, Leo asked, “Do you think he did that on purpose?”

Remi snorted. “Who knows. Who cares. With any luck, he will fail Sex Ed and be held back a year. Then we’d never have to deal with him again.”

“Speaking of class, why are ‘we’ in a rush to get there?”

“Because,” she said, “the seating assessment today impacts our partners for the final. I was talking to some people in Year 8 and Year 9. Based on their input, I reconstructed their seating charts and reverse-engineered an algorithm to find us the best seats. The best seats mean the best partners.”

Remi was being Remi again. As they reached the steps to the main entrance, Leo said, “I think you are overthinking it. Our partners are randomly assigned. Where we sit in the classroom won’t change that.”

“Right… But we both know ‘random’ is code for God’s plan. Well, this time I have figured out God’s plan ahead of time, and I am going to class prepared.”

Leo rolled his eyes. "Look, Remi, maybe it’s random, maybe it’s not. Either way, I don’t think you, or any mere angel, can manipulate God’s plan to your benefit.”

Remi stopped and spread her green-tipped wings as she turned to face Leo. She could look formidable when she was serious. “You get how important this is, right? WE have to pass. WE have to succeed. I don’t want to be stuck with some half-wit trying to coax life into a slab of mud. This is our chance to prove to everyone we have what it takes to advance to a higher-grade. Got it?” Leo nodded—it was best not to argue with her when she was like this…

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Leo and Remi found the classroom empty—not a surprise, being at least 20 minutes early. The 24 olive wood desks were spaced evenly apart, six desks per row, four rows deep. Remi pulled out a notebook with a bunch of her scribblings; she studied it.

“Right,” she said. “If you sit in the fourth column, second row, and I sit in the second column, third row, there is a 62.8% chance we will be partners. Plus, our odds improve by another 7% if someone whose name starts with an ‘A’ sits in front of me.”

Leo dubiously took a seat and laid his satchel on the desk. The second row was his preferred spot in the classroom anyway. The back rows were reserved for the misfits, and the first row was for, well, people like Telantes. Chances were, once everyone was assigned a partner, they would be given assigned seats for the rest of the year as well. This was one last bit of freedom before the big project—a project that could follow them well into adulthood. Completing Year 7 was also a major milestone, marking the midpoint of their education. They wouldn’t be treated like children for much longer.

As Leo daydreamed, a classmate, Arael, entered the room. He was pleasant enough company, but he was not known to be the brightest star in the sky. Remi jumped to her feet. “Arael! Arael! I saved you a seat. Sit here!” she said, as she pointed to the seat in front of her. Arael looked stunned and glanced over at Leo. All Leo could do was shrug.

“Okay,” Arael said. "But shouldn’t I sit next to you?”

“No, no, this is the best seat. Besides, if you sit here, I can look at your wings. They always look so soft and neat. Do you brush them daily? Tell me, what is your secret?”

Arael extended his right wing and glanced at it. His cloud-gray feathers looked average at best, although Leo did think Arael’s wingspan was larger than his own. “Nah,” Arael said, “I let them do their own thing.”

“Well, sit here, please,” Remi said. Arael, in a nonchalant manner, set his stuff on the desk in front of her and plopped down on the chair. Leo glanced back at Remi, who was smiling, and gave him a thumbs up. There was still a little time before class started, so Arael pulled out his phone and started playing games.

Soon enough, the other Year 7s started to fill the classroom. A boy named Nahaliel took a seat to the left of Leo, some of the misfits clamored to the back row, and finally Telantes and Lucy entered. Lucy took the seat directly in front of Leo, with Telantes to her left. Leo smiled as they seated themselves, but they didn’t make eye contact with him. They were always polite but distant with the others in class, so Leo didn’t take it personally. He sat there, enjoying the scent of sugar cookies which wafted off of Telantes.

As the clock’s second hand signaled the start of class, Archangel Muriel entered the room. The room immediately hushed, as if her presence had cast a spell over them. Archangels were only one class above regular angels and below the other two classes (Hosannas and Thrones), but it was still a challenging position to achieve. Students generally respected their teachers, of course, but it was the significance of the day that gave most of them nervous jitters today. Muriel placed her things on her desk and turned to face the room. Before speaking, she adjusted her massive, peach-colored wings and checked to see everyone was present and settled. She smiled.

Muriel said, “I am sure I don’t have to tell any of you the theoretical portion of the class is now over. Now we will be starting the practical portion of the class and, of course, the art of producing an offspring. In order to pass the class and, more importantly, pass Year 7, each of you must successfully hatch a living being before the last day of class. If I were you, I would start sooner rather than later... Just in case anything goes wrong, you will have plenty of time to try again before the end of term.” Leo was listening intently to every word she said. “As you know, it takes two angels to make an offspring. For class, your partners will be chosen at random and assigned to you tomorrow. Then, when both of you are ready, you will go gather the clay, form the egg, write your names on it, say the chant, and watch over it until it hatches.” She smirked. “Sounds simple, right?”

Nahaliel raised his hand and asked, “Do we need to have sex with our partners?”

Muriel paused[/I] before answering. “No, it’s not required. If angels merely had to have sex to have children, I bet most students in this school would have offspring by now. Certainly, as each of you grows older and finds a life partner, sex wouldn’t hurt your chances of successfully creating a child. Physical intimacy does a lot towards bringing two angels together.” Leo noticed Telantes and Lucy were holding each other's hands. [I]Lucy is quite lucky, Leo thought.

Muriel continued by saying, “And no one expects any of you to produce an angel offspring during your first time, and at such a young age. At best, some of you will get a baby bunny or kitten. Others will end up with a serpent or some other crime against nature.” Muriel put her hands up in a comforting way toward the class. “But don’t worry too much about it. A baby kitten is as good as a three-headed serpent with seven legs—both are a passing grade. However, the best of the offspring will be allowed to roam freely in the Elysian Fields, while the others will be burned out of existence using the fires of the Underworld.”

“Oh,” Arael said without raising his hand, “can I make mine a puppy?”

“Anything is possible,” Muriel replied, “but it involves more than merely wanting something to achieve it.”

Leo could hear Arael start to quietly chant “puppy, puppy, puppy” over and over again to himself.

Next Lucy raised her hand. “I have three questions, actually,” she said. “The first one is, since I know Telantes is my life partner, can we be partners? Two, if we manage to make an angel offspring, would we be the youngest in history to do it? And finally, why is raising an egg a part of our Sex Education class if it’s not strictly required for reproduction?”

Muriel smirked at Lucy before answering. There was no doubt in Leo’s mind their teacher had expected these kinds of questions from someone like her. “Firstly,” Muriel said, “the assignment of partners is always random. Think of this as a test to prove that you and Telantes are really meant to be together. Second, angels your age still have a lot of changes to go through, and most don’t reach their full power until adulthood. Creating an angel offspring at your age is probably impossible.” She paused. “And finally, sex education covers issues relating to sexuality, sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual health, safe sex, emotional relations, and responsibilities. All of these issues relate to who you choose to share sexual gratification with and potentially reproduce with. Some of you may only have sex with close friends, while others might reserve it only for their life partners. Aside from being a pleasurable act, sex is one of many key elements which could be helpful in hatching an egg with someone."

Leo sat there, wishing Telantes was one of the angels who liked to have sex with male friends. Not that he and Telantes were friends exactly. But you never knew when a hunky jock might want a change, give into temptation, and finally notice him. Leo made himself ready for all eventualities. Telantes[/I], he thought, [I]was surely going to get a puppy or an adorable bunny from his egg. Leo started to daydream about the kind of egg he and Telantes could make as Muriel continued talking.

“I don’t want any of you to forget about the upcoming test either,” Archangel Muriel said. “It will cover all the important things to remember while having airborne sex, plus the art of safe penetration. Hopefully, there won’t be any more incidents like Arael and the pine tree last month…”

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During the evening meal, Leo joined Remi, Nahaliel, and Arael for company in the great dining hall. Remi felt obligated to ask Arael to join them because of her comments to him earlier before class. Leo thought of Arael like filler—not good or bad, just present to add substance. Much like the lettuce on his plate. It was mid-spring, the snow had mostly disappeared from the nearby mountaintops, and all the in-season berries and vegetables made a culinary appearance on his dish. The lettuce was there—not that it needed to be, but because it appeared this time of year.

Leo put his elbow on the table, rested his chin in his palm, and toyed with his food. He glanced over at Telantes’ table. He wondered if there was a chance Muriel might partner him and Telantes together. Many of the athletes socialized together at mealtime, and Telantes had a number of fans around him. The kids at the other table would occasionally laugh, making Leo wonder if they had divine humor as well as flawless beauty. “Ever notice how the name Telantes rolls off the tongue,” Leo said, sighing. “And his wings are so much bigger than mine.” Realizing his companions were staring at him, Leo sat properly and stopped watching Telantes. “Sorry, daydreaming,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Arael said. “Besides, it’s not about how big your wings are; it’s about how you use them.”

Leo thought about his words for a second, then realized who was saying them—Arael, the same boy who decided sucking his own dick while flying was a good idea and ran into a tree… Arael didn’t have the best track record for having good judgment.

“He’s not worth it,” Remi added. “Sure, he’s gorgeous... Probably his parents used the finest clay to chisel those abs out of, but behind those jeweled eyes and cute smile is probably a void. And don’t get me started about Lucy.”

“Jealous?” asked Nahaliel.

Remi replied, "No... but if I have to hear her say again how symmetrical both her breasts are, I’ll literally scream. And let’s face it, Telantes’ breasts are bigger than hers.” Nahaliel snickered.

“Does he like large breasts?” Leo asked, then looked at his flat, boyish twelve-year-old chest. There wasn’t much he could do to make himself more feminine.

Remi shrugged. “Don’t know. You’d have to ask him. But… I think he’s only ever been into girls.”

Leo stared at his plate for a few moments. Maybe it is time to clear my head and get dessert. “I am going for cake,” he announced, and he got up from the table. The food in the dining hall was always served as a buffet, and eyeing the dessert selection always improved his mood.

He walked past the other tables and nodded politely to a few other kids he knew. Before reaching the dessert table, something brown came hurdling at him. Leo didn’t see it in time to move, and the warm, gooey projectile hit him right in the face. “Fudge!” he said. He had recognized the scent instantly and wiped the warm chocolate from his cheek. No doubt it had been warmed by the hot hands of some deviant angel. He glanced around and settled his gaze on Malik’s table. A group of snickering fallen wannabes were gathered together, but they weren’t looking directly at him. Whatever, I’ll go clean it off in the restroom. He wasn’t going to engage them in their silly antics.

Leo left the dining hall and pushed open the restroom door. It seemed empty. Good, there was no need to explain to anyone what happened. In the mirror, he saw the extent of the impact—face, neck, and robe coated with residual fudge goo. It was more than he expected. He turned on the warm water and grabbed some paper towels—his robe would need to be properly washed later.

As he tried to wipe his face clean, one of the stalls opened. Telantes—of course it was Telantes—exited. The smell of sugar cookies filled the space. Leo had been too distracted by the fudge to notice Telantes’ scent lingering in the air. He froze and watched Telantes come over to the sinks to wash his hands.

The jock eyed him and said, “It looks like you missed your mouth.”

“Breasts!” Leo said abruptly, and his cheeks flushed. Telantes raised an eyebrow and gave him a look like he was crazy. Leo added, more calmly, “I—umm was wondering if you like big breasts.” The moment the words left his mouth, Leo knew how dumb he sounded.

Telantes stood there and glazed into the distance as he thought for a moment. “Sure, under the right conditions.” Then he glanced back at Leo. “Why? Has Lucy been talking about hers again? If anything, she’s more obsessed with them than I am.”

“Oh, no, I was curious what you liked,” Leo replied. The restroom door opened, but he didn’t turn to see who it was.

Telantes playfully bumped Leo’s clean shoulder with his fist as he walked past. Before leaving, he said, “Yeah, people are always asking me random stuff.” Then he proceeded to leave the restroom.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief—he might have been holding his breath part of the time. It was then he noticed Malik was the one who had entered moments ago. The mischievous eleven-year-old was standing there, looking at him. “What?” Leo asked as he went back to wiping his face clean.

“Looks like you got hit good,” Malik said. Leo snorted, unamused. “I can lick it off, if you want.”

“No thanks,” Leo replied. It wasn’t clear what game Malik was playing.

Malik casually shrugged and said, “Just trying to be helpful.” Leo sincerely doubted that. A moment passed, and Malik added, “What were you and Telantes talking about?”

“Girl’s breasts, if you must know.” Leo grabbed more towels to dry his face.

“Really? I always thought you had a crush on him. Heh… of course, who doesn't? I bet half the teachers here would do him too. But he does seem pretty solid with Lucy.”

Leo saw no point in discussing things with Malik. He glanced at his reflection—better, but not perfect—and tossed the used towels in the trash. “I’m done. The restroom is yours.” He gladly left Malik there.

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The next day, everyone, including Leo, was anxiously waiting for the start of Sex Ed. Remi was quietly praying to herself. Leo knew how determined she was with her calculations with the seat arrangements. He had strong doubts about her method, but she was convinced there was a 69.8% chance it would have the desired effect—getting them paired together. Sadly, she may never know, one way or another, if she was right. As far as Leo was concerned, he rather hoped his partner would be another boy, particularly Telantes. But Remi and him did make a good team, and passing the class mattered more than other things.

Archangel Muriel entered the classroom early with a cart of gear for the ten pairs—tools everyone used to make an egg. Small shovels with a toolkit to gather clay, a wooden mold to shape the clay into an egg form, a harness to carry the egg with, and stylists to write on the clay egg.

“Wow…” Nahaliel said, “those molds are bigger than I expected.” Leo had been thinking the same thing.

“You are making full-sized eggs,” Muriel said, “not some small bird egg. The molds are 20 inches tall. But don’t worry; after you have formed the eggs and they have transformed, you won’t be carrying 50 pounds of clay back with you. It will be more like 2 pounds.”

Arael said, “And where do we build a nest?” Leo heard people in the class snicker.

Muriel rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to build a nest, only keep the egg safe until it hatches. The time for hatching varies greatly, so keep an eye on it. Though, I bet most of you won’t leave it out of your sight.” Leo already knew he was going to guard his egg constantly.

“I brought hibiscus oil to mist each shovel of clay with,” Lucy said. “And silk gloves.”

“That seems completely unnecessary,” Muriel said, “but everyone does it their own way.”

“Tell us who our partners are already!” A boy named Elyon shouted from the back of the room.

“Alright,” Muriel said. “Since all of you are here and eager to get started, there is no point in waiting any longer.” She opened a folded sheet of paper. “After I read your names, you and your partners probably want to fly straight to the mountains and get the clay—it’s better to finish before dark. We have: Telantes and Lucy—" Random my ass. “—Agla and Elyon, Remi and Arael—” Leo heard Remi gasp in horror. “Leo and Malik—” A knot immediately formed in Leo’s stomach. He and Remi looked at each other in astonished horror as Muriel finished the list. What had ‘they’ done to deserve this?

While the other students gathered their equipment and prepared to leave, Remi asked Muriel, “Is it possible to exchange partners? I think Arael and Malik would make a great pair.”

“No,” Muriel said. “The list is the list.” Leo glanced over at Arael, and he was already wearing a harness on his head like a helmet.

It wasn’t long before Malik came over to Leo’s side and looked over the equipment. He said, "It looks awfully heavy. I’ll carry the small shovels.”

“Fine,” Leo said. He grabbed the harness and mold; neither were particularly heavy, but they were cumbersome. At least the harness could be fastened to his chest. “Are you ready to do this?” he asked Malik. Leo didn’t know what else he could say; they had to make an egg together or fail the class. Malik shrugged—he looked a little too relaxed for Leo’s taste.

Everyone left the classroom and went to the school's main entrance. There were many mountains to choose from near the school. Each mountain had perfectly usable clay, so it was up to the pair to decide where they wanted to go.

Lucy said, “Telantes and I are going to the top of that mountain—” she pointed in the distance “—to find virgin clay with snow still on it.”

“Umm, isn’t all the clay virgin?” Telantes asked. “Besides, won’t it be cold and hard to dig if it’s frozen?”

She gave him a serious look. “This is for ‘our’ egg, remember.” Telantes wasn’t looking optimistic—maybe she was going to make him do all the digging.

Arael pointed in another direction. “That mountain has a cloud shaped like a dog over it! Let’s go there.” Remi, looking crestfallen, reluctantly followed after him as he took off flying.

Leo looked at Malik. “What if we go south? Less snow means it's easier to dig.”

Malik smirked. “What, you mean you don’t want to freeze your hands off digging ‘virgin’ clay out of the snow all day?” He spread his wings and ascended into the air before Leo could respond, and hovered above him.

I can get through this, Leo told himself, and he followed after Malik.

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They flew south, riding on the air currents, until they came to the northern face of the mountain—about fifteen miles from the school. Leo’s arms were getting tired of carrying the egg mold, and he suggested they land on a flat ridge about halfway up the mountain. Malik agreed. Being high above ground level, the temperature was at least ten degrees cooler. Having planned ahead, Leo wore a heaver robe, and he was thankful for it.

The ground was still wet from melting snow, and Leo was pleased—the clay would be easier to dig. He set the mold and harness down and took a shovel from Malik. Near the vertical mountain face, the top soil had been eroded, and clear layers of different clays were visible. Leo saw colors ranging from blue and gray to brown and red. Perfect.

“I want red clay,” Malik said.

Leo said, “Fine. You get red, and I will get gray. It won’t matter in the end.” He separated the wooden mold, and they each took half. Leo dug his shovel into the wet clay, scooped some out with a slunk sound, and plopped it into the mold. This was definitely not the romantic, exciting, jitter-inducing experience Leo always imagined it would be. Making a baby was hard, dirty work.

“I guess you thought you’d be doing this with Remi, huh?” Malik said. “Do you and her have sex?”

In reality, Leo had dreamed of doing this with Telantes; Remi was merely a safe choice for a passing grade. “No,” he replied, “we are friends.” Another chunk of gray wet clay plopped into the mold with a splat.

Malik said, “I did a girl once, but there were too many holes down there—” splat “—I didn’t know which one to use, so I ended up trying to use both. She wasn’t happy about that—” splat “—it happened before the Sex Ed class, so it wasn’t my fault I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Interesting,” Leo said.

“Yeah… I have a few tutors now,” Malik said, “for Sex Ed. Mostly guys from Years 10 and 11—” splat “—They like to help me study a few of the standard sex positions. I have become pretty good at it too—and I got a 100% on the last quiz.”

There was no doubt in Leo’s mind these older boys were in the fallen angel group too. He couldn’t imagine some of the older, virtuous angels trying to bed Malik. “Good for you,” he said.

“You’re being awfully quiet. Aren’t you excited to be finally doing this?” Splat.

Leo shrugged. "It's... it’s not like I imagined it would be.”

Splat. “Heh, tell me about it. I think my hands are going to freeze off. Aren’t you cold?”

In fact, Leo was cold; the wet clay certainly wasn’t helping. “Maybe you will find some sulfur to light on fire…” He glanced over and saw Malik was literally shivering—he wasn’t dressed properly for the cold mountain air. “You should have covered up more.”

“You want me to go back and change? It’d take an hour or more.”

Leo sighed. He couldn’t finish this alone. Plus, letting his partner freeze to death would probably lead to failing the class… He shoved his shovel into the clay wall and walked over to Malik. “Okay, give me your hands,” Leo said. Malik casually dropped his shovel and extended his hands. Leo opened his robes slightly and pulled Malik’s icy, cold hands to his bare chest. It was unpleasant, but necessary.

They glanced at each other briefly before they both looked in different directions. Leo noticed Malik had collected less clay than he had so far. It didn’t occur to him until then—seeing Malik’s slender arms—he was a bit stronger than Malik. Leo said, “I guess you prefer the warmer climate of the Underworld.”

Malik shrugged. “Never been there. I am from the Empyreal city.”
 
"But you want to go there after graduation?” They still have seven years of school left before they make a decision. However, most angels, even young ones, had an idea of what they’d do after school.

“Yeah, of course! They have all the latest games and tech, not to mention the best parties. The warm weather is a bonus. The Empyreal City is so slow and boring. I have no desire to be a scholar or librarian. I need some fun and action; some excitement.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “In other words, the Empyreal City is too peaceful and serene.”

“The underworld has some peaceful places too, like near the rivers of fire or the barren emerald plains... but you can’t tell me you want to spend all your time reading and studying once you leave school.”

“I will do other things too,” Leo said. Although he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “The Empyreal City has sports as well.” He immediately thought of Gate Diving—something boys like Telantes play—involving an arena with multiple goals, two teams, and fit players sweating from intense flying. The teams had mixed genders, but Leo preferred watching the boys in their tight shorts—they definitely used padding to protect their boy bits. It was exciting to watch.

Leo felt Malik’s thumbs start to rub his nipples, and it jerked him back to reality. “Sorry,” Malik said, “habit.”

“We should get back to digging; we still need a lot more clay for the mold,” Leo said. He released Malik’s hands and readjusted his robe.

“You know, we could always practice some of the things we learned in class to keep warm.”

“Like building a fire or sewing robes?” Leo asked. He knew full well Malik was suggesting sex. However, Leo couldn’t see himself having sex with Malik, especially here on a mountain surrounded by cold, wet clay.

Malik snorted. “You know what I meant. It’d be fun. And we could do it quick.”

Leo hadn’t even considered the time they’d waste if they had sex. "Look, Malik, we are making a baby together; it doesn’t mean I want to have sex with you. Let’s get the clay and form the egg so we can get someplace warmer. Okay?”

“Fine,” Malik said reluctantly. "But Archangel Muriel did say sex might be good for the egg…” Leo shrugged the comment off and went back to shoveling. He’d bend over and take it up the ass for Telantes… but not Malik, that’s for sure.

The shadows shifted as time passed, and it was two hours later before they each had enough clay. Leo’s stomach was starting to look forward to dinner as he used a leveling tool to even out the clay in his half of the mold. The clay had to be good, not perfect, to successfully meld the two halves into one.

Leo stood and looked at his half laying on its side. It looked ready. A few feet away, Malik was putting the final touches on his half. He realized they would need to bring the two halves together, so he tried to slide his half—it didn’t budge. He put all of his weight into pushing the mold, and it barely moved an inch. Leo turned to Malik and said, “This thing must be like 40 pounds or more. Why didn’t we fill them next to each other?”

Malik shrugged. “Because we haven’t been working together?”

Leo realized Malik had made a good point. Still[/I]… “Alright, let’s push them together then.” He went over to Malik’s half, and together they managed to slide it. It took some effort, but they got both halves near each other. They tilted each half vertically so they could latch the base of the mold together and from the complete egg. They were both warm now from the exertion. [I]Okay, lesson learned. With the clay egg formed, the top portion of the mold hinged down, leaving the completed clay egg on a wood pedestal.

Leo grabbed two stylists from the toolkit and handed one to Malik. “Now we have to sign our names, say the chant, and it should be done,” he said. He knew full well the annoying part was actually going to be watching it for the next week or so until it hatched. The time between now and hatching was the important bit—giving it life and form—based on how they handled it. There was no exact formula or science for raising an egg; it was unique for each pair of angels.

They both kneeled on either side of the egg and took their time carving their names into it. Leo used the best calligraphy he could muster on the wet clay surface. Malik took more time to finish—his name was longer.

“What if it doesn’t work?” Malik said as he worked.

“W-what do you mean?”

“If we say the chant and the egg stays clay.”

Only Malik could think of such a frightening thing. Leo said, “Don’t think like that. It will work. We have done everything right.” Malik didn’t respond; he finished writing and set his stylist down.

They looked at each other, and Leo said, “Ready?” Malik nodded. Every student in class practiced the chant hundreds of times, so they knew it by heart. Saying it was like muscle memory at this point, but Leo felt small jitters in his stomach because now it seemed very real.

Together, they said, “Lutum argilla in ovum transforma nobis ad curandum et tuendum.”

Leo held his breath and watched the clay egg. He’d seen videos before, but never before had he seen it happen in person or with his very own egg. Every second felt like minutes while he watched for a sign the process had started—the clay always changed from the center and moved out. Then he heard small clicking noises, like glass fragmenting, as the surface began to change at the top. The dull half gray and half red surface of the clay was slowly replaced by a shiny marbled surface as it cascaded downward. The whole transformation took about fifteen-seconds but felt a whole lot longer.

Both Leo and Malik let out a sigh of relief when the sound stopped. They were left with a gray and burgundy marbleized egg. A real egg, not clay. Leo realized how tense he had been and relaxed his muscles. His knees were tired of kneeling on the hard ground, so he stood, and his stomach told him it was time for food.

“Whose going to umm, carry it back?” Malik asked.

“I can,” Leo said. He trusted himself more than Malik anyway. “But you will have to carry the other stuff—I can’t do it all.” Malik nodded, and Leo went to get the leather egg-carrying harness to secure it around his chest and waist. He had an egg to protect now—he felt different, maybe older, but definitely tired.

Leo went back to the egg and lifted it off the wood holder. It was so much lighter now. A few pounds at most. If things progressed normally, it would get heavier as time went on. He strapped the large egg to his chest and was ready to go. As lightweight as it was now, it was still a burden being so large; it reduced his mobility and would make flying a bit more troublesome.

Malik gathered up the remaining items. He didn’t look pleased about it. It had been a lot of work digging the clay out, it was cold, and it was also dinner time—so it was easy to feel miserable. Leo also noticed Malik wasn’t as talkative as he was earlier.

“Ready?” Leo asked. Malik nodded, and they took off back towards the school. I wonder how Remi is doing. I should have texted her.

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Back at school, Leo and Malik went immediately to the dining hall. Food first, shower later. Once there, it wasn’t hard to spot Remi—she was sitting in the usual area with a giant egg strapped to her. She looked miserable, like anyone would after digging in clay for hours—her hair was a mess and had chunks of clay in it. Leo figured he looked just as terrible.

Malik followed Leo over to the table. Leo mustered a smile, despite his exhaustion, and said, “Looks like we were both successful. Where is you-know-who?”

“Arael?” Remi said, “He’s getting me food. I can hardly move with this thing strapped to me. And let me say now, making an egg isn’t as fun or glorious as everyone makes it seem.” Leo snorted in agreement and sat next to her.

“Do you want me to umm, get you stuff?” Malik said to Leo.

Leo assumed ‘stuff’ meant food. It was a nice offer, one he didn’t expect, but he reserved judgment until after Malik had actually done it. “Sure, that would be helpful, thanks,” he replied. Malik left, leaving Remi and Leo at the table.

Remi raised an eyebrow. “Friends with Malik now?”

Leo shrugged. “Just raising an egg together for class.” He glanced at her egg, which was almost solid brown, like milk chocolate. It had a figure drawn on it. “Is that a dog?” Leo said, gesturing to the thing drawn on the egg.

“I think so. Arael drew it.” As Remi said it, Arael appeared with two plates of food—all yellow items. For reasons beyond Leo’s imagination, Arael decided to only get yellow squash, yellow tomatoes, yellow corn, yellow bananas, yellow cheese… Remi looked at it with a sort of restrained annoyance. “I am not going to even ask,” she said. Leo couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked at him and said, “Just wait; you don’t know what Malik is getting you.”

A few minutes later, Malik returned with a mountain of food—more than anyone could eat. “I didn’t know what you’d want, so I got a little of everything,” Malik said.

Leo was about to say something when Lucy and Telantes entered the dining hall. Lucy entered dramatically with a lot of noise, so almost everyone turned to stare at them. Lucy was looking perfect—a little too perfect. She must have showered before making an appearance. Behind her was Telantes—he looked like he spent the afternoon digging clay—exhausted and dirty. He was also the one carrying the egg in a harness. As they walked through the room, Lucy was saying to everyone, “Look, we have our perfect egg. See, it’s pure white.”

Remi scoffed and mumbled, “Egg color is meaningless. Who is she fooling?”

“I know, right?" Malik said. “Besides, ours is way cooler-looking.”

Leo shrugged. “As long as they are happy, right? As we learned in class, positive thoughts help.” Though, Telantes didn’t look too happy...

Later, after dinner, Malik followed Leo back to his apartment. It was in the same part of the school as Malik’s because angels were assigned semi-permanent living quarters with their cohort. Having the same room for fourteen years of school made things convenient. Leo’s apartment had three other angels who, like him, wanted to someday work in the Empyreal City. This meant the apartment was always clean and quiet, with the occasional social gathering of like-minded people.

Malik entered the common area and said, "It's very clean in here.”

“Thanks,” Leo said. “You don’t have to stay; I’ll watch the egg tonight.”

“It’s still early. What are you going to do before bed?”

“Bathe, mostly.” He still had clay on him and under his finger nails.

“I could stay and watch if you want,” Malik said.

“Watch me bathe?”

“I meant the egg. But we could bathe together…”

“No, I’m good.” Leo pulled out his phone. “Here, let’s exchange phone numbers. We’ll have to keep in constant contact when one of us is caring for the egg. It’s important we keep each other updated.”

Malik got his phone out. “Good idea.”

They exchanged numbers, and they said their farewells for the night. Leo was starting to think Malik wasn’t such a bad partner. Sure, the egg is very important to both of their grades, but Malik was taking it more seriously than Leo had expected. Or... Malik was too tired to act out. Only time will tell.

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

The next morning, Leo woke feeling refreshed—the night had been uneventful. He snapped a picture of the egg resting on his desk and sent it to Malik. The first night was over, and Leo hadn’t done anything stupid—not that he planned to. The hard part would be handing the egg over to Malik to watch. Malik could be loud, spontaneous, and wild when he was with his friends. Leo could only hope the egg would stay safe with Malik. If not, they’d be forced to make another. Leo got a thumbs-up emoji from Malik and he felt pleased.

Leo went to the dining hall for breakfast and didn’t see Malik. He wanted to hand over the egg, so he pulled out his phone. 
Leo: Where are you? 
Malik: Swimming.
 Leo: Today it is your turn to watch the egg.
 Malik: If you come to the pool now, you can see my naked butt. 
Leo: I am trying to eat. I’ll wait for you here.


He decided to set his phone down, but it beeped again—Malik had sent him a picture of his bare butt. Leo couldn’t help but smirk in amusement.

Eventually, Leo was able to hand the egg over to Malik. It was, in a way, a relief, which surprised him. Carrying and thinking about the egg all the time did add a stain. Once Malik was watching it, Leo could relax a little. They didn’t share all their classes together, so occasionally he would send Malik a message, and Malik then responded fairly quickly. Everything seemed to be going well.

That evening, Leo tried to read in his room but was too distracted. He kept thinking about the egg and how it was fairing in Malik’s care. He started to have weird thoughts, such as, How comfortable was the egg in Malik’s room? Did Malik remember to keep the egg away from fire? Does Malik have a clean room?

Leo decided to text him about their egg. 
Leo: How is the egg? 
Five minutes later—no response. 
Leo: ??? 
Five minutes later—no response.
 Leo: !!!!!!! 
Five minutes later—still no response.

Leo gave in and called him. Malik’s phone rang several times—no answer—and it went to voicemail. He didn’t know Malik well, but this was not doing him any good. The egg was too important for him to sit around and do nothing. He stood and went straight to Leo’s apartment to investigate. When Leo arrived at Malik’s place, it didn’t take long to realize they were having a party. And it wasn’t the calm, peaceful parties Leo went to—this was a massive group orgy, the kind the fallen angels were known for having.

At the front door, Leo was immediately greeted by an older boy with blueish wings, around sixteen, and completely naked except for a cup of ambrosia he was holding. He was attractive and well-endowed, but not exactly Leo’s type. In the background, numerous others of various ages were in the midst of sex on every surface of the apartment. The guy said, “Hey, do you need a friend for the party?”

Leo knew ‘friend’ meant sex buddy. He said, “No, I am here to see someone,” and entered the room. From the state of the room, Leo figured Malik never had to study for Sex Ed—a few minutes here, and you would learn everything you needed to know about sex. He recognized one girl despite her being upside down, bent over a couch, being fucked by an older boy. Leo paused for a second to watch her tits bounce with each thrust of the boy. She seemed busy, so Leo didn’t say hi. The rest of the people around him were unfamiliar.

On a couch in the back of the room, Leo finally spotted a familiar set of red wings. Malik was making out with a boy roughly the same age. This was the sort of behavior Leo expected from Malik. As he got closer, it was clear both of them were aroused and groping each other. Leo was only here about the egg—he tried to ignore the rest.

Malik didn’t notice Leo, seeing as how he was too busy being tongue-deep in the other boy. Leo tapped him with a gentle kick of his foot, and it got his attention.

“Oh,” Malik said and turned his head, “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Leo snorted. “You didn’t answer your phone, so I came. I am here to check on the egg. Please tell me it’s not somewhere under all these undulating people.” Some of the boys were quite eye-catching; maybe some of the girls were too.

“Of course not; it’s safe. It’s in my room.” Malik nodded toward a door in the distance.

“Okay,” Leo said. “I’ll go keep an eye on it while you are busy.”

Malik stood, and the other boy said, “Hey, what about me?” His boner looked eager to continue what they were doing.

Malik said, “Sorry, I guess we can try it later.”

Leo didn’t expect Malik to accompany him—but it was Malik’s room he was headed to, so it made sense he wanted to follow after him. He opened the door and saw the egg in the middle of the bed. It was wrapped in a red robe like a makeshift nest. At least it was safe. Malik’s room was cleaner than he imagined, but there were clothes scattered on the floor. There was also a massive painting of the underworld on the ceiling.

He went over to the egg and put his hand on it. His hand met something sticky on the surface. It seemed familiar. “Eww, is this what I think it is?” Leo said.

Malik came over and bent down to sniff the egg. Then he licked it. “Yeah, it’s jizz.”

“You were cumming on ‘our’ egg?” Leo wasn’t sure what to think.

“I don’t think it is mine,” Malik said.

Leo's eyes got wide. “You were letting others cum on our egg?!?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Malik said. “I had some friends in here, and at one point we were cumming, so maybe some jizz landed on it without me knowing. Don’t worry, I’ll lick it off right now.”

“I’ll get a towel from your bathroom.” Leo paused, then said, “I ‘assume’ you have towels.”

“Yeah,” Malik said, then he started licking the egg. Leo went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel to do a proper job of cleaning it.

When the egg was clean to Leo’s satisfaction, they sat on either side of the bed with the egg between them. Malik was still nude, but Leo noticed he was no longer erect. Leo said, “You can go back to your ‘friend’ now.”

Malik shrugged. “I never met him before—I don't even know his name. I thought he was good-looking." The room was silent for a moment. Then he asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Me?” Leo said, “I am going to stay here and watch you watch the egg. Or, at least, until the party is over.”

“Do you want anything? I can get you a cup of ambrosia if you want.”

Leo half shrugged and said, “Sure, why not?" Malik left to fetch the drink, and Leo made himself comfortable on the bed. There were a lot of pillows, which he liked. As he moved the pillows around, he found a pair of underwear—which he swiftly deposited on the floor—and a fuzzy, stuffed bunny. The bunny reminded Leo of his own stuffed koala toy in his room.

Malik returned with two cups, one for each of them. Leo took his and sipped the ambrosia. It was mildly aromatic and sweet as honey, with hints of wildflower. He could feel himself start to relax a few moments later. With the egg safely within sight, he felt much better.

Sometime later, Leo opened his eyes and realized he had fallen asleep—probably the ambrosia’s fault. He was staring up at the painting of the Underworld and knew he was still in Malik’s bed. There was a distinct aroma of fried onions. Leo realized it was Malik. At some point in the night, Malik wrapped his arm around Leo and was partially laying on top of him, face down on his shoulder—he was asleep and still naked. Malik’s left wing was covering Leo, and it felt surprisingly soft to the touch. Leo found himself running his fingers along the grain of the red feathers. He realized Malik must spend a lot of time grooming his wings.

Malik stirred and muttered, “I smell nuts.”

Leo’s first thought, of course, was nutsacks—balls. “Nuts? It’s your bed, so I guess I am not surprised.”

“I mean, you smell like almonds,” Malik said groggily, stretching his wings. “I like almond pastry.” Malik rolled off Leo and onto his back. Leo could see Malik’s boner was wide awake and pointing straight up.

Leo’s own robe was tenting, and it was visible now with Malik’s wing no longer covering him. Casually, Malik’s right hand drifted down to Leo’s bulge and started to caress Leo’s dick through the fabric. It felt good, but Leo wasn’t sure if he should stop it. Malik started jerking himself off with his other hand. This continued for a bit until Malik’s fingers started fishing between the fabric of Leo’s robe to grasp his shaft. It took a moment, but he found it. Malik’s hand was cool, but it felt good, and Leo’s cock loved the attention.

“What are you doing?” Leo asked halfheartedly.

Malik said, “You know what I am doing. Just enjoy it.”

It was too early in the morning to resist. Leo relaxed and let Malik have his way. It felt good to have Malik jerk him off. The speed, the grip, the motion—it was different from his own hand—it added a bit of mystery and excitement to it. It was such a simple act too, yet Leo realized no one, aside from himself, had ever jerked him off before. He was aroused, and it didn’t take much effort to get him off. Leo pulled his robes up in anticipation as the pleasurable feeling increased. Ecstasy throbbed in his shaft. Malik didn’t stop—thankfully—and Leo’s dick twitched as a few drops of cum landed on his belly button. His body was tense for a moment, and then the wave of pleasure passed. With a sigh of relief, Leo relaxed into the bed.

"You are lucky,” Malik said. “I am better with my right hand.” He switched hands and focused on his own dick. Leo watched as Malik’s own orgasm washed over him. His butt lifted off the bed, and he tried humping his hand as he came. Cum spurted from his dick and landed all around him—despite being slightly younger, Malik had more jizz than Leo. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over, and Malik laid back on the bed.

Malik turned his head to look at Leo and said, “So are we good?”

Leo had enjoyed it, but he was a little lost for words. Something about the time, the place, and the setting; it had felt right. “Yeah,” Leo said.

Malik jumped out of bed. “I usually go swimming before breakfast. You should come.”

“Someone has to watch the egg.” Leo sat up on the bed.

“You can still come. We can take turns.” Malik handed Leo the egg. “I think it has gotten heavier already.”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

The sun was shining by the time they made it to the pools. It was still early, so only a few people were milling about—mostly older students. It was Leo’s day to watch the egg, so it was strapped to his chest. Malik, on the other hand, wasted no time in dropping his robes and diving into one of the pools. Leo never realized how much Malik enjoyed swimming.

Leo went looking for a comfortable place to sit when he spotted Telantes laying in the grass with his egg beside him. He decided to throw caution into the wind and go sit with him. We are both caring for an egg, so I could at least talk about that.

He sat in the grass and said, “Hi Telantes. How’s it going?”

Telantes turned his head to look at him and said, “Oh, hi, umm... Leon, Leeory, Leopold?”

Leo thought, we have only been going to school and sharing classes for seven years; you’d think he would know my name by now. “It’s Leo.”

“Yeah, I knew that. You are the one who really likes fudge and breasts.”

Not exactly, but he wasn’t going to correct him. “Yeah,” Leo said. “How’s it going with your egg?”

Telantes shrugged. “I can’t play sports with it, so there’s that. Watching it is boring since it doesn’t do anything. And suddenly, Lucy is busy all the time. She calls it ‘new egg jitters,' but I am not sure. For me, it makes me feel more manly having an egg, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Leo didn’t feel more manly, maybe more responsible. But everyone experiences a different sort of response, or so they say in class.

“I think the girls have been noticing me more too, with an egg.” Telantes nodded to two girls sitting across the pool from them. They looked a bit older, maybe fourteen. “Take those two girls,” Telantes said. “I bet they could use a little Telantes in them.”

Leo rolled his eyes. He didn’t really want to hear him talk about girls. Ironically, Leo knew he would have been happier if Telantes were talking about him this way. Maybe since they talked about breasts the other day, Telantes thought he was into girls. “Maybe,” Leo said, “but you are with Lucy and currently watching your egg.”

Telantes grunted. “I need to spread my wings now and again, you know?” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “Hey, would you be okay babysitting my egg for a minute?”

Leo furrowed his brow. “Umm, I guess?” Leo knew he was reliable, trustworthy, and responsible, but it felt like an odd request—he and Telantes weren’t exactly close friends. At best, Leo mostly used Telantes as fantasy jerk-off material. Building up to the trust of watching someone else’s egg seemed like it should take some actual getting-to-know-you time.

“Great,” Telantes said. He set the white egg next to Leo. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Leo watched as the jock boy flew across the pool to the two girls. Telantes talked to them for a bit—they were too far away for Leo to hear them—and then the three of them laughed. It wasn’t long before the three of them were disappearing into the bushes. He knew Telantes was hot, but for an angel who wanted to go to Empyreal City after graduation, he could really work his magic fast. The well-defined abs, strong thighs, and great biceps helped; at least Leo thought so. If he wasn’t watching two eggs, he’d be tempted to sneak a peek at them.

Malik emerged from the pool and made his way over to Leo. He was dripping wet, naked, and carrying his garments. For an eleven-year-old boy, Malik looked average—not muscular—and Leo realized he had some nice curves too. Malik plopped down on the grass next to him and saw the other egg. “Is that?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “It turns out I am soo good at caring for eggs I am now babysitting Telantes’ egg for him.”

“You two really must be close.”

Leo snorted. “We’re not. He saw some girls, and he took them over into those bushes.” After he said it, Leo wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut. People don’t go sneaking into bushes to do public things. Telantes hadn’t said anything ahead of time, but there could be some unwritten bro-code between the athletic boys he wasn’t aware of.

Malik chuckled. “I always thought he was a hundred percent Lucy. I wonder what she would think about this.” He looked at Leo for a moment, then chuckled again. “You had wished he asked you, right?” Leo felt himself blush—that was more than enough of an answer. “Would you have? If he asked you ‘into’ the bushes?”

Leo shrugged. “Umm, I don’t know. I have to watch the egg, so…”

With a smirk, Malik said, “You could still suck him off ‘while’ holding the egg.”

“No, it would still be weird.” Sucking Telantes off would be amazing, Leo thought.

Malik leaned back in the grass on his elbows as two orange butterflies flew over them. He said, “You don’t fancy doing it outside?”

“I am fine with doing it outside. I am worried about the egg—too much rocking might be bad for it.”

Malik laughed. “I said sucking. The only way there would be a lot of rocking is if there was fucking. It’s probably been so long since you have done ‘it’ you have forgotten.” Leo didn’t feel like responding; it felt like a loaded question. They sat there quietly for a few minutes before Malik spoke again. He asked, “Hey, would you like to get together later and study for the Sex Ed test that’s coming up?”

“Sure,” Leo said, “assuming we aren’t stuck here the rest of the day waiting for Telantes to return.” He wondered how long it would take a boy like Telantes to do two girls—the bushes didn’t look comfortable…

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

After lunch, Leo headed back to his room with the egg still safely held against his chest. He hadn’t been in his room since spending the night with Malik. Having an egg did change his routine some, and he hadn’t seen Remi all day.

When he got back to his apartment, Leo found Lucy leaving his room. A surprise, to be sure. She looked as shocked to see him and stopped in her tracks. She also had a blue and white feather in her hand. She said, “I was looking for you. I wanted to know if this belonged to you,” and held up the feather.

“No,” Leo said. He spread his wings wide and said, “No blue, only cream-colored. Why do you ask?”

She studied his wings for a moment, and her expression turned into disappointment. “Never mind. I didn’t expect you would be here anyway.”

Leo folded his wings back in and furrowed his brow. “But you said you were looking for me. And this is my room, so…?”

“Forget it,” she said, and walked past him. “And keep away from Telantes; he’s mine.”

She left the apartment, and Leo stood there wondering what that was about. Had she never noticed his feathers before? And why was she worried about Telantes? He only had eyes for girls…

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Later, in Sex Ed, Leo saw Malik again, and they sat together in the second row. Everyone had opted to sit with their egg partner during class, even though it wasn’t actually required. Some people, like Nahaliel, seemed happy, while others, like Remi, seemed stressed. It was likely Arael was making things difficult for Remi.

Telantes and Lucy entered the room, and Telantes set a bar of fudge on Leo’s desk. Lucy was staring daggers at him from the moment she entered. Telantes said, “I know you like fudge, so I brought this for you—as a thank you for babysitting.” He extended a fist for a fist bump, and Leo obliged him. “Angels before banshees,” he said.

“Umm, right,” Leo said. He wondered if he was required to actually eat the fudge.

“Maybe you can babysit again sometime,” Telantes said, then winked.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Lucy added quickly. “He’s not the kind of angel with whom I want to be fondling our egg. Call it parental instinct. Something might stain the perfect white shell, and then what would we do?” Leo wasn’t sure if he should dignify her with a response.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Malik said.

"Relax, Lucy,” Telantes said. “See how well he cares for his own egg? I trust him to do the same for us.” Telantes took the desk in front of Leo, and Lucy glared at him for a while before taking a seat. It was the end of the discussion. Leo was left wondering why Lucy didn’t watch her own egg if she was concerned about it. It wasn’t like he asked to babysit their egg anyway.

Nahaliel leaned over and said, “Leo, if you like babysitting, maybe you could watch mine too sometime?”

“Umm, I am pretty busy... studying and all,” Leo said. If he wasn’t careful, he might end up with the entire class’ eggs on his hands. He found himself wondering who else Telantes might have mentioned this to.

A few minutes later, Archangel Muriel walked in with Agla and Elyon. Class should have started already, so it was obvious something had happened. The three of them stood at the front of the room, and Muriel said, “Good news, we have had our first hatching.” There were quiet mummers within the classroom. Leo wondered if this was a new record, from conception to hatching. She hushed the class and said, “Sometimes it is fast like this; there are no rules to say it has to be a slow process.”

“What did you guys get?” Telantes asked. It was the obvious question on everyone’s mind, but only he dared to ask.

“Well,” Muriel said before Agla or Elyon could answer, "let's just say we had to get it to the furnace quickly. But Elyon and Agla passed their egg project.”

Someone in the back of the room said, “A crime against nature, nice!” Only a fallen angel would be applauding something like that, Leo thought.

“Everyone can talk with them about it later,” Muriel said. “But now, it’s time we start class…”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

That evening, after dinner, Malik came to Leo’s room to study for the Sex Ed test. Among the things they would be tested on, it included the various sex positions angels can perform while flying and, of course, how to do them safely. Leo had to admit to himself he never once tried doing it while flying. It was advanced stuff, and he didn’t want to be the next Arael. Besides, two boys could still do a lot while still on the ground.

Malik had their textbook out and asked, “Describe the flying angel bridge position.”

“Okay,” Leo said, "it's when one partner sits on top of the other, facing away from them. The partner on top does most of the moving, while the partner on the bottom holds on to them.”

“Nope,” Malik said, “you described the reverse angelboy, or angelgirl, position. That one is a pain because the one on the bottom is usually hit in the face by the other’s wings.”

“Umm. Is it the one where you are sitting around your partner cross-legged, hugging, and doing some rocking?”

“Closer, but wrong again. That's the flying lotus. The flying angel bridge is more like a missionary position. Your partner wraps their legs around you and rocks their hips against yours. It’s like the flying lotus, but without the hugging.”

Leo said, “It sounds sooo complicated. Two people flapping their wings in opposite directions, trying to be coordinated as they try to fuck… I’d rather do it on a bed.”

“Hey,” Malik said, “if God had intended for us to fuck on the ground, he wouldn’t have given us wings.”

“You know God doesn’t like pronouns."

Malik snorted and said, “Well, you can believe me when I tell you, when God goes to the Underworld for a sex party, he’s definitely sporting a massive pleasure tool.”

“Ha, so that’s why you want to go to the Underworld! You’re hoping to hook up with God for a night of passion.”

Malik shrugged. “I mean, if it happens, it happens. I wouldn’t say no.”

Leo smirked for a moment until he remembered they were supposed to be studying. The room went quiet as he thought. Then Leo said, “I really don’t know how I can remember all these different positions for the test.”

"Easy; try them; then you will remember.”

“Are you serious? Maybe when I am fourteen or fifteen, but... it sounds so challenging to do now.”

“If you want, I can show you,” Malik said. “We’d need some lube and rope. And we’d have to go outside; there isn’t enough room in here. It does take some effort, but it’s much different doing it in the air.” Leo wasn’t so keen on this idea. Having sex with Malik didn’t seem quite as absurd as it would have been a few days ago, but flying sex required a whole different level of skill.

Malik looked at him with confidence and said, “Look, our wings are about the same size, which is half the difficulty—balancing thrust. We find the right rhythm, and everything else works itself out. Now, do you have any long rope?”

Of course, every twelve-year-old keeps a long rope laying around their room. “No, I don’t have any rope. Why do we need it?”

“Wait here; I’ll show you.” Malik got up and left, probably going back to his room. When he returned, he had a thirty-foot length of thin rope with him. “Come on, I know the perfect spot. Don’t forget the lube.”

“And the egg,” Leo added.

Minutes later, Malik led him to a quiet patch of grass with a stone bench. There was a good twenty-five feet to the nearest tree. Malik took one end of the rope and tied it around the bench. Leo started to realize what the rope was for—it would anchor them so they didn’t drift too far away as they tried to couple.

“I’ll tie the other end to your ankle,” Malik said.

“Why my ankle and not yours?” Leo said, a bit hurt Malik thought he was the one who would lose control.

“Because,” Malik said, “as you are fucking me, my legs will be wrapped around you. It’s easier this way. They don’t teach you that in the textbooks.”

“Oh.” Leo didn’t realize he would be fucking him. He had fantasied about being on the receiving end of Telantes so often that being on the giving end never crossed his mind. Still, Leo felt embarrassed that he would look like a preschooler again—learning how to fly with a training rope on his ankle. “Do you think anyone will see us?”

Malik snorted. “I sure hope so. When I really get into it, I make a lot of noise.” Leo wasn’t liking the sound of that.

Malik finished securing one end of the rope to the bench and tied the other end around Leo’s right ankle. It was obvious he had done this more than once before. A part of Leo was grateful one of them had the previous experience. He couldn’t imagine trying this with someone else who didn’t know how to do it. Still, flying and fucking—it would take coordination. Was he up to the challenge? Malik dropped his robe and took the lube from Leo.

Leo couldn’t imagine doing a risky sex maneuver with the egg strapped to his chest. “What about the egg?” he asked, as Malik lubed his butt.

“Put it under the bench. It will be safe there.”

Leo took the egg harness off and placed it safely underneath, then dropped his own robes on the bench. Malik took some lube and rubbed it along Leo’s dick. It was already semi-hard from seeing Malik naked. Leo felt a bit of excitement from doing something new for the first time.

When Malik was satisfied, he set the lube down. “Okay, so this is what we will do. You hover in the air, and I will come wrap my legs around you. It's probably best if you guide your dick into me. Then we will try to move our wings in rhythm with each other. Then the fun really starts.”

“What about if I cum? I don’t know if I can stay airborne.” That is, assuming I can even cum while flying at the same time.

“Oh, you will... Just wait.” Malik stepped back and took to the air with a few flaps of his wings. He hovered overhead and urged Leo to join him.

Leo extended his wings, took a deep breath, and flew up level with Malik. There was slight tension in the rope around his ankle, so they wouldn’t be going any higher. Malik was all smiles as he flew closer to wrap his legs around Leo. For a moment, Leo felt like they were two kids playing instead of two horny boys about to fuck. One look at Malik’s hard dick, and it told the real story. Malik’s legs wrapped around Leo’s waist, and Leo took hold of Malik’s waist in return. They swayed back and forth in the air as they each flapped their wings with different timing. Leo could feel his lubed-up boner rubbing between Malik’s butt cheeks.

“Try to match my rhythm,” Malik said.

To Leo, it did feel like a childhood game they were playing. He relaxed and focused on the movement of Malik’s wings. It was difficult with his dick being teased, mere inches from a welcoming hole. Leo slowed his wings down, and, sure enough, they stabilized—it was no longer like a tug of war. It was ironic they had to stop the rocking since it had felt really good against his boyhood.

“Okay, you’ll have to push yourself in,” Malik said. “I can’t really do it like this.”

Leo was more than eager to do that. Malik spread his butt cheeks, and Leo used his hand to aim towards Malik’s hole. It took a few tries, but eventually Leo’s tip pressed into Malik. With that success, Malik’s legs tightened around Leo—it was a surprise how strong his thighs felt. The four inches of Leo’s shaft effortlessly slid into the warm hole. It had been a while since Leo felt anything this good.

“Hold my hips good; I’d hate to go flying off in some direction,” Malik said. Neither of them were flying perfectly upright; Malik was at a sixty-degree angle to him. Leo held tightly onto Malik.

Malik’s hips started to rock and grind into Leo. It was a marvel Malik could do it without affecting his wing speed. The tight grip of Malik’s anal ring felt good—Leo’s dick throbbed in response. “Wow, this is great,” Leo said.

“Yeah,” Malik said as he started stroking his own dick. Malik closed his eyes as he continued to grind and masturbate.

Leo couldn’t stop watching as Malik moved his body. His hips moved so smoothly, it seemed he was made to do this. Or, this was Malik’s sport, and he was a star athlete. Leo wanted to reach out and run his fingers over the boy’s stomach, especially Malik’s pink nipples, but thought better of it.

Malik, true to his word, started to moan. “Oh yeah… oh… aww!” Soon his hips went from grinding to bouncing up and down, sliding over Leo’s shaft. His anal muscles tightened on the way up and loosened on the way down. Leo held on to Malik so he didn’t bounce off.

The rhythm of their wings started to slip, and Leo felt the rope pulling on his leg. He had been unconsciously trying to thrust deeper into Malik, using his wings to propel him forward. Malik was too lost in what he was doing to notice. The boy really knew how to pleasure himself. With Malik doing most of the work, Leo felt he was a sex toy—there for someone else’s pleasure. Still, even if he was being used as a sex toy, it felt good, and he had a great view of the performance.

“Harder!” Malik said as he bounced on Leo’s cock. “Harder!”

Leo realized he had some control and used his grip on Malik’s hips to bring the boy down hard on his shaft. Malik was almost weightless—suspended in air—and Leo found he could fuck him harder than he could have done on a bed. It was certainly harder than anything he had done with another boy before. Malik’s butt now slapped against his pelvis almost as loudly as Malik was grunting. Even his chest was rising and falling faster.

“Don’t stop!” Malik said. “Don’t stop!”

Sweat started dripping down his face as Leo kept going. The rope on his foot was tight, but he gave up worrying about it. The most important thing was thrusting into Malik.

Something wet hit Leo’s chest. He thought for a second it might be rain, but it was cum. Malik’s dick was pointed right at him as it erupted. The idea he had caused Malik to cum brought Leo to his own orgasm. That, plus the fact Malik was very hot-looking while riding him—the look of unbridled intoxication as he enjoyed wave after wave of ecstasy from an orgasm. Leo’s wings beat faster as his dick twitched inside Malik's hole. His whole body wanted to cum deep inside. Malik’s balls were shooting more cum on Leo’s stomach than he was depositing in Malik’s butt, but it didn’t matter; it felt amazing. He held tightly onto Malik until his balls were finished spewing his load.

Being on the giving end was more fun than Leo had realized; he might be more versatile than he once thought.

Malik let out a big sigh, released his cock, and let his hands fall freely to his sides. “You can probably let go of me now,” he said, his eyes partially closed.

Leo released Malik, not realizing how tightly he was still holding him. “Oh, sorry.” Malik’s hips were pink where his hands had been. They hovered in the air for a moment as Malik’s cum started to drip from Leo’s stomach. Malik ran a finger up Leo’s chest to gather some of his remaining jizz. As one might expect, Malik licked it off his finger.

“Pretty good, right?” Malik asked.

Leo knew he was referring to the sex and not merely the cum. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“We should probably rest before we do it again.”

Leo snorted in amusement. He didn’t know if Malik was serious or not… but he’d do it again. They landed, and it felt good to undo the rope—it had been quite helpful but wasn’t needed at the moment. Knowing Malik had the rope for sex, in the back of his mind, Leo wondered what other things the boy used with sex—and how often. They both grabbed their robes from the bench and put them on—it felt a bit cold now that they had come down from their high and their sweat was evaporating in the air.

“So, umm, do you do that often?” Leo asked.

Malik smirked. “That, no. Sex, yes.”

“Right… Well, I thought you were great at it. And now I will always remember the flying angel bridge position.”

"See, you’re learning!” Malik said. He leaned over and kissed Leo on the lips. It was a brief kiss—no tongue—nothing more than sucking on Leo’s upper lip and then releasing him. But it was extremely well delivered.

It surprised Leo. Were they being affectionate now? Sex for class was one thing, but did Malik actually like him? Did he actually like Malik? Leo remembered Malik making out with the random boy from the party the other night and realized the kiss was probably nothing. Malik surely kissed a lot of boys every day. “Thanks,” Leo said sheepishly. “I didn’t expect that.”

Malik shrugged it off. “We are egg partners, right? The whole process is known to mess with our hormones and emotions.”

Emotions? “Right… you kissed me because of the egg.” Speaking of the egg, Leo bent down to get it from under the bench…

“It’s GONE!!!” Leo said, staring at where the egg should have been.

“What?” Malik said. “It can’t be.” He dropped down, and they both looked around the bench and the surrounding area. The ground was flat, and the egg was in the harness, so it wasn’t going to roll anywhere. “I don’t see it,” he said, “but I found a blue and white feather. It’s not one of mine or yours.”

“How could it have disappeared? We had it, right?” Leo said. “Eggs don’t walk away.”

“Oh.” Malik stood and said, “I suppose it could... if it hatched.”

“I don’t see any shell pieces. Even if sprouted feet, we would see some shell.”

“Right…” Malik said reluctantly.

Leo felt a knot forming in his stomach. “I knew it was a bad idea to have sex out here. And now the egg is lost! We will fail the class!” He felt his dinner coming back up.

“Relax.” Malik tried putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder, but Leo brushed it off. He said, “We don’t know anything yet. I think we need to talk to Archangel Muriel before we do anything else.”

What Malik was saying probably made sense, but Leo was too busy running to the nearest bush to vomit. Once it was over, he felt better, but his stomach remained unsettled. Malik continued to search the area.

After a few minutes, Malik asked, “Are you okay now?” Leo nodded. “Then let’s go find Muriel.”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Archangel Muriel, similar to the other faculty and staff, lived at the school, and their apartments were easily accessible. It still wasn’t too late in the day, but even if it was, this was an emergency—at least for Leo, it was. They found her door, Malik knocked, and they heard her bid them in.

They entered a large space, much nicer than the student quarters, filled with shelves of books, a large, roaring fireplace. The room had enough chairs for at least ten people. Muriel was sitting in a chair, reading. She was, no doubt, expecting students, like Leo and Malik, to visit her all hours of the day the moment their eggs hatched. She laid eyes on Leo, and her face became serious.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I threw up,” Leo said.

She looked at him. “Right. Shouldn’t you be at the infirmary then?”

“Our egg disappeared,” Malik said. “We were studying for the Sex Ed test and left it under a bench in the garden. We were maybe in the air above it for fifteen minutes, but when we looked for it, it was gone.”

Muriel asked, “Is it possible it rolled away or hatched?”

“We thought about that. But the ground was flat, and the egg was still in the harness. We also didn’t see any eggshells. I did find this though—” he handed her the blue and white feather “—who knows how long it was sitting there?"

She took the feather and brought it to her nose. "It smells of liquorice. Do you know whose feather this is?” Malik shook his head. “No one would have taken the egg unless it looked abandoned. You boys didn’t perhaps venture into the bushes for a few moments like some boys do?”

Malik shook his head. “No, we were mostly hovering over a bench.”

“And you didn’t hear or see anything at all?”

“We were practicing a flying sex position for class, so..."

Muriel chuckled, then caught herself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s a written test, but I am sure you both knew that. Getting back to the situation at hand, I am guessing someone thought your egg was abandoned, and it will turn up by tomorrow morning. Or, it hatched and is walking, crawling, or slithering around the school grounds. I’ll alert the Cupbearers to keep an eye out for it.” Cupbearers were angels assigned to school maintenance and upkeep—if there was something amiss, they would deal with it. “I’ll keep the feather and track down the owner. But in the meantime, it looks like Leo has a strong case of separation sickness. You must be a rather sensitive type.”

“Separation sickness?” Leo asked.

“You will feel lousy for a while because you are separated from your egg. Maybe get a sleep aid, or you will be awake all night. One way or another, you’ll feel better in time.”

“Thanks,” Malik said. “I guess we will come find you tomorrow morning then.” He nudged Leo towards the door.

Before they left, Muriel said, “There is still time to make another egg, if it comes to it.”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Leo jolted awake, his heart raced, and he sat up in bed. It was dark, sometime in the middle of the night, and this wasn’t his bedroom. He had something furry with him, which turned out to be a stuffed bunny toy. This appeared to be Malik’s room, but Leo was alone in bed. He vaguely remembered Malik trying to get him to drink tea made from valerian root boiled with raisins—a common sleep and anxiety remedy—but not much else beyond that.

After he came to his senses and stopped hearing his own heartbeat, he heard Malik was asleep somewhere in the room. It was weird he wasn’t in bed. Leo was too awake to go back to sleep and looked for his phone. He didn’t feel it in the bed, and it was too dark to see anything clearly. If he had been more familiar with the room, he might have been able to search for it. It occurred to him he didn’t tell Remi about what happened. She probably would have immediately mounted a search party to look for the egg. That would have been wise, pity I didn’t think of it before.

He also realized he was hungry. After the incident in the garden, Leo hadn’t eaten. What he had eaten for dinner had left him rather abruptly—and not in the normal way. Leo decided, for better or worse, to raid the kitchen in Malik’s apartment. There was bound to be something there. He eased off the bed and walked across the floor. It was impossible to see where Malik was, so he went carefully. Plus, there was no telling what else might be laying around haphazardly.

Leo’s foot made contact with something, and it turned out to be Malik’s head. “Ouch, watch it,” Malik said, and he sat up. "Your awake again?”

“Again?”

“You keep waking up. It’s really annoying.”

Leo had no memory of it. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. And you kicked me off the bed too.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know,” Leo said. “Maybe the valerian was too strong because I don’t remember anything.”

“What are you doing now?”

Leo suddenly felt silly. “I was going to look for food, but maybe I should go to my room.”

Malik grunted, probably in annoyance. “There’s cake,” he said.

“Let me guess: angel food or devil’s food cake.”

“Carrot. With frosting.” Malik stood. “I’ll go get it.” He went and opened the bedroom door. Indirect light from the common area made it easier to see in the dark bedroom.

While Malik was gone, Leo was able to find his phone on a table and send a message to Remi. It was 3 AM, so she wasn’t going to see it until morning. Leo sat on the bed and waited. When Malik returned, he dimmed the lights so they weren’t too bright. He was carrying a plate of cake, which looked good to Leo. Malik took a seat near the head of the bed, shoulder to shoulder with Leo.

“No forks or napkins?” Leo asked.

“You’re lucky I got you cake at this time of night,” Malik said. “Especially with all the trouble you have been.”

“Sorry.”

Leo found the cake was cut into multiple squares, so it wasn’t awkward to hold and eat. They ended up eating in silence for a while; Leo didn’t really feel like talking anyway. The thought of starting over with a new egg from scratch was nagging at the back of his mind. Losing an egg was no trivial matter. People wouldn’t forget. He wondered what everyone was going to say when they found out. Had I been unduly careless with the egg? Leo didn’t know. But the carrot cake was good; he needed it.

“You have frosting on your cheek,” Malik said.

Leo rubbed his hand across his cheek and didn’t find anything. “Where?”

Malik said, “Here,” as he wiped his frosting-covered finger on Leo’s face.

“Gee thanks. Now my face is going to be sticky.”

Malik set his cake on the plate. “I’ll get it for you.” Malik leaned in to quickly lick Leo’s cheek and used his hand to hold Leo’s head. It would have been marginally helpful if Malik’s fingers weren’t covered in frosting.

Leo snorted in silly amusement once it was over. “If you are trying to kiss me, you are doing a lousy job of it.” Without any thought, Leo pressed his lips into his cake and ended up with frosting on his nose and chin as well. It was not a well-thought-out plan.

Malik pounced on him. Not exactly pounced, but he didn’t waste time pushing Leo back onto the pillows and kissing him on the lips. It took a moment for Leo’s brain to catch up with his body. In a split second, Leo found himself willingly making out with Malik. His lips parted, and Malik used the opportunity to coax Leo’s tongue out to suck on it. The only thing he could taste was frosting, but it felt good. Malik’s pressed his body down on Leo as he continued.

Leo felt Malik’s hand grope his dick between the folds of his robe, and it brought him back to reality. He pushed Malik up by the chest, freeing his tongue. “Wait. I don’t know if I want to,” he said.

"It feels like you do,” Malik said, rubbing Leo’s stiff dick.

It was partially true; his body was ready to give in, but his mind wasn’t. Leo said, “I like what you were doing, but I can’t stop thinking about our egg.”

“Wouldn’t this help distract you?”

“If anything, it reminded me of it.”

Malik, still laying on top of Leo, sighed and planted his head face-first into the pillows above Leo’s shoulder. His voice muffled, and he said, “But I really like sex,” as he casually groped Leo’s crotch through the fabric of the robe.

Leo lifted Malik’s hand away from his dick and put it around his waist instead. He said, “You can have sex, but not with me.” Malik huffed but didn’t move. “And we are getting cake all over your bed.” Malik shrugged.

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

The next morning, Leo woke when he heard his phone beep and found himself tangled up with Malik. He tried separating himself, which was impossible to do without waking Malik. They had overslept, which was nothing compared to losing an egg. Leo glanced at his phone and saw Remi had been messaging him over and over again, showing her concern. He agreed to see her later, not that he was looking forward to facing anyone right now.

Once fully awake, the first thing Leo and Malik did was to visit Archangel Muriel. Nothing had changed since they saw her last—no one had reported finding an abandoned egg or anything else out of sorts. After seeing her, they went and got something for breakfast and showed up to their classes. Leo may have been in attendance, but he was too distracted to pay attention. By lunchtime, word was starting to spread something might have happened to his egg. This did not help. Leo did his best to avoid feeding the gossip, and curiously, Remi didn’t come to lunch as she normally did.

Finally, before Sex Ed class, Leo found Remi laying in the gardens, sunning herself on the grass. She looked exhausted but relaxed—maybe asleep. Leo said, “Hi. I was looking for you,” and sat beside her.

She opened her eyes and sat up. “Oh, sorry, eventful day. But I am also sorry to hear about your egg. It sounds a bit weird for it to disappear without a trace.”

Leo sighed. “Yeah. How’s your egg?” he asked. Remi bit her lip and didn’t say anything. He wondered what she wasn’t saying. “What is it?”

She took in a long breath and said, “I didn’t want to bring it up, but my egg hatched.”

Leo was pleased for her. “Oh, that’s great news. I am pleased to hear that.”

“It is a relief, that’s for sure. All the uncertainty, the unknowns, and then it’s hatched and done. Raising an egg was quite literally the most stressful thing I have ever had to do. But now, I feel like I was doing a lot of worrying for no reason. All you need to do is watch it and…” She didn’t finish the sentence and went silent. Instead, she said, “You still have time to make another one.”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “Dare I ask, what was yours when it hatched?”

Remi smirked. “It was a cat. But of course Arael named it ‘dog.’ He is around somewhere, playing with it. Once he is done, it will be taken to the Elysian Fields with the others. To be honest, I think he was more happy to play with it than pass the class.”

“Still, congratulations. Only a few—”

Leo was interrupted by Lucy, who happened to be walking by with Telantes. Quite loudly, she said, “Ah, there he is! We were talking about you.” Telantes was carrying their egg. Lucy said, “I hear you lost your egg; it proves my instincts were correct. You were too busy doing the flying angel bridge with Malik to watch your egg, and look what happened." Leo couldn’t exactly argue with her, but who could watch an egg all hours of the day? “I am so glad Telantes learned the truth before letting you babysit our egg again.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Remi said. “They don’t know what happened.” She then nudged Leo’s shoulder and said, “I didn’t know you and Malik were having sex.” Leo shrugged—he hadn’t really had time to discuss it with her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “It all seems obvious to me. Some angels aren’t as fit as others, that's all. It’s a good reminder we need to be careful who we associate with, right, Telantes?”

Telantes didn’t answer her. Instead, he said, “I am sorry to hear your egg disappeared.”

“Thanks,” Leo replied. “We are hoping it will turn up.”

Archangel Muriel and Malik descended near them on the grass. Muriel happened to be holding the feather they had discovered when the egg disappeared. “I think we know who the feather belongs to,” Muriel said to Leo. “Want to come and hear if she can tell us anything useful?”

“Yes, of course,” Leo replied and stood.

“Whose feather is it?” Remi asked.

“A girl named Andromeda,” Muriel said.

Leo had never heard of her, but Telantes perked up and said, “Andromeda?”

“This sounds interesting,” Lucy said after glancing at Telantes. “I think we will come too.”

The group of them went to Andromeda’s apartment. Leo learned she was a year ahead of them and also quite an athlete, like Telantes. They found her with classmates studying in the common room of her apartment. Leo knew the chances of her knowing anything useful were next to none. But any lead that might find the egg was worth checking. At first glance, Andromeda seemed to be a pleasant enough person—the blue and white feather was also a perfect match for her wings.

“Andromeda,” Muriel said, “Malik and Leo here found your feather last evening—” she held up the feather “—around the time their egg disappeared without a trace. They were in the lower gardens studying, and they left their egg under a stone bench. When they went to retrieve it, the egg was gone. They are hoping you might have seen something useful.”

Andromeda furrowed her brow. “I am sorry you lost your egg,” she said to Leo and Malik, “but I wasn’t in the lower gardens at all yesterday.” Leo frowned—he expected as much.

“Then how did your feather end up there?” Lucy asked.

Andromeda snorted. “I don’t know what you are implying, but I wasn’t there. And who really keeps track of every feather they lose?"

“Yeah, thank you, Andromeda,” Muriel said. “We knew it might have been a random occurrence. We’ll let you get back to what you were doing.” Leo agreed completely. Anyone’s feather could have been sitting by the bench—it didn’t have to mean anything.

“That’s it?” Lucy said, sounding annoyed. “It’s clear to me that Andromeda is lying. I have instincts about these things.”

Telantes turned to Lucy and said, “She says she doesn’t know anything. We should leave it at that.”

“Yeah, why are you upset?” Remi asked. “It’s not even your egg. Only a few minutes ago, you were blaming Leo for losing the egg.”

Lucy shrugged. “You know the saying, angels of a feather flock together. Well, clearly, Leo and Andromeda were cut from the same mold. It would be a mistake ‘not’ to search her room.” Leo was starting to really dislike Lucy. The whole idea left a funny feeling in his stomach.

“It would be very irregular,” Muriel said. “First off, no one in the history of the school has ever taken someone else’s egg. That is unthinkable. And second, what reason would she have for taking it? You don’t even know these boys, right?”

Andromeda said, “I know Telantes, but not the other two. And I would never take someone else’s egg. That would be unthinkable.”

“Of course you know Telantes,” Lucy muttered. Leo wondered if Lucy was jealous—Andromeda and Telantes were both athletes; were they also friends? They all stood there in silence for a few moments. Eventually Lucy stepped forward and said, “Well, if none of you are going to search her room, I will. Then all of you will see I am a great judge of character.” They watched her confidently walk towards one of the bedrooms, which Leo assumed belonged to Andromeda. No one tried to stop her.

Andromeda said, “I have nothing to hide.”

To Remi, Leo said, “This seems a bit weird, right?”

“Yes, it does,” she replied.

The group of them waited for no better reason than confused curiosity as Lucy checked Andromeda’s room. Eventually, Lucy would have to give up and admit she had been wrong.

From the bedroom, they eventually heard Lucy say, “Ah ha! Just as I thought.” Leo and Malik looked at each other for a second, then they went to see what Lucy was doing. Everyone else followed close behind. In the bedroom, they found Lucy in the closet, having dug out a bunch of clothes—or so it seemed. Having never seen Andromeda’s room, Leo didn’t know.

“Are you digging out my dirty underwear?” Andromeda asked.

Lucy said, “Yes, and a good thing too! Look what I found.”

They peered into the closet. Leo scarcely believed it. Among the underwear was their egg—exactly how he last saw it. He went into the closet and grabbed it from the pile of clothes. It had grown a little heavier since yesterday. Being so happy, he almost kissed it—yet it had a strange smell, so he didn’t. He did, however, hug it against his chest. Malik was there too, right beside him. Happy didn’t come close to describing the feelings Leo was having in that moment.

Andromeda looked on with surprise. She said, “Wow, I really have no idea how it got there. This doesn’t make sense.”

“This…” Archangel Muriel said, “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t have the words.”

“I do,” Lucy said, “if the feather fits… wear it.”

Andromeda said, “You can’t think I had anything to do with this, right? Telantes?” Telantes appeared to be lost for words, like everyone else.

“I am so happy now,” Leo said. At this point, having the egg back was everything. He didn’t care how or why it got here, but it wasn’t going to leave his sight ever again.

“So, Archangel Muriel,” Lucy said, “what sort of punishment will Andromeda get?” Everyone turned to stare at her. "What? Shouldn’t she get punished for taking the egg?”

“How do we know she even took the egg?” Telantes asked.

Lucy sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? The egg goes missing, and you find her blue and white feather. Then we come to her room, and we find the missing egg. It’s pretty clear what happened.”

Leo said, “Come to think of it, weren’t you asking me about a blue and white feather not too long ago yourself?”

“That was completely unrelated to this,” Lucy said.

“And how did you know Malik and I were doing the flying angel bridge when the egg went missing? I don’t think we even told anyone that.”

Lucy shrugged. “You were doing it outside, so someone probably saw you and told me, that's all.”

"But you have clearly been to Andromeda’s room before since you went straight to it,” Leo added.

“Lucky guess,” she replied.

“Wait, did you find out Andromeda and I are having sex?” Telantes asked.

Lucy snorted. “That’s not important here. Andromeda is the problem, not me.” Everyone looked blankly at Lucy. “Seriously?” she said. “You all think I what… found Andromeda’s feather in Telantes bedroom and got jealous? Then made a plan to steal Leo and Malik’s egg because they helped Telantes have sex with other girls? And, on top of that, I planted Andromeda’s feather and stashed the egg in her room to make her look guilty? All of that to keep Telantes to myself? Seriously?”

“If the feather fits..." Remi said.

"That's ridiculous,” Lucy said. “Besides, everyone knows Telantes loves me. All I did was try to help, and now everyone is blaming me. Well, I don’t want to hear any more insane accusations. Let’s go, Telantes.” She stormed out of the room. After a moment, a confused-looking Telantes followed after her.

Archangel Muriel said, “We may never know what actually happened. But the egg is back with its rightful parents, so I am ready to drop the matter completely.”

“Agreed,” Leo said. “And it’s never leaving my sight again.”

“It will never leave ‘our’ sight,” Malik added.

"Though it does sort of stink now,” Leo said.

Malik sniffed it. “Girl juices, it will wash off.”

Andromeda snorted. “And I suppose a boy’s dirty underwear is any better?” Leo kept his dirty laundry in a woven hamper scented with honeysuckle, but even he wasn’t keen on sticking his face in it.

Remi came closer to sniff the egg. She said, “Hmm. I think it smells rather nice.” To each their own, thought Leo.

"Clearly, I am not needed here,” Archangel Muriel said as she turned to leave. “I will see most of you later, if you come to class.”

After Muriel left, Malik said, “I guess ‘we’ should go give the egg a bath.” It was mostly directed to Leo; he nodded.

“I suppose I can go entertain myself then,” Remi said.

Andromeda shrugged and said, “You could always stay if you want. You can never have too many friends…”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Leo followed Malik back to his room. Why Malik’s room, Leo wasn’t sure. He was overjoyed and relieved beyond words to have their egg back. It didn’t matter where they went now.

They entered the bathroom, and Malik announced, “Bubble bath!”

“I think a little water and a bit of soap will do it,” Leo said.

“Nonsense. We are doing this right.” Malik went and turned on the water to fill the bathtub. Before Leo could say anything else, Malik said, “Don’t worry, it won’t be too hot.”

Malik seemed determined to have a bubble bath, so Leo didn’t protest. He only wanted the egg to stink less. Leo watched as the tub filled with water and Malik added the soap. It wasn’t long before bubbles were forming and the room started to fill with the scent of marshmallows and honey. At every turn, Leo was surprised at how particular Malik was about certain things, like a bubble bath, but less inclined to remove his clothes from the floor.

Malik tested the temperature when the tub was nearly ready. The bubbles seemed excessive, but the scent would be an improvement compared to the egg’s current state. He turned off the water and said, “Go on, get in.”

“What?” Leo said.

“You want the egg clean, right?” Malik nodded towards the tub. “You need to get in.”

“Fine, hold this.” Leo handed him the egg and dropped his robe. He stepped into the water and lowered himself in. Leo couldn’t remember the last time he had an actual bath—he preferred showers. As he settled into the tub, the bubbles immersed him. Malik carefully handed him the egg—it weighted at least five pounds now—and he carefully eased it into the water. Leo held it between his legs with his hands so it didn’t roll around. Malik stripped and stepped into the tub behind him. “What are you doing?” Leo asked.

“Getting in behind you, there’s room.”

“Hardly,” Leo said. The tub was big, but not giant. Malik squeezed in behind, lowered himself, and placed his legs on either side of Leo’s. This all seemed far less innocent than Leo was led to believe. Malik settled in and was pressed up against Leo’s back and wings. He felt Malik’s hands come around under his wings and pull his chest backward.

“Lay back,” Malik said.

“This is a bit..." Leo wasn’t sure what the correct word was.

“It’s a bubble bath. You have to relax.”

Leo was more concerned with what else was going on in Malik’s mind. Malik’s idea of relaxing probably meant sex. In fact, most things with Malik led to sex. Malik’s hands were still around his chest, so he did lean back a little. “I only wanted to clean the egg,” Leo said.

“I know, and it is getting clean now. But we should let it soak for a while.” Malik moved his head to the side of Leo’s face and started to suck on his right ear lobe.

Leo’s dick rose to the occasion. “Ugh. It’s always about sex with you, isn’t it?”

Malik paused to say, “Yeah, but I don’t really hear you protesting.”

Leo felt Malik’s hands slide down his smooth chest to find his hard dick. One hand cupped his balls, tugging them gently, while the other hand rubbed his shaft. It felt good. Malik’s mouth returned to sucking on his ear as his hands played with Leo. It wasn’t long before Leo felt Malik release his balls and travel further down to his hole. Malik’s finger rubbed his anal ring. “W-wait, what are you going to do?” Leo asked.

Leo could hear Malik’s amused tone and feel the warm breath on his neck as he said, “Are you always this coy?” He pressed his finger tip against Leo’s hole as he continued to stroke Leo’s shaft. “It’s obvious—I am going to fuck you.” Until Leo felt Malik’s finger on his hole, it hadn’t been obvious to him. Malik added, “You can’t fantasize about a boy like Telantes without wanting to get fucked, right?”

That was true; Leo had wanted Telantes to do him for a long time. “I didn’t think you… wanted that.” If Leo was being honest, he hadn’t thought much about what Malik wanted. He felt Malik’s finger push past the natural resistance of his ring and enter him. It didn’t stop either. Leo relaxed and let out an "ahh," and the finger slid in further. He tilted his butt up. Malik’s finger moved around inside him, probing as it went, causing Leo to let out a small whimper.

“I want to fuck you, especially if you keep making noises like that. If it helps, you can imagine I am Telantes.”

Leo didn’t have to imagine anything. What Malik was doing felt good. And frankly, Telantes probably would have been rougher—he never would have suggested a bubble bath either. “W-what about the egg?” Leo asked.

“This time, it’s not going anywhere, right?”

“Okay,” Leo said. He released the egg, and it settled into the bubbles. With his hands free, Leo grabbed each side of the porcelain tub to steady himself; it would make it easier to ride Malik’s cock that way. He raised his butt and Malik’s hands released him. After moving into a kneeling position, prepared to straddle Malik, Leo said, “Let’s do it then.”

Malik said, “When you commit to do something, you don’t waste time. I like that.”

Leo leaned his butt back and rubbed it against Malik’s hard shaft. "Yeah, well, you’re my second boyfriend, so I know what to do here.”

“Wait what?” Malik sounded stunned. “Only your second? You’re twelve! And now you’re calling me your boyfriend?!?”

Leo felt himself blush—he had said more in one sentence than he intended. “Slip of the tongue. Now are we doing this, or not?”

“Right. I shouldn’t keep my ‘boyfriend’ waiting when he needs me.” Leo rolled his eyes. He knew Malik wasn’t going to let that one go.

Underwater, Leo could feel Malik spread his left butt cheek with one hand while the other hand guided the hard dick along his crack. When the cock tip found Leo’s hole, he relaxed. The tip pressed into his anal ring as easily as the finger had, and it was good. Leo did miss this—the thrill of another boy inside him. He eased himself onto Malik, taking the entire length of the shaft inside of him. Malik’s cock, once engulfed, throbbed with approval.

“Now let’s see you shake your angel butt,” Malik said.

Leo snorted, amused. He clenched his hole tight and rocked against Malik’s pelvis. The stiff cock moved pleasantly within his anal cavity as the bathwater rippled around him. Leo wanted to show Malik just how good he could be on the receiving end. He ignored his own hard dick to focus on riding Malik.

Malik said, “Not bad for a boy who doesn’t do this much.”

Not bad? Malik must have been teasing him, pushing him to go a step further. With his left hand, Leo reached between Malik’s legs. It was challenging in the confined space of the tub, but Leo used his middle finger to press into Malik’s butt crack.

“Oh,” Malik said, “I like where this is going.” Malik attempted to widen his legs for better access as Leo’s adventurous finger searched for his hole.

Leo’s finger felt its target, and he pressed against Malik’s opening. Malik may have wanted to fuck him, but Leo knew the boy also liked his butt played with. Leo could do both. He continued to grind against Malik as he fingered the boy’s hole. Malik’s anal ring felt tight around his finger—maybe it was hard to relax in this position—but Leo pushed his finger in as deep as he could go.

“Aww.” Malik casually took hold of Leo’s hips and slipped a little further down into the tub. “Keep going.”

Malik’s anal ring securely held Leo’s finger in place. “You’re so tight,” Leo said.

“I don’t care,” Malik moaned. “Put another finger in me.” Against Leo’s better judgment, he decided to do as Malik asked. Leo slid his middle finger out before replacing it with two fingers. He pushed them forward; the hole resisted. “Nnnf,” Malik said, “push harder.” Leo did. “A-a-ahh.” The fingers breached Malik’s butthole and Malik’s cock throbbed inside of Leo.

Malik really knows what he likes. Leo bent his fingers inside of Malik and tried to push up against the boy’s prostate.

“Haahhh,” Malik gasped.

Leo knew he had Malik right where he wanted him now. He quickened his pace, ridding Malik’s cock a bit faster. With each forward thrust, he simultaneously pressed into the boy’s prostate. Malik was panting now and Leo was breathing hard too.

“Oh, you’ve got me!” Malik said.

Leo felt all of Malik tighten beneath him as Malik’s anal muscles clamped down on his fingers. He felt the boy’s dick throbbing in his ass. Cum from Malik’s balls were flooding his ass for the first time. Leo was quite pleased with himself. There were at least five good throbs before Malik’s dick started to relax.

Malik sighed a moment later as his balls finished delivering their load. Leo took that moment to pull his fingers out. He had never done anything like this in a bath before. He couldn’t see Malik’s face, so he asked, “Are you good?”

“Yeah,” Malik replied, his breath labored. “Very good.” Leo started to pull off him, but Malik said, “Wait. Lean back on me. I gotta take care of you.”

Leo leaned back until his back and wings were pressing against Malik’s chest. “Aren’t I heavy?”

Malik’s hands reached around to grasp Leo’s dick. He said, “I’d tell you if you were.” He licked Leo’s cheek.

“Do you always lick?”

“Kissing is fine when we are being all innocent. But when my dick is in your butt and my hands are pulling on your cock, I get to lick you.” Malik tugged playfully at Leo’s balls.

Leo had his reservations about getting licked, but he kept it to himself. Maybe I’d get used to it... Wait, get used to it? Were Malik and I really going to be a couple now? Leo sighed in surrender.

“What?” Malik asked.

“If we ‘are’ boyfriends now, I’ll need some real kissing too.”

“Sure, I can manage that. But let's get those balls of yours drained before our skin wrinkles in the bath.”

Leo cleared his mind. The Malik’s hands stroked his shaft, and played with his balls. Malik’s semi-hard dick remained lodged inside him. It was a nice combination of stimuli. Once again, Malik’s warm tongue ran up his cheek. He would have to get used to Malik's tendency towards wet and wild sexual advances. Leo closed his eyes and let Malik do as he pleased. It wasn’t long before his ear was being sucked on again. Malik was almost humming as he worked his hands on Leo’s cock. He felt his balls try to pull up and Malik gently pulled them down.

“Getting close,” Leo said, not wanting Malik to stop now.

Malik’s tongue went into Leo’s ear—it was sudden and surprisingly. At the same time, Leo felt his balls being gently squeezed together as the rhythm on his shaft increased. He was climbing a mountain of pleasure and was nearly at the point of no return. His body tensed in the final moment of preparation.

“Aww, I’m cummming!” Leo’s butt squeezed Malik’s cock as the first wad of jizz from his balls was pumped into the bath water. His anal ring clenched with each amazing spurt. “Oh, Oh, Ohh.” Malik’s assault on his body didn’t slow down as his shaft pumped and fired cum. It was great. He felt the final euphoric throb of his cock and sighed in relief. “Okay… I am done,” and he relaxed again.

Malik released Leo’s spent boyhood and started kissing his neck. Malik still seemed horny so Leo said, “I’ll need a minute before we go again.”

Malik chuckled and said, “Sure thing…”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘

Later, in the early hours of morning, Leo woke because he felt movement against his body. He opened his eyes and realized he and Malik were in each other’s arms, with their egg between them. They were in Malik’s bedroom still. He felt something move again—it was the egg. At first, Leo was half asleep, so it didn’t register. Then he thought, wait, why is the egg moving? All at once, he sat up in bed; the egg was ready to hatch!

“Wake up,” Leo said as he shook Malik’s arm. “The egg is hatching.” Malik was groggy and not really listening, so Leo kept at him until he stirred awake.

They found themselves sitting on either side of the bed as the egg moved. It was nothing dramatic, but Leo felt his heart start to beat faster. There was no telling what was hatching. “Maybe get a box or a basket,” Leo said. “We might need it.”

“Right.” Malik jumped off the bed to find something.

Malik was gone for maybe a minute when Leo saw the first crack form in the shell. He was tempted to help it along, but he fought the urge. Whatever it was, it was supposed to hatch on its own. Mostly. Many eager angels helped their offspring out once enough of the shell was broken away. Leo was in the eager category. Malik returned in time with a decent-sized box. They watched, ever so slowly, as the crack spread from the top to the bottom of the egg along its major axis.
 
“The suspense is killing me,” Malik said.

There was a small crunch sound, and Leo held his breath. The egg was starting to crack more in random directions. Then a square chunk was pushed up and broke off. There was only a brief glimpse of something moving inside; it was still too dark inside to see clearly.

“D-did that look like a paw or a... hand?” Leo asked.

“It had to be a foot or a claw,” Malik said.

More shell pieces broke off, and they were left speechless as small hands became visible, grasping the edges of the egg shell.

Malik looked at Leo. “It can’t be an angel, right? We are totally too young for that. Right?”

Leo was at a loss for words. A wave of shock kept him frozen in position. He was staring at small, angel-like hands trying to force their way out of the egg. He’d take a bunny or some crime against nature any day. No one said they could accidentally make an angel baby. He was way too young for that.

“I’ll help it,” Malik said as he leaned over to remove the excess egg shell.

As Malik worked, Leo said, “There may be some mistake. Maybe this isn’t our egg after all.” He knew it sounded ridiculous since it was definitely their egg. There was no mistaking it.

Half the egg shell was removed, and Leo and Malik stared down at the contents. It was a baby, wrapped in a blue cloth, so they knew it was a boy without checking. It looked up at both of them, content to have hatched. It looked like a baby angel… but it wasn’t.

"Umm, where are its wings?” Malik asked.

“It’s not an angel,” Leo said. “It’s a human.” He had never seen or heard of a human before, but he knew what it was the moment he saw it. Leo looked at Malik, and they met each other’s gaze. “We need to take this to Archangel Muriel.” Malik nodded in agreement.

They carefully gathered the baby and egg fragments into the box before leaving. It was early morning, so they went straight to Muriel’s room. Leo was carrying the baby, so Malik knocked on her door when they arrived. It took a few moments, but she eventually answered. The door opened, and she looked half asleep herself.

Leo held the box out for her to peer at the contents. She gazed at for a moment, and then her wings went stiff—she was fully awake in an instant. Leo and Malik didn’t have to say anything. Muriel stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. “Follow me,” she said. “This is far above my pay grade.”

Muriel started walking with Leo, and Malik was hurrying after her. Leo asked, “Where are we going?”

“Upstairs, to the Empyreal City,” she replied. “God is going to want to see this.” Leo and Malik stopped and looked at each other wide-eyed. “Don’t fall behind,” Muriel called after them. “We are taking the express elevator.”

Malik and Leo caught up with Muriel as she walked to the central corridor, where the elevators between the realms were located. The elevators themselves were nothing special—gold and silver, providing direct routes both up and down. Leo himself used one to arrive here at the Celestial Heaven for school years ago. Like everyone else, he didn’t expect to use one again until after graduation, seven years from now. Nothing about this situation was normal. In fact, he half expected them to go to the furnaces instead. Who has ever heard of an angel without wings?

The doors to the elevator opened, and the three of them boarded. Leo and Malik moved together, shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at the baby they somehow created. Malik asked, “We did pass the class, right?”

Muriel snorted, then nodded. “I’d say so.” She pressed the button to go up.

Malik looked at Leo. “Whatever happens next, we are in this together, right?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “We are in this together.”

⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘ —— ⚘