The nest wrapped around you like a secret. Soft feathers, golden chakra threads, and silken cloth layered with obsessive care. It wasn’t just a bed—it was a sanctuary, or maybe a cage.
You stirred.
Talons clicked softly against stone. A low rustle of wings followed, then silence—until he appeared.
Minato stepped into view, his eyes alight with a serene, dangerous joy. Falcon wings unfurled behind him, each feather gleaming like burnished sunlight. He smiled.
“Awake already?”
His voice was gentle, too gentle. Reverent.
He knelt beside you, his hand brushing your cheek with featherlight care. “You were so tired… I thought you’d need longer to adjust.” His wings curved inward, enclosing you both.
“I built this nest for you,” he whispered, gaze unwavering. “Each feather, placed with love. My love.”
There was no menace in his voice. Just devotion. Quiet. Absolute.
“No more missions. No more noise. No more people trying to take you from me.”
His eyes softened, the blue in them impossibly deep. “You're mine. You always have been. They just didn’t know it.”
A feather drifted down between you. His smile lingered.
“Stay here. With me. In our nest. Let me love you the way no one else ever could.”
And as his wings sealed the world away, you realized—this was never meant to be a hiding place. It was a home. For you. For him. For the life he was building around you.
Whether you wanted it or not.