HOME | DD

Description
03 – Wings

He's standing out on the balcony of their apartment. It's in the middle of the night and he's alone. He enjoys the silence this time, looking up at the stars for a long while before letting his gaze drop to the people going about in the streets, minding their business.

Beleth watches them with something akin to rapt fascination and surprise.

Back in Heaven he hasn't been a guardian angel all that long. He has spent most time as a soldier of God, not protecting people, watching over them. He has never had the chance to actually come down here during the last five centuries, seeing all those humans doing more or less stupid things and risking their lives.

Like that girl over there..., Beleth thinks, watching her entering a dark alley, completely by herself. Beleth's pretty sure that there will be some random guy waiting for her.

"Stupid ones..." the fallen angel murmurs, shaking his head. He's only once or maybe twice seen such stupidity with humans – one of them has been when still watching over a man called a genius, even when he has suddenly started dreaming to fly.

He has only done one dumb thing though: falling in love with the wrong person. Not his fault...

Beleth laughs quietly to himself, thinking about that man, the only sin he has ever committed. He has been so innocent... Beleth thinks it's a good thing that he hasn't had a charge ever since.

Despite feeling a presence behind him, he's unable to dodge the arms winding around his waist tightly, pulling him inside. He's lifted into the air, spun around, carried along – and suddenly he's being dropped onto his bed.

"What were you thinking about? You didn't even hear me call your name..." Zaphkiel inquires, suddenly kneeling above him. He looks thoughtfully down at him.

"My charge... the one they assigned to me before deciding that I shouldn't be a guardian for anyone..."

"What was his name again..." Zaphkiel muses, crawling off the bed, stretching like a cat before shrugging off his jacket, "I think it was Leo, right? He was surprisingly pure... You saved him from being hanged, if I remember correctly..."

Once, Beleth thinks, rolling onto his side to face the wall. The comfortable warmth of Zaphkiel's body is gone. He listens to the sounds of Zaphkiel getting rid of his clothes while remembering that he could have saved Leonardo another time instead of letting him die.

"I should have saved him... I suck at being a guardian..."

Something hits the back of his head, accompanied by a grumbled "You just shouldn't talk like that… It had been your order to let him go...", both causing Beleth to face Zaphkiel, prepared to shout at him that Leonardo's time had not come yet.

The reason that he shuts up isn't Zaphkiel standing in front of the bed almost naked – well, not solely - but instead what he sees on the other's tanned back.

He only sees a flicker of black and red though, not enough to recognize anything, as Zaphkiel turns to face him. The elder chuckles as he sees the wide eyes and slightly opened mouth. He doesn't have to ask to know what Beleth has been staring at.

"You haven't seen it before, Beleth? You've got one on your back yourself!" Zaphkiel teases him a little but still sits down at the bed's edge so Beleth can take a look.

Wings, large ones, looking like normal tattoos, consisting of dozens of black and red lines that stand in stark contrast to Zaphkiel's skin. Beleth realizes that they reach from his neck and shoulders – only few, thin lines – along his back – both shoulder blades and the skin to both sides of this spine completely covered – until his lower back. They even disappear beneath the hem of his pants.

As if he's feeling Beleth's eyes like a touch going further down, Zaphkiel stands up again to slightly pull the fabric down over his hips. Beleth swallows hard, extending his hand to touch one wing's tips on his hipbones, making Zaphkiel hiss. The younger angel sees the muscles rippling beneath the skin, pulling back at once.

"That's the only thing showing we've been angels... Well, we can still use our powers, but they are not visible for a human who simply looks at us. Wings are more obvious, so they... disappear when we don't use them..."

After finishing his explanation, Zaphkiel stands up and takes a grey shirt from the chair in a corner of the room, pulling it over his head. He's already pulling the hem of a sweater down, over his back to hide the wings, when he suddenly looks over his shoulder, grinning at Beleth in a way that makes him feel uneasy.

"You should also know that those marks on our back are pretty... sensitive, Beleth... Can be useful to know when you're- humph!"

Beleth throws a pillow at his face before he can finish the sentence.

The next few moments, Zaphkiel is just standing there, laughing until he's close to crying, stomach hurting quite badly. It's just too hilarious to see a fallen angel with his cheeks and neck just as red as his hair, sitting there in too large pajamas.

The pout on his lips is just an extra to Zaphkiel. And so is the little squeak he voices when Zaphkiel ruffles his hair before touching his shoulder blade.

And, damn it, those marks really are sensitive!

Description
03 – Wings

He's standing out on the balcony of their apartment. It's in the middle of the night and he's alone. He enjoys the silence this time, looking up at the stars for a long while before letting his gaze drop to the people going about in the streets, minding their business.

Beleth watches them with something akin to rapt fascination and surprise.

Back in Heaven he hasn't been a guardian angel all that long. He has spent most time as a soldier of God, not protecting people, watching over them. He has never had the chance to actually come down here during the last five centuries, seeing all those humans doing more or less stupid things and risking their lives.

Like that girl over there..., Beleth thinks, watching her entering a dark alley, completely by herself. Beleth's pretty sure that there will be some random guy waiting for her.

"Stupid ones..." the fallen angel murmurs, shaking his head. He's only once or maybe twice seen such stupidity with humans – one of them has been when still watching over a man called a genius, even when he has suddenly started dreaming to fly.

He has only done one dumb thing though: falling in love with the wrong person. Not his fault...

Beleth laughs quietly to himself, thinking about that man, the only sin he has ever committed. He has been so innocent... Beleth thinks it's a good thing that he hasn't had a charge ever since.

Despite feeling a presence behind him, he's unable to dodge the arms winding around his waist tightly, pulling him inside. He's lifted into the air, spun around, carried along – and suddenly he's being dropped onto his bed.

"What were you thinking about? You didn't even hear me call your name..." Zaphkiel inquires, suddenly kneeling above him. He looks thoughtfully down at him.

"My charge... the one they assigned to me before deciding that I shouldn't be a guardian for anyone..."

"What was his name again..." Zaphkiel muses, crawling off the bed, stretching like a cat before shrugging off his jacket, "I think it was Leo, right? He was surprisingly pure... You saved him from being hanged, if I remember correctly..."

Once, Beleth thinks, rolling onto his side to face the wall. The comfortable warmth of Zaphkiel's body is gone. He listens to the sounds of Zaphkiel getting rid of his clothes while remembering that he could have saved Leonardo another time instead of letting him die.

"I should have saved him... I suck at being a guardian..."

Something hits the back of his head, accompanied by a grumbled "You just shouldn't talk like that… It had been your order to let him go...", both causing Beleth to face Zaphkiel, prepared to shout at him that Leonardo's time had not come yet.

The reason that he shuts up isn't Zaphkiel standing in front of the bed almost naked – well, not solely - but instead what he sees on the other's tanned back.

He only sees a flicker of black and red though, not enough to recognize anything, as Zaphkiel turns to face him. The elder chuckles as he sees the wide eyes and slightly opened mouth. He doesn't have to ask to know what Beleth has been staring at.

"You haven't seen it before, Beleth? You've got one on your back yourself!" Zaphkiel teases him a little but still sits down at the bed's edge so Beleth can take a look.

Wings, large ones, looking like normal tattoos, consisting of dozens of black and red lines that stand in stark contrast to Zaphkiel's skin. Beleth realizes that they reach from his neck and shoulders – only few, thin lines – along his back – both shoulder blades and the skin to both sides of this spine completely covered – until his lower back. They even disappear beneath the hem of his pants.

As if he's feeling Beleth's eyes like a touch going further down, Zaphkiel stands up again to slightly pull the fabric down over his hips. Beleth swallows hard, extending his hand to touch one wing's tips on his hipbones, making Zaphkiel hiss. The younger angel sees the muscles rippling beneath the skin, pulling back at once.

"That's the only thing showing we've been angels... Well, we can still use our powers, but they are not visible for a human who simply looks at us. Wings are more obvious, so they... disappear when we don't use them..."

After finishing his explanation, Zaphkiel stands up and takes a grey shirt from the chair in a corner of the room, pulling it over his head. He's already pulling the hem of a sweater down, over his back to hide the wings, when he suddenly looks over his shoulder, grinning at Beleth in a way that makes him feel uneasy.

"You should also know that those marks on our back are pretty... sensitive, Beleth... Can be useful to know when you're- humph!"

Beleth throws a pillow at his face before he can finish the sentence.

The next few moments, Zaphkiel is just standing there, laughing until he's close to crying, stomach hurting quite badly. It's just too hilarious to see a fallen angel with his cheeks and neck just as red as his hair, sitting there in too large pajamas.

The pout on his lips is just an extra to Zaphkiel. And so is the little squeak he voices when Zaphkiel ruffles his hair before touching his shoulder blade.

And, damn it, those marks really are sensitive!