Page 32 of Azriel

“There aren’t many, but I’m sure some would be interested.”

“But I feel ugly. Girls laughed at me as a teenager, and kids always made fun of me. I’m not even tall or strong.”

“I’m pretty much the same height as you,” said Azriel. “If you don’t count my horns. You don’t seem to think I’m ugly even though I’m so different.”

“Because you’re actually beautiful.”

“Plenty would think I’m a monster if I walked out like this,” said Azriel. “You said horns aren't an angel thing in the human’s minds. I’d be way more of a freak than someone with an unusual hair color.”

Vali suddenly didn’t think he had stunning looks, and years here had proved he wasn’t what women were looking for, but maybe he wasn’t actually ugly because he’d be normal somewhere else. Since Mother said the fairies had varying traits, he wouldn’t stick out so much there.

“Do you want to go to the fairy world with me?” blurted Vali. “Maybe we could both fit in there.”

Azriel bit his lip. “I heard they don’t really like us sometimes. I’ve never met a fairy, but they supposedly think we’re freaks because of the way we feed.”

“But we could get by easier there than here,” said Vali. “Here, sit with me. We’ll live a long time, and since they’ll know we’re not devils, we won’t have people banging on our door with pitchforks and torches.”

Azriel sat next to him in the tall grass. “I suppose it’s worth a try. You really want me to come with you?”

“Yeah. We can both get work and split the rent somewhere. If you walk down a street, everybody won’t panic and run or prostrate themselves on the ground at your feet.”

Azriel drew up his knees. “I’m probably not the best roommate. Sometimes…the bad days last longer than a day.”

“Okay, but it’d be nice to have a friend all of the time, wouldn’t it? I know it doesn’t fix everything and make it go away, but I thought maybe if you got out, it would help a tiny bit. If you have bad days, I’m not going to think less of you. In the fairy world, you can enjoy sunlight again too.”

“No one’s ever tried to make a bad day better,” said Azriel.

Vali leaned on him. “No one’s ever called me beautiful either. Mother doesn’t count.”

Azriel let his finger go out as he tipped his head against Vali’s, and they looked at the starry sky.

Azriel

It was later than normal when Vali woke him up, and he looked tired since they’d spent a good two hours outside the night before. They’d even walked around a bit, although there wasn’t much to see there.

“Mother asked why I looked so tired,” said Vali. “I told her I had trouble sleeping. She bought it, but she asked if I could do her boss a favor since I'm not working."

"What?"

"He’s not feeling good, so he wants me to drive a wagon full of goods to Meadow tomorrow. It's a day to get there and a day to get back. You could come with me."

Azriel squinted. "How are you going to hide me?"

"If you sneak out before dawn, you could meet me in the woods where we went, get in, and we're good. I've been to Meadow, and the woods nearby are good for hiding. I'd pick you up again, and we can sleep in the wagon overnight. When we come back, it'll be nearly night, and you can come back in through my window. It'll be a couple of days of something different, and we can be together."

Today wasn't bad like yesterday, although Azriel couldn't quite say he was "fine" either. The sight of Vali's excited face gave him a tiny little bloom of warmth in his chest.

"I'd like that."

Vali came to crawl into bed next to him. "Mother's gone to work, so I need a little nap. Maybe later, I can dig out the old chessboard and teach you to play. Do you know what chess is?"

"Yeah. I like that game." Azriel wrapped his arms around Vali.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep, and Azriel listened to his even breathing. Vali hadn't mentioned sex in any form yesterday after the morning. He didn’t act like Unvern either, who'd get grumpy and say stuff to make Azriel feel even more guilty. As soon as Azriel was having a so-so day, Unvern would be nagging for sex.

He wasn’t used to not being pressured and treated so nicely when his mind was in a hole. With Vali, it was like his feelings had mattered for a change.

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