Page 36 of Azriel

He heard footsteps and assumed Mother was going to her room. Azriel had sat at his desk to doodle on parchment, and Vali got one boot off.

His door suddenly swung open.

"I forgot to tell you-"

Mother dropped the sack she was holding, Vali froze, and Azriel dropped the quill as he made a strange noise.

"Who is that?!" demanded Mother.

“Mother, I can explain! His name is Azriel, and he’s-”

"I was just blessing your son, and I have to go now because God's expecting me back." Azriel jumped up and went for the window.

Mother barreled across the room and grabbed one of his wings. "I know what you are, and you're not some holy angel! What are you doing in my son's room?"

"Mother! Let go of him!" Vali took her arm to pull her away.

"Ow!" A couple of Azriel’s feathers were yanked out.

"Azriel, she already saw you. Don’t run away. Mother, you can't rip out his feathers."

"You seem pretty comfortable, so how long has he been here? You didn't tell me you had some angel bunking in your room and-and-" She glanced at the desk and Azriel’s drawing of two dancing stick cats.

"You already know about angels!" Vali threw up his hands. "Why are you attacking him? It's not like he came here to eat my soul or something."

"Why is he here? Isn’t Azriel an angel of death? Angels have powers-”

“No, he’s not the angel of death! He had to get out of the Fallen realm, and he was hiding in the attic. He had nowhere to go, and I found him because I heard a noise.”

She turned to Azriel who shrunk against the window frame and tucked his wings as close as possible to his back. “You’ve been hiding in the house that I happen to live in too. Do you think I want some stranger in my son’s room?”

“Mother, I’m sorry.” Vali rubbed his forehead. He had fucked up by keeping something like that from her. “It was nothing but shit at his home, and I had to hide him. He doesn’t have anywhere to go, and he can’t even go outside and walk around like a normal person.”

“Your Father said some angels are absolute shit, not that he was grand and perfect in the end,” said Mother. “But he said some are really bad, and they’ll use others, although he wouldn't actually say what they do to each other. Also, that name-”

“He’s not using me or here to kill anyone, and everything we’ve done, I liked it. He was hurt when he got here, and he’s not now. He’s had some pearls…” Vali closed his mouth and cringed inside.

“Ohhh…” She blinked at him. “Why didn't you tell me you were gay?”

“I’m not gay. Okay, maybe I’m a little gay, but only for Azriel. I like him a lot, he’s not bad, he’s not using me because I told him to stay here, and I want him to come with me later in the fairy world. He has nobody here except for me, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that we had a third living in the house because that was wrong, but he needed time to remain hidden so he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone, except for me, of course.”

“You don’t bother me,” said Azriel. “I’m sorry I hid in your attic.”

Mother sighed. “Why is your name Azriel?”

“It’s just a name,” he said. “It doesn’t give me special death abilities or anything like that.”

“I want to talk to you downstairs alone.” Mother headed for the door. “Your clothes are in the sack, Vali. I picked them up from the laundress and forgot to tell you to take them upstairs when you came in.”

“Thanks,” said Vali, and Azriel gave him a desperate look. “Go talk to her. She’s not going to chase you around the kitchen with a frypan.”

Azriel

He awkwardly stood by the table where she’d sat.

“My son isn’t going to the Fallen realm,” she stated in a firm voice. “I know the demons think humans are inferior, and my son’s not getting caught up in some war.”

“I’m not taking him there. I promise. I can’t go back anyway because I escaped army duty.”

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