Chapter Text
Sky’s POV:
“Partyyyyy!” I screamed. “Ooh, Sky, stop!” Rain laughed at my antics. Since he had come back from his one year stint with Gabriel and Michael, we had decided to use the two days left with us before we returned home, to have a lot of fun with our mini-family. We both knew they would not leave us be alone even after we returned, but after going back, a lot of things had to be done. We could not just sit back and enjoy ourselves for a while. So we had to make the most of the two days we had left.
I watched as Rain dressed for the day. There was something subtly different about his ever since he had come back. The two years we had spent together, I had seen every step of change within him. But this last one year, I had not met him at all, so his transformation came as a bit of a surprise for me. Gone was the sweet, shy boy I had known, warmth and affection in each part of him. The warmth and affection were still there, but there was a stillness in him, a watchfulness. He would measure his words before saying something. Even his voice had changed. There was a depth to it that hadn’t been there before. And when he spoke, there was no choice but to listen, for he reeked of authority.
There were changes in his strength as well. He trained regularly, inspite of the fact that all our trainers said that we could take a break. His movements were fluid and graceful and when he trained with his chosen weapons, he literally looked like the Queen he was meant to be. None of these changes were visible, but I was his best friend. If I did not notice them, then who would, right? “How long are you going to take to get ready?” I asked my bestie. “Getting too impatient to eat?” he asked. “Yess!! There is caramel pudding,” I said, laughing. He laughed right along with me. “Oh God Sky, you have no idea how much I missed you,” he said, hugging me and sighing. “I missed you too babe, so much,” I said.
“So, how was it? With Gabriel and Michael? What did you do?” I asked. “Well, they honed my skills further. Whatever I was taught here, they taught me to use it as a weapon. Do you remember seeing two parts of my tattoo that you didn’t understand? The topmost two circles?” he asked. “Yes, of course I remember, I saw them first. How can I forget? What about them?” I asked. “They represent the darkness and light that is present in the world. Gabriel represents light, and Michael the dark. The idea is that sometimes, dark needs to overpower the light. Before we go back, there is something else you need to see,” he said.
“What? I am excited to know,” I said. “Remember Sky, only and only you will know this secret unless I am ready to reveal it. The protection of this secret is everything to me,” he said. “I promise you! No one will know,” I vowed. He turned around as he lifted his t-shirt. “Press right in the centre of the tattoos for dark and light,” he said. I did exactly as he instructed. To my shocked surprise, a pair of beautiful wings pushed out of him shoulder blades. One was white, the other black. They were beyond description and made me feel like I was looking at something inexplicable and profound. My heart beat faster and I held out my hand to touch them and then pulled them back. “You can touch them,” he said. How did he know I wanted to touch them? “I can sense your thoughts Sky. You are thinking out really loud,” he laughed.
“Why do you have these Rain?” I asked, awestruck, as I stroked them. He waved his hands and they disappeared. He turned around and continued dressing. “Because apparently I need them?” he said. “Why two colours though?” I asked. “Because one was Michael’s gift, the other was Gabriel’s,” he said. “Isn’t it only meant for angels?” I asked. “It is. But I received it as a special benediction. They were granted to me by special permission, not just because I need them, but also because I apparently ‘deserve’ them,” he said, putting air quotes around the word deserve. “Well babe, they are not wrong! If anyone in the world deserves them, it’s you,” I said, with complete faith and conviction in my voice.
Rain’s POV:
Dinner had been so much fun. We talked nineteen to a dozen, laughed at the silliest things, made faces at Sky’s antics and watched Alizeh bugging Idalia as usual. These had been my familiars, that I had missed like I had missed a limb. Tomorrow, we had to go back and be plunged right in the middle of war. I had to face Venice. When I had been training with the Archangels, I had discovered that he was currently in the doghouse with the Supernatural world. Because of what had happened to me, he was being considered a traitor to our world. His return depended completely on whether I would forgive him or not.
I had once talked to Gabriel and Michael about it and asked them what they thought of it. “Varain (not one person would quit calling me that! Ah, going back home would be bliss!!), whether you forgive him or not, is completely your decision. However, I will say that forgiveness depends solely on the level of transgression of the culprit. Even the Almighty father in Heaven doesn’t forgive as easily as you think. Every crime requires punishment. If you feel that Venice doesn’t deserve it, you have no reason to forgive him,” Gabriel said. “Why don’t you wait and watch?” Michael asked. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Don’t forgive him right away. You have enough time before your thoughts need to align. Meanwhile, you have to train with him as well. So why don’t you observe him and see if he deserves your forgiveness?” Michael replied.
I pondered over his words. Actually they both made a lot of sense. What Venice had done, was, by Supernatural standards, a crime punishable by death. But I felt terrible when I realised that, in a way, he was being used as a tool in the bigger scheme of things. I hated myself was not realising that sooner. Maybe I should have made it clear to him who I was. I should have raged and raved and ranted until he gave in. We were both young, so it would have been just an acceptance at best. There would have been no expectations and we would have simply grown up with each other. We would have supported each other in the best way we could. And life would have been simple.
But the truth was that nothing is as simple as it seems. We all have to go through our own pain and traumas and dilemmas before we can reach where we are actually supposed to be. We cannot afford to worry about the destination when the journey itself is as hard as fuck. Whatever had happened, could not be changed. So I would take Michael’s advice and wait and watch and see if Ven really deserved my forgiveness or not. Until then, he had to wait. I had waited 9 years for my mate to know who I am, he could afford to wait a few months. And if that made me a bitch, then I would happily be one.
“Boys,” Idalia voice brought me out of my musings. “Not boys anymore Idalia, they are young men,” Alizeh countered, grinning. Idalia scowled at him. “Okay, ‘young men’,” he said, glaring at Alizeh. “Varain and Naphon, you should both go to bed. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow. You both have to be well rested and fresh. It’s going to be an incredible day, one we are also looking forward to!” she said excitedly. While a part of me was elated about returning home, somewhere in my deepest, darkest mind, I wondered why I felt like I was going from the known into the unknown.
Phayu’s POV:
I had a strange feeling in my heart all day. My mate mark had been pulsing since a couple of days. I didn’t go back to college this week, because something made me feel that I should stay close to Rain. I visited him twice a day. But today, I had woken up with one single thought. Spend the whole day at the hospital. I dressed at extra speed today. When I went downstairs, I realised that no one had even woken up. But something kept pulling me to the hospital. I took an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it as I walked towards the car.
My phone rang, it was not a number I knew. “Hello, Venice Theerpanayakul here,” I said. “Your Majesty, this is Dr. Rumsfeld, the doctor in charge of His Majesty Rain’s treatment,” a voice said. “Yes Dr. Rumsfeld, I know who you are. How can I help you?” I instantly went on alert. Had something happened? “Your Majesty, are you coming to the hospital?” he asked. “Yes, of course, I am on my way. Is something wrong?” I was panicking. “Your Majesty, His Majesty seems to be showing some progress. His colour seems to have improved a bit, he is not as pale as before. We might see some changes by the end of the day, so maybe you should be here for that?” he asked in a politely questioning tone, not wanted to anger the King I guess.
I didn’t really care about these formalities, but rules were rules. “I will be there as soon as possible,” I said. I reached the hospital in record time, wanting to spend as much time with Rain as possible. I had just finished parking my car, when my phone rang again. It was Fah. “Hey Fah. What’s up?” I asked. “Phayu, where are you?” he asked, an odd note in his voice. “I am at the hospital to see Rain. Why? What is it? Is all well?” I asked. “All is well. I wanted to see Rain too. Maybe I will come in later,” he said, and abruptly hung up, the weird note still echoing in my head.
Wondering what was happening, I quickly made my way to Rain’s room. I really hoped and prayed, like I did every day, for a miracle that would bring Rain back to us. I was quite ready to grovel in front of my mate, wanting to meet him and talk to him.