#anghexescu 𓆩⟡𓆪 23

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 When Aurelius next awakes, it is dark, and he is warm.

Blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings, the angel tries to stir—and finds himself floating in some sort of enclosed space, just wide enough for him to stretch and touch the walls. A moment of confusion ensues—had his angels moved him indoors?—before a messy jumble of memories hits him straight on.

Sky. Swords. Blood. Klaus—

Of all the people he had trusted, Klaus had—

He doesn't finish that thought before an involuntary shudder wracks his body. Feverishly, he inspects his body in the dim lighting, checking to see that all his limbs are intact, then touches frantically at the walls, looking for a way out.

Seconds later, the giant, golden-leafed tree ejects him from its trunk, and Aurelius falls on all fours at its base. It's late afternoon and bitterly cold; he wonders if this is why he's shaking as he climbs to his feet, fingers trembling beneath his gaze.

"....."

He looks at the tree, then at the familiar house beside it. It's a place he knows, but now utterly foreign to him. For some reason, there's a sweater and scarf around the trunk of the tree as well, along with a completely unnecessary jacket—as if a plant could use those things to keep warm. He doesn't recognize them as gifts for himself while his mind plays catch-up with the present.

I need to leave.

Certainly, it wasn't safe here anymore. Klaus had chosen his side in their last fight, and condemned him to confinement in a world where death was meaningless. As long as a world with humans existed, there would be no room for him to stand by his side.

It was a truth he'd guessed from the start, but been too stubborn to accept until his partner—his soulmate—had stood against him, and very nearly killed him.

The thought turns him woozy; Aurelius pauses to catch his breath before pushing off from the tree to walk forwards. Could he fly? Or would that make him too easy to spot from the skies? Perhaps going deeper into the woods was an option until he figured out where to head next. His legs feel like jelly—how long had he been asleep? A root from the tree catches him unawares, and he trips, sprawling on the dirt like some uncoordinated fawn.

He crawls back upright—faster this time—and keeps stumbling forward. At the house he pauses, holding onto its walls as he scans the forest for his best way of escape. East or southeast, perhaps. Using the setting sun to gauge his position, Aurelius picks out a suitable opening in the trees and dives right in.

@anghexescu ໒꒱ hurry klaus ur not-BF is going awol

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Klaus leaves, and the space grows frighteningly quiet. Aurelius stands still, focusing his senses on the seraph's movements as his footsteps take him out into the hall and then down the stairs.

He's alone.

The anger around him dissipates, leaving exhaustion in its place. Everything is ridiculous, Klaus most of all. I would have stopped you, he says. But as soon as Aurelius decided his father was a liability, his death was inevitable. Klaus would have only interfered with the right choice—just like how he'd gotten in the way of Aurelius killing Dar's demon form.

His hands twitch as they uncurl, aching for the feel of Klaus between them again. Aurelius rests his forehand against his palm, exasperated.

"Tch..."

"What is wrong with me..."

Through the gap between his fingers, he stares at the hot water waiting for him in the tub and scowls.

—

The next day Aurelius wakes at dawn, mechanically changes into a new set of clothes, and leaves the house by flying out his window. He doesn't think he needs to leave a note—he'd already told Klaus his plans last night.

The world that greets him outside is cold.

Klaus fights everything in his power to reach and pull Aurelius in. The push and pull was exhausting, but Klaus couldn't bring himself to stop it. Aurelius probably couldn't either. They were both stubborn, if that even had anything to do with it.

"I would have stopped you. If I had seen it about to have taken place I would have stopped you from killing your father." And didn't Aurelius already know that though? The kind of Person that Klaus was, wasn't someone who'd stand by idly while someone else got executed. He was someone that protected everyone.

Aurelius' trembling hands don't go unnoticed. The whirlwind of emotions are high. Anger, betrayal, confusion, sadness, hurt, love....

It hurts having to go through this. To hear Aurelius's words. It makes this whole home feel colder. Near suffocating.

"Aurelius..," He breathes out his name with trembling breath. He reaches for a hand to grab hold of his, but it falls short and remains at his side.

"Take your bath. The water is still hot. Get some rest if you need to, and I won't stop you if you wish to leave." Klaus exhales quietly and walks pass Aurelius to leave him in the bathroom.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Klaus looks stricken. Aurelius suspects he himself isn't much better, but he holds eye contact until the seraph shakes his head, then stares at the water in the tub behind him.

"You know I won't."

"That is the nature of our world, Klaus. I cannot leave the angels without guidance. Just as you want me to stay by your side, I want you to join me in Heaven. It would be better there, but you..."

His tone turns helpless, then angry the next second as he grasps Klaus by his shirt. It's a bad choice—his hands start shaking as soon as they touch—but Aurelius hates the feeling of being so far from Anghelescu despite standing right in front of him even more.

"It's not fear or greed that drives me. It's you. I had no desire to be divinus—or anything else—before we met. And you ask me how I resemble Father? You were just one of many threats to him, but you were someone who mattered to me. I changed my alliances, my faith—because I wanted to be with you. You wouldn't have stopped me from murdering Father for what he's done, but you judge me now because I killed someone before they had the chance to act?"

Why did they keep pushing each other when they both wanted the same things? Aurelius has to release Klaus next, balling his fingers back into fists to stop their trembling. He's still fuming, but everything feels so cold.

"Fine, I won't do it again. Deal with them yourself. I killed your father, I hurt your friends, and now I've made you cry. Any fool can tell I make you miserable. I refuse to stay with you like this."

"My parents...Were devoted to their duties. You think I don't know? The story of why my mother's gone and why my father and I have continued to be on the run?" He didn't ASK to be born the way he was. Why was it that he was marked for simply being born? And if God had the power, why did they create him to be as he was. Why give his parents hardship? WHY was he marked by GOD as a warning? He's confused and angry.

He remains seated, with his back facing Aurelius. His hands remain on his lap, but the more Aurelius talks, the more his heart feels it'll burst. There's anger trickling within and sadness. Ever since he can remember, they have been on the run. His father had been lucky to have run into Morriss and his daughter. Klaus remembers hearing Solara say, "If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have made it this far."

And even after having traveled with Morriss and Miyena, they had still been tracked. Those two stuck around despite the danger of being around himself and his father.

OF COURSE, Klaus knew how many angels were sent after him. Of course, he counted each and every one of them.

He could give Aurelius the exact number right now if he wanted.

"you then were the cause of my father's life. If they hadn't cornered him...if you had backed off..."

If Fiyero had been in his world...the same fate may have befallen him there too. Aurelius would have tortured him and killed him. Just like how he did before to Fiyero. And all for what? To secure Klaus' place? How many ARMIES would Aurelius have sent to take care of her? The thought makes him feel sick to his stomach.

He never asked for this.

And Aurelius had never asked WHAT HE WANTED.

Klaus does rise and he turns to look at Aurelius. He's tired. Sure Aurelius is too.

"I don't think you should be questioning my love, Aurelius," He says quietly. His love for Aurelius ran so deep. Cut him open and he'd be bleeding love right out.

"You and I show it differently. You of all should get it. You've always said it yourself and you still....You still can't see why." He lifts his gaze to look into Aurelius'.

"What makes you different from your father, Aurelius? You let fear take over. You carry greed---the want for more when you have enough. And your wrath....," Klaus bites into his inner cheek. "I felt all the same when it was your father's angels sent after me and my family. What makes you different from your father?"

"I don't need you to hurt or kill to protect me. I never asked you to do any of that. ALL I asked---All I wanted was just for us to be by each other's side. What I wanted.....was for you to let go of your duty and live AS you. Not as the DIVINUS or whatever Title you have in heaven." Klaus shakes his head, holding back the shakiness in his breathing.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Mind-reading is a skill he knows Klaus possesses, but never one that concerns him—Klaus cannot read his thoughts, after all. It's why the seraph's admission that he read Dar's catches Aurelius off-guard.

And Fiyero's, as well.

His mind scrambles, grappling for a handhold amidst the sense of slipping control. In the end he latches on to the words that stand out most, golden irises fixated on his partner.

"...my people?" Aurelius echoes, incredulous. "Haven't I—"

"Isn't it obvious by now that I'm standing on your side?" Sparks dance behind his eyes as Aurelius runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Your parents defied the will of Heaven first, so God marked you as a warning." Green eyes, the color of envy. They had labeled Anghelescu a child of ill omen for such a simple reason. "Father knew what you might become and wanted you dead. But he lost himself in his fears and fell—to me."

He takes a step forward, face grim.

"If you've seen my memories, then you know—there was nothing to oppose my rise in Heaven. I had God paving the way, and I intended to make things right: for you, your parents, and the realm that forsook you. I've been trying to fix things, Klaus. I've been trying ever since I took the throne."

Another step, and his fists clench further at his sides.

"Do you know how many angels Father sent after you?" "Do you think Fiyero was the only one to fall by my hands?" "If you hate killing to protect yourself, can't I do it in your place?"

“All that God gives us is a test. It is not our place to question His reasons. Instead—” At last he looms over the other, incredulity mixing with confusion and fury. "Is this your definition of love, Klaus?"

"To never choose me first, unless I become one of you—one of them. Then I would rather you kill me first."

Klaus falls silent. Aurelius deserved to know, just as much as Klaus deserved to have known the truth. He moves his fingers out of the water and places his hands on his lap. "He didn't say anything," he answers truthfully.

"Nothing he said would have come close to what he showed me. The things I saw through his eyes from yours....I don't think I have to go into details." How long did Aurelius planned to keep it away from him? Did he intend to keep the secret until Klaus was ready?

"We saw what you did to Fiyero. Then Dar---he knew something and I wanted to know the truth. He felt he needed to show me."

He doesn't look at Aurelius; instead, he wipes the tears from his eyes. "Do you think God intended for all of this to happen? Is there a reason for any of this? In the past, you said that they make everything in their image. What about us? Is there a reason I'm down there and you're up there? A reason why I had to be hunted down while you and your people try to take me for yourselves."

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Aurelius waits, ears focused on the sound of running water until it trickles to a stop. The distance between him and Klaus might have been as wide as the sea; even if he can fly, he can't find the path to bridge that gap. When Klaus finally voices his question, the angel's hands curl, nails digging into his palms as he grits out an answer.

"....."

"It'll get better with time."

The memory of the sensations would dull, even if the sharp edge of betrayal still stings in his mind. He wonders how much of it is from himself, and how much comes through from Klaus.

"What did Dar say?" Aurelius moves on, focusing on practical answers. "You would've known eventually—but what did he tell you, with the impressions he stole from my head?"

It would have been so much better if Aurelius hadn't entered, but Klaus couldn't expect any less. It would have been even more strange if Aurelius remained on the out of the bathroom.

The seraph only shrinks into himself further. When the tub is full though, he does turn the faucet off.

"That isn't it," he breathes shakily. Sure, it would have only been right to give what they wanted. For a life...A life should have been taken. Especially if it was someone responsible for the loss. Aurelius was responsible for a lot. His hands were stained by his family's blood and Fiyero's and others who had the unfortunate of tasting Aurelius' wrath and fury.

Klaus was no different though, now was he?

"..." He shuts his eyes tight.

"Does...it still hurt?"

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 As the sound of water running intrudes upon his thoughts, Aurelius' mind wanders until he hears the murmur of Klaus' voice inside. Even if that didn't catch his attention, the sudden throb in the bond between them is obvious enough. Once again, annoyance sweeps through him with the ache.

If there was anyone in the world who didn't deserve to hurt, it was Klaus.

He pushes open the doors next minute and steps inside, seeing Klaus hunched over the bathtub. The defeated posture incites him more as the angel strides forward before he's forced to stop a couple feet away. Reining in his rapid breaths, Aurelius sighs.

"Why are you like this?" he demands. "I didn't die—you made sure of that. So why are you still unhappy?"

"Did you end up disappointing your little friends because you spared my life?"

Once he gets the okay, klaus nods and is in the bathroom. He sits beside the tub and turns the faucet on. He's quiet as he listens to the rush of hot water pouring out into the bathtub. Aurelius is outside the door and waits. It's a routine between the two. Klaus prepares things for Aurelius as it is one of his ways of showing his love for the angel.

Though....how can he still claim that he loves Aurelius even after everything that happened?

As fingers keep dipped in water, his other hand rises to clutch tight at where his heart beats achingly.

"Aurelius....I'm sorry..." his words strain through tears.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Mid-step, Aurelius pauses at the words and looks back. Klaus is shadowing him every inch of the way, but he heeds the warning to keep his distance. A part of him is relieved, but another part of him feels a slight spark of irritation. He opens his mouth to voice his thoughts—

"All right."

"Thank you."

—and turns away the next second, feeling a deep sense of disquiet.

Routine is a devious snare. While Klaus prepares everything, Aurelius stands waiting outside the door, feeling equal parts listless and expectant. Heaven was far less hassle, with its angels, its purity, and...Riel?

He narrows his eyes.

Unfortunately, Shamriel was only a dream.

A mild case of delight oozes through him when Aurelius says he's changed his mind. Of course, he's still worried for His wellbeing, but at least he'd be able to keep an eye on Aurelius in case something happened!

"Okay," he whispers with a nod. He follows him silently and even when he bangs his head into the door, Klaus is very close to helping him, but once more stops himself.

He doesnt want to alarm Aurelius in any way.

"Let me prepare you a bath," It was one of the things that Klaus often did in the past for him.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 "I'm fine." A slightly muffled voice answers him before Aurelius drags himself back up to a sitting position for a personal inspection. The minor scrapes and bruises on him are already healing themselves, but his suit is inevitably mud-stained now, to say nothing of his dignity.

Klaus' hesitation and worry poke at him like needles.

"Disgraceful..." he sneers at his own dirt-encrusted palm.

"I changed my mind. I'll leave...tomorrow."

His head slowly turns towards Klaus, then trails to their house. Wings flap before they take his body airborne and carry him towards the entrance—a little too quickly, so that he bangs his forehead against the doorframe while crashing to a stop.

The angel frowns, cradling his bleeding head as he pushes himself indoors. That wound was healing rapidly as well, so it didn't really matter. He wondered whether his incoordination came from leftover grogginess or his wings growing back wrong. If so, he'd have to fix them like he did once with his tongue.

For now, he ignores that thought and the presence of Klaus behind him to stagger through the building, meandering towards the stairs that led up to his room.

He would shut it off if he could. Unfortunately, his emotions weren't that easy to quiet down. And instead it only heightened when Aurelius looked to start walking away. He's trying though. Hopefully Aurelius can see that muc--

Klaus quickly rises to his feet, very close to moving to Aurelius side but stops himself.

My body remembers you as a threat,

Aurelius had said.

"Aurelius...," his voice is laced with heavy concern.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 "There is nowhere on this island that I can go without you finding me eventually," Aurelius sounds resigned. For better or worse, the place had trapped them both.

He holds onto a tree as he squints up at the darkening skies, feeling in hindsight how foolhardy it was to rush into the woods at night. Emotion had dug its claws into him in its own way. Even now, the traces of Klaus' panic seep into his own psyche and makes him lightheaded.

"I am pushing you away for my wellbeing as much as yours," he forces out the next sentence with difficulty. "How do you expect me to be with you as before?"

"My body remembers you as a threat. I keep feeling every little fluctuation in your emotions—" Incredible, had the last fight solidified their bond instead of dissolving it? "—can you s-stop? I—how many days has it been since I was out?"

Was it already New Year's? What had he left unfinished?

...the clinic was still standing, he assumed. Aurelius pushes off the tree and starts staggering off in a different direction, at least confident that Klaus wouldn't stop him.

Instead, he trips over a rock and goes face-planting for the third time this evening.

"But you and I both know that it doesn't have to be this way."

He wasnt wrong and Klaus knew that. This wouldn't be the first nor would it be the last. Aurelius had made himself clear that his duty came first way before and Klaus had chosen a different route every time. They truly lived in two separate worlds.

"What about you?" He asks when Aurelius stands. Klaus remains seated, though there's panic that rises in his chest.

Please, don't go.

"You said we should be more honest with each other. Why...? Why aren't you being honest, Aurelius? You're only trying to push me away, but you don't really want to leave me? Do you?"

Exhaling a shaky sigh, klaus closes his eyes. He places a hand to his chest as if to calm and comfort his heart. "I won't stop you. I don't want you to go, but....i won't hold you here against your will." He'd just hope that Aurelius would stop pushing him away so that they could work through this together.

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 He feels the heaviness, not only in Klaus' limbs, but also his chest. It's a choking feeling that nevertheless burns hot, and tries to draw him in despite everything. Aurelius shies from it, brows creasing. He hasn't seen Klaus this stubborn in a long time—but he knows how contrary the seraph can get.

"And where does that leave us?"

"Be practical, Klaus."

Seeing his partner's head hanging miffs him—a seraph wasn't born to bow so low. Aurelius almost reaches forward to raise Klaus' chin but falters, separated by the ditch in-between and his own numb, cold fingers. Instead he stares off to the side and ends up talking to a tree trunk.

"...I am the son of the angel who ordered your kin slaughtered—who once tried to murder you myself. I will not deny that, nor my duty as divinus." He thinks his partner should understand. They were both people who put the majority over a single person—except that Aurelius sided with Heaven while Anghelescu always defended his mortals.

"I will force you towards the same choices again and again, and you will suffer from acting upon them. For all that you rage, you are too soft to keep me."

Pushing himself up from the ground, Aurelius attempts to leave again.

Klaus doesn't flinch even when he feels the tips brush against him. Aurelius could stab him for all he knew, but Klaus was tired. He couldn't bring himself to harm Aurelius. Not for a second time.

"..."

Klaus shakes his head once more and breathes out, "I'm angry too. I-I'm furious with what I now know. With the things you've done? I'm angry." From his crouched position, he chooses to fully sit. He's at the same level as Aurelius.

"but I can't let it go. My feelings for you...they're my feelings for you. I can't let it go."

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 As Klaus crouches, Aurelius draws further back, wings flaring out in warning. Their soft tips barely brush against the seraph’s shoulders, a weak effort to push him away.

“Can what?”

“Play house in our little game of make-believe?”

His voice rises in pitch, mixed with an undercurrent of anger and something else too raw to put into words.

“We should be more honest with each other, Anghelescu. I don’t fault you for embracing your potential—finally—but your feelings for me are too much, don't you think?”

It’s unfathomable that they’re still linked after that fiasco. Was this another one of God’s trials?

“It’s too much for you too,” he murmurs after a breath. "Let it go, Klaus.”

Klaus shakes his head at Aurelius' question. "You always have a choice. You---," He'd hope that Aurelius would come back. It wasn't safe out here and there was much to talk about.

"You know why I did what I did. You left me no choice." Back then, it had been either Aurelius or the people below. Klaus couldn't sacrifice everyone else just for someone he loved...right?

"I don't want to fight. I just want to talk."

Klaus lowers himself from where he stands. He can't even hide the guilt he feels enveloping him. "Or we don't have to. We don't have to say anything...we can just..."

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 The bundle of golden wings before Klaus twitches before their owner stills. In the silence, time stretches on before Aurelius finally chortles from inside.

"Do I have a choice?" his voice asks.

Running had been a fool's idea from the start. Where could he go on this island that Klaus couldn't follow to? Hiding would only be temporary, even if his mind craved a secret refuge to get away from it all. Heaven was his home—but here was only folly and the aftermath of his choices.

The wings slowly retract, revealing Aurelius sitting on the ground, worrying restlessly at his hands as he looks up with a smile.

"If I misbehave, are you going to put me back to sleep?"

"No, perhaps you should...I liked the dreams I had there."

Stop.

And Klaus does. He halts in his step. The separation between the two wouldn't have been enough to stop him but it's the sound of Aurelius' voice that has him no longer approaching. The feeling stirring within him from their bond tells Klaus enough. With that followed further by the blond's action...

Klaus would have felt the same way. This was probably how Fiyero felt. Scared, untrusting...Not when it came to seeing Aurelius and not when it came to seeing Klaus. Whenever she'd look at them, she'd remember what took place. It would be the same for Aurelius.

"I won't---I won't hurt you. Aurelius, please..."

his own emotion surges within. He's relieved to see Aurelius moving, talking, breathing. However, there's fear. Fear that what happened just a few weeks ago may take place again. That something worse could happen.

"Let's go home. I--I'll explain everything. Please."

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 The forest is within sight—but then a voice calls and Aurelius' hairs stand on end as soon as he recognizes it. What feels like concern flows across their bond, but the angel pushes that away in disbelief. He's already witnessed the levels of barbarity beneath such feelings.

Klaus was, in the end, a very powerful seraph.

The footsteps behind him grow closer and closer until Aurelius finally spins on his heels, the awkward angle making him fall backwards again onto a carpet of pine needles and leaves. Seeing his partner approach, he holds out a hand until the earth between them ripples and then sinks, creating a deep gulf in the ground to separate them. Hardly an impediment, but at least it gets his point across.

"Stop."

"Do not...touch me."

His wings burst out of his back the next second, and wrap forwards to firmly shield him from view.

"Leave," his voice hisses from within.

It comes in like a hushed whisper. The presence of someone. Someone familiar and then---

Klaus hears the sound just outside the cabin. When he heard it all, he was in the middle of something, but he dropped everything he was doing and rushed out.

"Au--" Aurelius was walking away and he was walking quickly. "Aurelius!" Klaus gasps out his name. The Seraph doesn't have time to slip shoes on and is rushing out the door to catch up to the other.

The mistwood was dangerous and Klaus wasn't even sure how adjusted Aurelius was considering he had been sealed off for quite some time. Judging from what he had witnessed, he didn't look too stable.

"Aurelius! Wait!" he calls out once more. He's already closing in the gap between them as he quickly follows the angel deeper into the forest.