#but my brain went bork on this one somewhere i think much sleepy

[hollowfaith]

[HIGH] Sender gets something off the high shelf for receiver. // don't worry princess, im here 😌 (i know he's taller than her that's why it's funny)

𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑐𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑠 || [HIGH] Sender gets something off the high shelf for receiver

—

Klaus had finished drinking his favorite canister of tea leaves—the one with a yellow label—at home.

Ever the conscientious companion, Aurelius takes matters into his own hands to restock the goods, boldly claiming his partner's C*stco card and slipping out the door before the other can protest. Wandering the hallowed halls of bulk consumption, the angel marvels at the medley of material goods in a store designed to sell everything at maximum size, most of the time.

He locates the "tea" aisle with some difficulty, then follows the archaic coding system of numbers and letters to find the specific maker of his bestie's brew.

Alas, the spot is deserted. The price tag still remains, however—proof that Klaus's tea did exist, but was too popular for its own good just like Klaus himself. Perturbed, Aurelius considered taking over the tea factory by force before a sound cues him to look up.

A vision in violet hangs off the edges of the third-level pallets in the wholesale store. She's smiling at him brightly, eyes twinkling like those of an errant fey as she shakes a canister in her hands.

"Looking for this?"

Aurelius narrows his eyes. It's large and yellow with that obnoxiously kitschy design of a panda on the outside—yes, they're Klaus's tea leaves, all right.

"If you please." He smiles politely in turn, hands outstretched to receive the blessing of the plant gods in portable form.

"That depends," the woman says instead. "Are you going to save some for me too? It wasn't easy climbing up here unnoticed."

Aurelius takes that into account and looks around. It was true, all of the shoppers here were on ground-level only. With what he knew of humans, they were quite persistent when it came to petty rules and regulations.

"I can cooperate with you," he says while turning back. "How many canisters are you planning to take?"

"One."

"You climbed all that way just for one container of tea leaves?" Aurelius couldn't help asking.

"Do I look like I could finish two off myself?" the woman retorts before ending with a quieter laugh. "...it was easier when I used to share."

Her eyes drift with her thoughts, turning abstracted. Being the more practical of the two, Aurelius only spots the purposeful stride of what must be store employees making their way over from across the store.

"I believe freezing them is an option to preserve the flavor longer," he said after vaguely recalling Klaus's advice. "But you're working within a limited time window, so I suggest you finish and get down."

"Hah." She's noticed the staff by now too; shaking her head, she puts on a smile and throws the first canister at him, which Aurelius catches. "How many do you want?"

"Two, to make your trip a little more worthwhile," the angel replies while setting the first one aside.

Nicolette turns to tug another container of tea leaves out of the packaging, but it's stuck too tightly in the plastic. Huffing, she simply picks up the rest of the 24-pack and lifts it above her head.

"You're in luck then, because this is a 2 for 23 deal!"

To his credit, Aurelius has seen much worse than someone lobbing a bulk-sized package of tea leaves at him as friendly fire. He leaps up to receive the package first-hand, then sets it on the ground by its brethren. Next up is—

—even his eyes widen when the woman jumps off of her own accord from the equivalent of two stories up. Aurelius responds by instinct, taking flight to meet her half-way, arm sliding around her back as he spins halfway to guide her to earth in a more gentle descent.

If there's any proof of Klaus's influence, it's the fact that he shies less from touching strangers now—provided he has his gloves on.

"Hey! You two—!" At last the store workers have caught up, but a burst of wind from Aurelius's invisible wings keeps them at back. After a thought, he simply decides to manifest them completely, thus shielding himself and the lady by his side in a shiny wreath of gold.

"How daring," he remarks.

"What made you think I'd catch you instead of letting you fall?"

As soon as they touch the ground, he lets her go and takes a step back, but remain standing with wings spread to block off the rest of the aisle. They're awe-inspiring enough to keep the humans at bay too—at least for now.

Nicolette hums a little in her throat, taking the chance to bend down and grab her tea tin because handsome man was on her list of expectations, but not one with wings included. "You really don't look the type. Even if you were, I doubt you'd appreciate me breaking my leg right next to you."

There was no way someone who wore a suit that expensive would risk it getting dirtied with...well broken bones or whatever came out when someone went splat.

"That would be highly remiss of me," Aurelius agrees thoughtfully. "All the same, I'd rather not repeat this experience again." He too, bends down to take some tea—his four wings arching prettily up to avoid the floor as he did so, framing him within a glittering halo.

It's mesmerizing, to say the least. It also disappears a few seconds later when Aurelius straightens up with his two canisters in tow, leaving her with perfect vision of the equally flabbergasted store staff behind him.

"Then I suppose I'll head for the register." Aurelius gives the slightest nods to Nicolette and turns to leave. He was eager to reunite with Klaus after all this fuss.

"Hold—wait a second." Nicolette almost reaches for him before withdrawing her arm. She feels like she's still shaking off the effects of sparkle lights and golden feathers in her brain. "What's your name?"

"It doesn't matter." Aurelius keeps walking, but raises one hand to acknowledge her over his shoulder. "As far as today was concerned, I was simply your guardian angel for one moment."

"Farewell."