✟››ASCENDANT‹‹✟

Feeling Orion’s face against his neck, with his nose and lips just barely touching his skin, secretly makes Bro’s heart flutter a bit more. Or at least he hopes it’s secretly. It’d be a bit embarrassing if the other found out. Either way, his silent laughter and then his typing makes the man grin widely before he replies, his arm tightening around Orion’s shoulders for a moment in encouragement.

“Yeah, I do! Sounds pretty funny t’me.”

Orion SMIRKED, and looked up at the other. The words the blond had just said before were running through his mind, even if he hadn’t publicly acknowledged them or anything. “ No one else can open me up like you can. ”

As requested, the male loaded up his Vine app and played the little 6-second video, where Kat was undoubtedly dancing around like an idiot with a broom before inevitably jumping high enough to SKYROCKET into the ceiling and absolutely destroy an expensive light fixture ( The kid was STILL working to try to pay that off, by the way. Honestly, the brethren who ran the church didn’t really care about something so trivial; but it was fun to watch him scramble ). However, Orion’s eyes never left Bro’s face during the entire almost-10-seconds that the clip played, a BEMUSED half-smile playing on the younger male’s olive-toned features.

Bro was nervous, wasn’t he? Orion FELT it, especially when he focused. Wriggling beneath the other man’s happiness, like a timid baby animal, was something patient and warm. He couldn’t exactly feel Bro’s emotions fully as his own yet; but, then again, that was part of what INTRIGUED him so much.

Curiouser and curiouser...

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

Kiyoshi laughs. He doesn’t chuckle; he actually laughs. He also lets his hand slide down from Orion’s hair to his neck, cupping it for a moment, before slipping his arm around the other’s shoulders and sitting side-by-side with him as he looks down at the holopad..

“No, no! He’s a singer. He did a song called ‘Treasure’. It’s worth a listen, so you can Google it if ya want.”

He BLUSHED. He didn’t fluster a little; he all-out literally, physically, spiritually BLUSHED. From his spirit. This was too embarrassing --- but he couldn’t say that he minded the closeness to Kiyoshi AT ALL. Sure enough, the first result in his Bing search was a YouTube video for the song. He clicked the PLAY button and as the song started playing, Orion watched on, dumbstruck. This was definitely a CATCHY one, but... But this VIDEO... Was it meant to be this CORNY? Though there was something he kinda recognized this guy’s singing style...

Pff.

He closed out of the window after the video finished playing.

OH WOW.

He held onto Bro and HID HIS FACE in the crook of the man’s neck as he erupted into a short fit of silent, shaking LAUGHTER.

I’VE ACTUALLY HEARD THIS GUY BEFORE. K’S ALWAYS SINGING ALONG TO HIM WHENEVER HE THINKS NO ONE’S LISTENING. I FILMED IT AND POSTED IT TO VINE ONCE AND IT GOT LIKE 100,000 LOOPS --- HE LOOKS SO DUMB.

D’YOU WANNA SEE IT?

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“Treasure, huh? You Bruno Mars or somethin’?”

Bro jokes softly, mostly in order to attempt to hide the fact that he’s getting flustered. Orion’s words, plus the fact that he’s touching his neck and chest, are starting to get to him a little bit…in the best way possible, of course.

“Your treasure, though. No one else can open me up like you can.”

BRUNO MARS? WHO THE HELL IS THAT?

Was he some sort of low-life pirate related to the god of war? Or perhaps it was some weird type of CANDY BAR... Those were his best guesses, anyway. Perhaps Orion just had to get out more; or maybe he needed to try out some hobbies that weren’t related to WORK. Actually, he was quite literally busy doing GOD’S work, thank you very much, but still. What had HAPPENED to him? He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d been out on the town, so that was pretty BOGUS. Wait --- people were still using ‘ bogus ’ as a slang term, right?

He pointed a single finger at the HOLOPAD device in his hand, which essentially served as his HANDHELD COMPUTER.

UHH, DO I NEED TO GOOGLE THIS ON YAHOO?

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“Well sure, I am, too. We both are. Biggest heart throbs in this entire building, I imagine.”

Bro sure is laughing a lot tonight; he’s in a good mood for once, and it definitely shows. His hand pushes into Orion’s hair a bit more, brushing it through his fingers as he hums softly and thoughtfully.

“My accent is adorable? Never heard it git called that before. First fer everythin’ I guess.”

THE FIRST, PERHAPS... BUT CERTAINLY NOT THE LAST, MY BUTTERSCOTCH...

Orion smirked almost as if he wished to PURR like a cat, lifting his own hand to brush it against the other’s BARE NECK, trailing his thumb nail down to toy with the center of Bro’s collarbone, pressing deeply into the curve, swimming deep in PONDERINGS of his own, as his heart began to beat thickly in sync with the other’s PULSE.

THERE’S A LOT OF YOU THAT I CAN IMAGINE IS ADORABLE, MY TREASURE.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

Orion’s hand atop his own makes Kiyoshi’s eyes widen a little in surprise, but he doesn’t pull away again. He doesn’t want to stop, either. He does, however, wanna get to know this guy, too; he didn’t mean to make the situation feel rushed or anything. A smile slowly spreads across the blonde’s face as he nods and pulls his thumb back to brush it against the other’s cheek gently; a reassuring motion.

“Y’didn’t fool me. I jus’ think yer a total heart throb ‘n’ wanna git t’know ya better. I got all the time in the world t’do that, I imagine, bein’ here ‘n’ all.”

Orion shuddered into the touch; he was ready to MELT right then and there. Selfish. Egotistical. GREEDY. Those three words had haunted him since childhood, and he had absolutely NO desire to swap out the labels --- his only focus was to find a manner of remaining for the duration of ETERNITY with the one for whom he most DEEPLY cared and yearned for, now that it had at LAST become a possibility.

But even if the man COULD talk, Kiyoshi would NEVER hear him say that out loud.

A HEART THROB? WHO? LI’L OL’ ME? YOU SURE YOU’RE NOT REFERRING TO YOURSELF IN THAT ADORABLE ACCENT?

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“Knowin’ how old I’m gettin’ they prolly ain’t 100% functional.”

Bro raises a brow and releases Orion’s hand, as well as start pulling away the one in his hair. Not completely, but…

Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.

“If y’want me t’stop I will. Jus’ say so.”

I DON’T...

The DESPERATE look had come back. This had gone on for too long --- he WASN’T going to lose him again. He raised a hand to hold the one of Bro’s to his head, and let out a deep SIGH.

I LIKE THIS... BUT I ALSO WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU. THERE’S A LOT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME, AND I’M SURE THERE’S EVEN MORE I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, AND I DON’T WANT YOU TO FEEL LIKE I... FOOLED YOU, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. YOU’RE TOO PRECIOUS FOR THAT.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

Bro finally becomes aware of the fact that he’s probably invaded the other’s personal space…but he doesn’t seem to mind it, much to his relief. When he feels another hand atop his own, the blonde turns his over and squeezes in return…before slowly bringing it up to his lips and kissing it gingerly. The other hand never stops playing with Orion’s hair. Not once.

“Good…cuz I like doin’ it.”

Orion’s cheeks went CRIMSON and he let out a little squeak --- yup, you guessed it: he FINALLY FIGURED OUT that he MIGHT have been overstepping his boundary with a so-called stranger. But it was too late. To Orion’s utter CONSTERNATION, Kiyoshi was RECIPROCATING it.

NOW I HAVE TO ASK YOU IF YOUR EYES ARE OKAY... ARE YOU REALLY ALL RIGHT DOING THIS WITH A TOTAL STRANGER???

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“M’sure they are. An’ that’s good.”

His fingertips gently scratch at the other’s scalp while another soft chuckle escapes him. He doesn’t really notice the fact that hes leaned his head down and is now resting his forehead against Orion’s; he’s too caught-up in petting the kid’s hair to realize it.

“They don’t matter t’me neither.”

He simply stared up timidly when he felt the other’s forehead gently COLLIDE with his. For the first time, he allowed himself to notice how NERVOUS he really was, being around Kiyoshi. He wondered if he could hear how loudly his heart was beating... He rested his hand on Kiyoshi’s free one and gently SQUEEZED, the other hand moving slowly and LAZILY across the keys.

I REALLY LIKE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT ...

He vaguely felt like there was something a BIT more imperative in need of discussing, but his brain was way too fluttery and GIDDY to concentrate on anything else...

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

Butterscotch? Cute. Really cute. Holy shit?

“Young? Heh! You butterin’ me up or somethin’? Or maybe your eyes are goin’. I ain’t been young in ‘bout twenty years, I reckon.”

Bro just chuckles and leans his head into Orion’s hand a bit while he finally lifts a hand to give in to his urges and brush his calloused fingers through the other’s hair.

It is soft. Real soft. Wow.

Orion closed his eyes and let out a little HUFF, finally and abruptly releasing the male’s chin in favor of LEANING BACK into his touch.

MY EYESIGHT IS DIVINE, TREASURE. I SIMPLY MEANT THAT YOU ARE STILL MUCH TOO YOUNG IN YOUR NEW LIFE. BIOLOGICAL YEARS MATTER NOT IN THE REALM OF THE HOLY.

His cheeks ROSE a bit in color.

THEY ALSO MATTER NOT TO ME.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

The fingers holding onto his jaw forces the heart flutters to return, though they’re much stronger than before.

Deprived…?

His eyes flicked up to Orion’s once again after he’s done reading what he has to say, giving the other what he wants. It doesn’t stop his heart from going a mile a minute, though…and he’s not sure he wants to help it.

“Well. God forbid I deprive you further.”

Orion pressed his finely trimmed NAILS into the skin along Kiyoshi’s jawline, RAKING them through the facial hair as his eyes trailed down to focus on the CURVE of his mouth.

DON’T SWEAR, MY LITTLE BUTTERSCOTCH. YOU ARE MUCH TOO YOUNG FOR THAT.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“NO!”

“I mean…nah. Unless you wanna go back t’sleep, of course. Then I’ll go on back.”

He bites back a groan of disappointment – aimed at himself – as he stares at the wall that’s in front of his line of sight, now thoroughly unable to look at the other now.

Jesus fuck, Kiyoshi. Could you be any more of a nerd?

Orion GRABBED Kiyoshi by the jaw, his thumb and his forefingers clenched around each side of his CHIN; then he turned the man’s face back to face his, typing with the other hand.

STOP THAT. I LIKE LOOKING AT YOUR EYES. HAVEN’T YOU DEPRIVED US ENOUGH?

Us being HIMSELF, of course --- but it also applied to the world at large, he supposed. Though he wouldn’t mind those eyes only looking HIS way, of course.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

He’s a nephilim? Half angel? How? His parents aren’t abnormal, or at least they didn’t seem that way. What exactly happened during his coma? Was he literally reborn?

Why is Orion’s hair so shiny and soft-looking?

He really wishes he had his sunglasses, because the fact that he’s staring at the other’s hair is incredibly obvious now that he doesn’t have them on his face anymore. Hopefully Orion doesn’t take him for a total weirdo because of it.

This is gonna take some getting used to…

Honestly, Orion was staring at BRO for a while, prepared for him to show some kind of distaste for everything he had just revealed --- or at the very least, put Orion out of his misery and call him a FREAK or some contrived bullshit like that; though he realized how STUPID that last bit would be shortly after thinking it.

Then he REALIZED. Kiyoshi was staring at him. How very LOVELY.

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, I SEE. SHALL I RETURN YOU TO LADY ANAT, THEN?

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“Well, we’re kinda like…family now, ain’t we? Doesn’t family worry about each other or somethin’?”

A soft chuckle escapes him, but he is quite serious about his statement. His feelings are still pretty mixed, but if this meant having an actual family that he can care for, and that could care for him, then he can definitely dig it…especially if Orion is involved.

What is so damn special about this guy that makes you like him, Kiyoshi?

“So…actual question now: what exactly are we?”

FAMILY, HUH? UH, YEAH... THAT’S... PRETTY MUCH CORRECT.

“ Family ” was a very crude and naive way to put it --- but it was ACCURATE enough, he supposed. And judging by the manner in which it APPEARED God preferred to work, perhaps HE was the one in error about it, and not Kiyoshi --- who was kind of ADORABLE for thinking that way in the first place, in spite of EVERYTHING. Not only that, Orion simply couldn’t get over HOW MUCH this man looked like the one from his dream. In fact, he was the goddamn SPITTING IMAGE. No one that he knew of, including himself, had EVER heard of such a thing happening. Someone from a person’s dream world ACTUALLY being real, even in such a LOOSE sense? It was nothing less than something out of a goddamn FAIRY TALE. That was how ORION had always seen it, anyway. But this recent turn of events KIND OF made him wonder: maybe it wasn’t so UNCOMMON??

WHAT WE ARE? He repeated.

I DON’T KNOW HOW FAMILIAR YOU ARE WITH YOUR BIBLE, BUT WE ARE THE ONES KNOWN AS THE SONS OF THOSE BORN OF ANGELIC DADAS, AND HUMAN MUMS.

TO PAGAN CULTURES, WE ARE PRAISED AS DEMI- GODS. BY THE ONE THAT HAS CONTINUED TO BREATHE LIFE INTO US AND CALL US TO PURPOSE, AND THE ONE WHOM WE CALL FATHER, WE ARE NAMED NEPHILIM.

WE HAVE ANGEL BLOOD IN OUR VEINS, BUT WE ARE STILL MORTAL. SOME SAY IT’S BECAUSE OF THE SIN OF FALLEN ANGELS GOING TO BED WITH HUMANS --- BUT OTHERS WITH COMMON SENSE SAY IT’S BECAUSE WE’RE STILL HUMAN, ANGEL BLOOD OR NOT.

He glanced briefly at the exposed skin of Kiyoshi’s forearm, where the blood now ran a swirling GREEN through his veins, rather than blue.

BUT I GUESS, IN A WAY... IT COULD BE BOTH.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

Jeez his room is nice. Bro stands still for a few moments in order to admire it, his awe painfully obvious due to his lack of sunglasses, but this is Orion, so he doesn’t mind being exposed as much as he might be if it were anyone else. He finally sits down on the edge of the other’s bed, eyes locked on Orion’s face as he tries hard to think of where to start.

“M’sorry fer snappin’ atcha earlier. I’ve jus’ got mixed feelin’s about this whole thing ‘n’ I took it out on ya. Y’didn’t deserve it, ‘specially since you were so nice t’me while I was in my cell. That lady is nice, too, but…I sorta spilled my guts t’you, so…I dunno. I guess I hold ya in a higher regard than I do her.”

A ‘ higher regard? ’

Orion didn’t understand how the man didn’t LEGITIMATELY HATE HIM by now. But leaving the past in the past, Orion sat next to him on the bed, as... PAINFUL as that was to do. For the first time in years, he found himself fidgeting a bit, and he looked at his hand as he began typing again.

I’M SORRY THAT ALL THIS HAPPENED TO YOU. OKAY? I NEVER WOULD’VE WISHED FOR IT, AND YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT.

AS HARD AS IT MIGHT BE TO IMAGINE, IT WASN’T NECESSARILY MY MEDDLING THAT LANDED YOU IN THIS... “ PREDICAMENT. ”

THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS, KIYOSHI... OR FATE, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.

WE WERE MEANT TO FIND EACH OTHER WHEN WE DID, KIYOSHI STRIDER... HAD I NOT SEEN YOU IN THAT EXACT MOMENT, IT’S VERY POSSIBLE THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED YOUR TRANSFORMATION.

KAT, MY DEAREST FRIEND, HAS GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND HIS DUTY TO KEEP YOU ALIVE, AND THE CHURCH LEADERS, ALONG WITH RESPECTED ELDERS SUCH AS ANAT, ALL CARE SO MUCH FOR YOUR WELLBEING.

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT ME: DON’T. I WAS MERELY A VESSEL THROUGH WHICH OUR LORD’S DIVINE PLAN WAS MEANT TO OCCUR. THIS IS ONLY ONE OF THE PIECES OF THE REASON WHY I WAS BORN.

He sighed. He HOPED that that was enough of an explanation. His HANDS had sure gotten enough of a workout. He wouldn’t mind sitting here ALL NIGHT with Kiyoshi, though, explaining to him whatever he wanted to know.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“…”

Well. At least he isn’t mad. And…is he holding his sunglasses in one hand? Why is that cute? Bro’s heart flutters a little deep inside his broad chest before he finally reciprocates the leaning by resting a hand on the other’s shoulder and squeezing gently.

His voice is already fairly quiet, but now it’s even quieter, almost inaudible, not unlike Orion himself most of the time. Unlike earlier, Bro is now soft, gentle, concerned.

“I can come again later if y’wanna go back t’sleep?”

He shook his head, his OWN heart skipping a few beats, and then stood up STRAIGHT. It was true, he still felt quite drowsy, but he also wasn’t STUPID enough not to realise what was going on. Kiyoshi had actually shown up. And he wasn’t CRACKING ORION ACROSS THE FACE, so that must have meant that he hadn’t shown up out of anger. He tossed his head back through the opening of the door and gave a gracious FLOURISH, as if to say, “ Come in, come in. ”

The room was DARK as the two entered, but well kept-up. EVERY bedroom within the church bore all the accommodations for a comfortable 21st century lifestyle, with the flair of a 20th century estate --- a 50-inch mounted smart TV, a SLEEK golden laptop tucked away on the corner of an old decorated ebony desk, and lastly, a walk-in closet filled with all of Orion’s CLOTHING, SHOES, and anything ELSE he might need. Kiyoshi had been right; money would indeed NEVER be an issue here --- though it wasn’t as if things of value to HUMANS meant as much to HIS people. Money was on the EASIER end of “ wealth ” and “ treasures ” able to be acquired. Half-angels blended in with the human world ALL the time; sometimes they allowed themselves to rise to prominence as ASTRONOMERS or COMPOSERS or CELEBRITIES, but usually, they preferred to live life as the Everyman --- those with supreme talent who chose to live in the BACKGROUND, gladly sharing their superhuman talents with a very human world.

Orion turned on the TV, more for light than anything, and turned the volume down very low, the drone of an aged aficionado discussing theories of MUSIC rising up through the shined wood floorboards. He then picked up the HOLOPAD off of the dark night table beside his bed and began typing, the words displaying in a large glowing blue PRINT, hovering a short distance away from Bro’s face.

PLEASE, BE SEATED. I WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW.

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

He is miserable, and he hates how obvious it is.

His eyes are shut when Orion comes and touches his arm, and it takes all of his willpower to not let them fly back open. No one’s touched him like that in…well, quite a while, and he’s actually a bit thankful he’s wearing robes, since he’s almost certain he felt himself twitch a little.

god damn it.

Right. Taking His name in vain is probably something he should stop doing, given the circumstances. Either way, Bro waits until he hears the infirmary door shut to pick up the paper and read it over. A heavy sigh escapes him when he finishes.

really wish i could get a read on him…damn kids mood flip flops so much i cant tell if he hates me or not. …maybe paying him a visit wouldnt be such a bad idea, even if he does act like a hardass for whatever reason.

So, after maybe half an hour of being on his own, Kiyoshi finally gets up and walks (a bit more steadily now) to the other’s door and hesitantly raps on it three times with his knuckles.

“…s’me.”

He’d fell asleep. The little fucker had actually FALLEN ASLEEP. And clutched in his hand, like some kind of miniature sharp-angled teddy bear, was the pair of sunglasses Kiyoshi had given him to hold on to. Aww. The scene would actually be kinda CUTE, if the guy weren’t such a little shitlord.

He heard the rapping at his door all up in his subconscious, and he groaned lightly, though it was the kind of groan that you would doubt anyone could actually hear. Dammit... This “ lack of a voice ” thing was getting REAL old lately.

After several seconds, Orion finally peeled himself out of bed, and shuffled to the door. He’d thrown his jacket on a chair, but he was still quite stuffily dressed --- his white collared shirt had just one button loosened. He wiped his bleary eyes and looked on up at... KIYOSHI?!

Completely exhausted of everything, he simply leaned his raven head on the man’s chest.

Maybe he was a dog...

✟ ▌PSALM 91▐ ✟

“Entertainment? I don’t want entertainment! I wanna know why the fuck my life’s been turned upside-down all of a fuckin’ sudden! At least before I had my life mostly sorted out. Now it’s a fuckin’ mess and I dunno how t’clean it up, or where t’even start! Hell I don’t even know who th’fuck I am anymore, or what the fuck I’m s’posed t’do! I thought I was gonna be put t’death, not fuckin’ recruited inta yer lil group!”

deep breaths. youre ok. it could be worse. calm down. your heart aint what it used to be.

He does take a deep breath, and he sighs it out heavily through his nose before finally turning back around in order to observe the robe he’d been given. He finds the bottom and slips the garment on. If this were any other situation, he’d laugh at how stupid he looks and feels in this outfit. Right now, though, nothing is funny, so, instead, Bro just climbs back into bed and puts his back to the other, assuming he’s still there for him to turn his back to.

“Jus’ git. I wanna be alone fer a while…”

For a moment, he didn’t listen. For a moment, he disobeyed. For a moment, he just stood there, taking Kiyoshi in. Every CURVE that rose and fell beneath the robes, every play of the light on his now GLIMMERING skin. His groin tightened, and he had to turn his face away. Damn it. Enduring nearly ten years of chastity, just for it to be RUINED in the span of a few fucking SECONDS --- Wasn’t life a BITCH.

But truth be told, he didn’t feel like he SHOULD leave yet. Just because Kiyoshi had woken up, didn’t mean that his survival was a sure thing. He NEEDED someone. He needed to be surrounded by other nephilim constantly, at least for his first few years. Not only that, but he looked MISERABLE. Orion chewed his lip. What was he supposed to DO?

He moved over to the side of the bed, his hand brushing against Kiyoshi’s arm as he reached for the pad of paper.

SORRY. ABOUT ALL OF THIS. I KNOW IT’S MY FAULT. I SHOULD’VE JUST LEFT YOU ALONE. SO WHEN YOU’RE DONE BEING ALONE, PLEASE COME SEE ME. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE TODAY, OR TOMORROW, OR EVEN EVER, BUT I’D LIKE IT IF YOU WOULD. I CAN PROBABLY EXPLAIN ALL THIS TO YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE. THIS IS THE NUMBER OF MY ROOM:

He wrote the damn ROOM NUMBER, and then placed the pad on top of the remaining robes. His hand trembled and hovered over the paper, as if he wanted to write MORE, but instead he just turned and headed for the door, drawing it up behind him and then hurrying down the hallway and towards the stairs, at the top of which the PEACE and TRANQUILITY of his bedroom awaited.

I’d love that man even if the world started rotating backwards...