How Part 3 could have ended
-- Tim is out of breath before he reaches the top of the steps and keys the door open, lungs burning and fingers shaking. He’s frightened. Because. The man had seen him twice today and what if he recognizes him? What, what if the man makes the connection between the dark, shadowy figure with wings among the church bells and the cloaked boy he saw among the church pews? How long until the news travels, until all of Paris knows? No one is meant to know. No one but Ra’s and the clergy are allowed to see him –he es Ra’s Test. He is fallen angel among the humans, a living sin. And when Paris learns that Ra’s, her Judge, had hidden such evil in their church, his life would be ruined and he will have failed his Test. His hands are still shaking when he hangs his lantern off a gargoyle and waits, curled tightly on his bed. He buries his head in his arms, knees drawn in tight and tucked under his chin, and tries to control his breathing. Celeste is chirping from her nest, and Tim is sure she can feel his anxiety, and he wants to assure her he’s fine, but his voice won’t work and his body refuses to move and all he wants to do is close his eyes and will the entire day away. He’s startled by a soft nip at his hair and he looks up to see Celeste held in front of him, cradled in slender hands. His baby chirps at him, clearly upset. “What’s wrong, mon ange déchu?” Tim crinkles his nose at the epithet but accepts Celeste and allows gentle arms to encircle him. “I’ve ruined everything because of my selfishness,” he confesses into long blonde hair. He has doomed his guardian, taken away his chance at redemption, because he had been weak and allowed himself to indulge. He sets Celeste on the bed and clings to warmth engulfing him. “Thank you, thank you for coming.” He needs her. He needs the comfort she brings, the comfort that he, as a sinner, does not deserve. “I promised I would always come,” she assures him, “I’m always one lantern away.” He clutches her and tries to convince himself to believe in the soft assurances and kind warmth.