Celestial Fragments

Inefficient apology

The door of the bathroom opened and Angelique and Aellioah came face to face, as both were standing on either side of the door. Angelqiue was utterly shocked to not have to slightly bend her back to look him in the eyes, as in front of her, a very human-looking Aellioah was standing. Like the first time she had met him. There were no strange markings on his skin, there was not too much height difference and for the first time in a very long while, the longing for Earth seemed to dim now that she saw him like that.

Aellioah narrowed his eyes on her figure as he almost walked into her when trying to get out of the bathroom. His jaw tensed and for a moment he was about to hiss something at her, but the fascination in her eyes, and the slightly teary lids made him swallow them all back.

After a few awkward moments spent in silence, Angelique finally spoke,

"Bathroom...." she whispered and lowered her eyes.

"Yeah." he muttered and moved out of her way, letting her enter.

Angelique walked past him, avoiding his eyes as she closed the door.

Aellioah took a few moments to watch her walk past him and close the door, staring at the closed door before walking towards bed.

He sank on the mattress and draped an arm over his eyes. There were so many other better things to be done than just spend time in this room, and yet, all he wanted to do was spend the next few days in this room. A room that never felt so warm and never smelled so good before.

A knock on the door pulled Aellioah out of his comfort. When the door opened and Azrael showed his face, Aellioah sat up on the edge of the bed.

Azrael narrowed his eyes in both confusion and disgust at the strange form he found Aellioah in.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a low growl-like voice.

"Relaxing." Aellioah replied bitterly. "What do you want?" he asked, getting up from the bed and walking towards the window to look out.

"We were supposed to locate the seventh fragment today and I've been waiting for you-"

"You can wait a few more hours." Aellioah hissed as he watched the guards patrolling the nearby gates.

Azrael tensed suddenly, his height almost double of that of Aellioah now, his shoulders squaring in his tension, and his jaw clenching.

"You were not supposed to fall-" Azrael started, but Aellioah turned so swiftly towards him, with such a death glare in his eyes that Azrael immediately swallowed his words.

"Not another word from you!" Aellioah demanded, a low growl reverberating from his chest. "This is MY -" but he also stopped when the door of the bathroom opened and Angelique stepped back inside the bedroom, freezing in her spot at the sight of Azrael.

Azrael's strange eyes moved between Aellioah and Angelique before he nodded swiftly, turned around and walked out.

"Is everything alright?" Angelique murmured as soon as Azrael closed the door behind him, her eyes turning towards Aellioah.

Aellioah seemed hesitant, still staring at the closed door, before turning to look at her a few seconds later.

"Yes." he sighed and brushed a hand over his face trying to push away this nagging feeling Azrael brought with him.

Angelique bit her lip, trying to keep back her comment. She walked back to the armchair, and tried to go back into the comfortable cocoon of hers, but Aellioah walked over to her, stopping her before doing so. He simply grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, tapping her into an embrace. unsure of what to do, at first, she remained unmoved, barely breathing as she listened to the rhythm of his heart.

After a few moments of silence, Angelique finally spoke.

"I did not mean to be hurtful," she muttered, but she narrowed her eyes at her own words. "Actually, I think I did," she stated with a sigh. "My point is that, I'm sorry about it. Because, somehow, I did not expect you to take it personal." she found the courage to speak first.

Aellioah simply listened, still holding her, one of his hands slowly stroking her back. Did he have anything to say? plenty. Was he about to say them ?Most likely not. His arms slowly released her, both hands cupping her cheeks and guiding her face to look up at him. When their eyes locked gazes, he could see tears swimming in hers. She couldn't see much since everything was blurry, but she chuckled it away, whipping her tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry. It's a little hard to talk it out-" she murmured between gentle sobs.

Her eyes were puffy and surrounded by slight dark circles, and her nose started to be runny as she sniffled and tried not to cry. She looked like a child, a crying child. Strange and weird, but nevertheless, a soft beauty to it.

A gentle smile spread on his lips as he watched her wipe her tears , his thumb catching a stray one and wiping it away.

"I apologize for my rudeness as well. Shouldn't have left my mate like this and leave without a word..." he muttered too, his forehead resting against hers.

"Don't call me that!" she hissed between her lips, rolling her eyes and giving his chest a nudge. "I'm not some sort of animal that mates." her face grimaced.

A gentle laugh escaped him as she spoke. "Alright. alright..." he muttered, still amused. "Then how do you want to be called?" he muttered, his lips brushing against hers.

Despite the gentle touch, his soft voice and sweetness, Angelique seemed to tense again. She pulled her face away from his slowly.

"I don't want to be called anything, Aellioah." she seemed to be rather sincere and repulsed at the thought of being associated to him like that.

Aellioah's eyes narrowed slowly, confused on what she meant.

"But you are my mate." he seemed to growl, as he pushed off the shirt that covered her shoulder, looking at the mark he left on her skin.

"That's a mark I bare, but not with consent." Angelique covered herself again and took a step back, putting some distance between them before he would get angry again.

For a moment, Aellioah seemed not to understand, but as soon as he did, his smile grew wider, a smirk filled with darkness and mischief.

"Without consent, you say?" he slowly started to close the distance she put between them. "Then why do you moan my name when you touch yourself at night? Or why do you search for me when you wake up?"

"First of all-" Angelique immediately interrupted him, her heart picking up the speed again. "Consent and whatever creeper stalking you're talking about there, is very different!" she hissed at him, as every inch of her being wanted to slap the misogyny out of him.

His smirk remained painted on his face, as he stopped just a step away from her. Angelique's back straightened and she took a very defensive pose, jaw tensed and clenched, while her nostrils flared as she breathed, visibly growing angry with him. Yet, he took amusement in her anger. She was adorable. Dangerous, but adorable.

"Angel-" he started, his voice low, gravel like, his hand reaching out to cup her face again, but Angelique pushed it away immediately. "-Why are you fighting me? Is this some kink you're into?" the soft touch suddenly turned into a grip, his fingers sinking into her cheeks, moving closer to her. "I'm very much willing to play whatever role you want me to, if that's what gets you started, but-" his nose brushed against hers, as he took in the floral perfume of her skin. "-my patience is running thin. I have a war to win, I have fragments to collect and I'd rather have you at my side than against me at every step I take."

Angelique felt her throat tighten with a painful knot she couldn't push further down anymore as he approached her again. When his hand touched her face, hers immediately went on his wrist, hopping to push him away. But there was no pushing away. He was far to determined to get his message across to her loud and clear.

"Tonight is the Full Moons Celebration. Last chance you get to make up your mind, because after tomorrow, I'm dragging you along with me to the battlefield. You can come as my consort, or my whore." he hissed, lips brushing against hers slowly.

His teeth grazed against her lower lip before he released her. Angelique seemed to fight for air when he did, for she gasped audibly and swallowed the knot in her throat with a struggle. Her eyes were narrowed and she seemed skeptic. Was he just trying to scare her? Why would he take her with him to the battlefield? Whore... The word resonated bitterly in her mind, when her eyes rested on his smirk. She groaned and pulled herself away from him.

Aellioah remained in his spot, watching her rush away from him visibly troubled and lost in thought. A strange satisfaction tickled his ego, because he knew very well what her choice would be. She was just as proud as he was, and there was no way in hell she would accept to be a mere w***e.

"You're an asshole!" Angelique suddenly turned around, her teeth gritted and her fists tightened at her side.

"Why would I be an asshole?" he laughed, arms crossing on his chest.

"WHY?" she huffed. "WHY you ask?!" she tossed her arms in the air, suddenly marching to him, stopping just a few inches away, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling his face down to her level. "Because what you crave is something real! Not a fake masquerade. If you wanted someone to just f**k, you could just pick someone out of your stupid harem! You want a connection and you keep telling me I am the one who puts no effort into this?! I've been trying to make your pea-sized brain understand ANYONE can have s*x!" she hissed, through her teeth, nails sinking into the soft material of his shirt. "You keep talking about this stupid mark! But does it bring you any closer?!" she paused, eyes scanning his face. "I could be a common w***e. Absolutely no shame in that. But your mate? You have to put some effort into this before daring to call me that again!" she released his shirt with disgust and walked away again, opening the door of the bedroom and leaving him alone.