Life after the original war

It's been three years since the cease fire was ordered between heaven and hell, now we see the angel Toniel settling into domestic life on earth while under orders to safeguard a Demon named Tornilia.

The night was drawing in, street lamps flickered and flashed to life as the clouds were swept away by the wind and like curtains drawn back the moon shone through with the starry night sky, Tony’s shoes clacked softly with each step as he walked along the pavement. His scarf flapped behind him and his coat flared in the wind, he squinted as the cold air and snow bit into his skin. Tony was still slightly dizzy, he only had three bottles but as always it was just enough to get him banned from yet another Bar, no thanks to that little pest, Tony looked down at his side to see the girl sulking with her head hung low and her tail swung lazily behind her, she was shivering. With side swept pitch black hair as dark as the night sky and emerald green eyes, sharp like an eagle, his jaw strong and sharp, Tony was about 6 foot, he wore a dark grey sports jacket and trousers over a white shirt and a blue tie, the girl… she was just about eye level with his belt, she was a demon, a devil girl from the underworld, banished to the always cold and never sunny town of Bleakhaven, northern Scotland, why she was banished Tony didn’t know.

But he knew it wasn’t anything good, or maybe it was, maybe she had done something virtuous and the big boss had condemned her to live on earth for the rest of her life, she was a mystery, with shoulder length blood red hair and all black eyes hidden under a pair of sunglasses, she wore thick jogging pants and a jumper underneath a large winter coat that trailed slightly on the floor, her horns were hidden under its hood, but her tail was none concealable. The girl staggered a little and Tony sighed and thought back, the girl insisted on drinking, she had valid identification but there was no real way of telling how old she really was, soon after her fifth shot she got into a fight with the barkeep over something about religion, not something a demon should talk about to a man like Terry McAster, a guy who actually looks forward to Sundays.

“You shouldn’t have said those things about his wife, that was just rude” Tony said, his voice was stern and cold, a low yet smooth voice, Tornilia said nothing as her teeth chattered, “never a cold day in hell” Tony mumbled to himself, “what?” she looked up, Tony stopped “you don’t do well with the cold do you?” he asked, Tornilia snarled “I was raised in the fires of hell jackass, of course I don’t do well in the cold, it’s f*****g minus 30 out here!” she stormed off ahead. Tony sighed and rolled his shoulders as he pulled off his jacket and tugged down the girl’s hood “put this on underneath the coat” he said and walked ahead as she stared at the jacket “what do yo-” she hiccupped “-you care?” she blurted. She misplaced a step and veered off the pavement and tripped, landing on her hands “s**t” she hissed, Tony breathed deeply and rubbed his brow as he walked back, he helped her up and put the jacket on her, then the coat, before picking her up by the waist “h-hey! Put me down!” she kicked as he lifted her up onto his shoulders.

“I care because it’s my job to, if anything happens to you we lose our only source of information on the underworld’s current affairs, or at least near current” he said, Tornilia grumbled and  wrapped her arms around his forehead “you jerks only care about me tellin’ on the big guy, you got no hearts” she sneezed and leaned over Tony’s head. “We do too care, I could have let you freeze all the way home, instead I’m the one with just a shirt on, and we do too have hearts, the others are just…” he screwed his mouth into a thoughtful frown as he tried to think of a way of explaining his meaning and at the same time not discrediting or upsetting his betters “old” he decided on old. Tornilia blew a raspberry “damn straight, how old is Gabe anyway?” she let her hands flop down as he rested her cheek on his head Tony hummed “I have no idea, older than me that is for sure, and older than any of the others too” he said as they turned a corner Tornilia snorted but said nothing, Tony sighed and kept a hold of her leg and arm to make sure she didn’t fall, it soon hit him that she had fallen asleep as her tail no longer swung against his back instead now lazily resting against it.

Tony arrived back at the house, the light was on in the living room and Tony sighed, he braced himself and opened the door, “there you are! How many times have I told you! Never leave the house without my prior consultation!”, the booming deep voice rang in the streets before Tony closed the door behind him “Gabriel please!” he hissed as he walked into the living room, therein seven people of varying age and looks sat in chairs and couches, among them was a large bearded man with golden hair, he wore a white suit and a golden tie, Gabriel, leader of the seven Archangels; Jegudiel, Gabriel, Selaphiel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Barachiel. “She’s asleep?” asked a tall looking man with brown hair and blue eyes, his skin was pale and he wore a white and blue checked shirt, his name was Selaphiel, one of the more lenient of the archangels, Tony heaved Tornilia off his shoulders and held her laid across his arms.

“We were banned from McAster’s bar, nothing too serious happened but she’s had five vodka and tonics, I’ve had three bottles of cider per her insistence, she fell asleep on the way home” he explained, Selaphiel hummed “it’s alright Gabe, I said they could go, he earned the night off” he explained, Gabriel stroked his beard “fine, fine, I trust the public are still relatively quiet about her appearance?” he asked, Tony nodded “Aster didn’t much care for it, until she accused his wife of sleeping with an incubus” he sighed as he sat down in his armchair and let Tornilia sleep on his lap, her head resting on his shoulders as he took off the jacket and coat. Raphael, a muscular looking man with a lean chiselled jaw and slicked back raven hair, splayed his fingers together “how can you stand being so close to her?” he asked, the room suddenly felt allot colder, the other archangels now looked up from their newspapers, pipes, TV, and crossword puzzles, Gabriel shot a quick glare at Raphael before turning his attention to Tony.

Tony remained silent but his face began to burn as he looked down, his hands rested on the arms of his chair but he noticed he was fiddling with Tornilia’s jumper, he stopped “well Toniel?” Raphael raised an eyebrow, Tony shrugged nervously “I.. I don’t know, what is it about her that’s so evil? What about her makes you recoil in disgust?” he sat up straight “same with all of you? I don’t sense any malevolence from her, despite being a demon… and…” he stopped himself, in truth he had grown to like Tornilia somewhat, when she was in a good mood she was fun to be around. The Archangels seemed in all honesty rather embarrassed, certainly Raphael, who was clearly trying to hide his face somewhat, “nothing, Tony, we just…” Gabriel himself had a hard time responding to Tony. Finally Michael spoke up, he was a rather handsome looking man, around 20 or 30 looking �"of course he was far older than any human could live-  with dark blond hair and misty silver eyes, he wore a simple white shirt and jeans “we don’t recoil in disgust Toniel, we simply keep our distance because we don’t trust her” he explained.

 Tony was unconvinced “no, that’s not it, none of you pay her any attention or ever will and that’s just my point, you seem to believe that all things in this world have some sinister purpose” Gabriel made to respond but Tony had more to say “why else would all seven of you come to earth simply to keep an eye on one defective demon?”. “You’re too young to understand Toniel, but we’ve been at war with Lucifer since the beginning of time, we-” Tony cut Michael off “and when did time begin? When our father decided to take those two Neanderthals and call them the first humans? When he chose a small patch of land and filled it with plants and called it the sacred garden?” Gabriel rested his chin on his fist and closed his eyes “yes, I’m probably too young to understand, I certainly don’t understand why we’re still fighting with the underworld, Lucifer couldn’t give two flying s***s about the earth, he has his own realm now!” “Enough!” Raphael barked.

Tony’s face was burning now “Toniel, you’ve never doubted us before, you’ve grown attached to the demon, that’s all you had to say” Gabriel said, “we don’t hate them, Tony” Selaphiel explained “we get it, you like her, there’s no need to get all defensive like this” he added, Tony gripped the armchair tight enough to make his knuckles go white “I, I don’t like her! I…” he stood up “you know nothing, I respectfully apologise for any mistreatment, goodnight” he scooped Tornilia up and left the room. Gabriel winced as the door slammed behind him and he stormed upstairs, Raphael sighed, “you had to ask!” Gabriel threw his arms up, “I know…” Raphael groaned as he rubbed his face “I had no idea he’d get so defensive” he replied, Barachiel and Jegudiel had remained silent throughout the whole conversation, the two were almost identical, well groomed ginger hair and posh moustaches, one had a pipe in his mouth and crossed legs, while the other had a crossword puzzle in his hands. The two exchanged glances “well, at least now we know for sure how he feels about the girl” said Barachiel through his pipe, Gabriel wiped his eyes and yawned as he stretched back “yes, but I highly doubt he’d ever act on those feelings, he’s too…” he hummed.

“What’s the saying” he mumbled “tightly wound?” Selaphiel suggested with a grin, Gabriel scoffed “yeah” he said, Raphael sighed exasperatedly “good, heaven would be in uproar about it if he did” he mumbled and the others ignored him. Jegudiel barely contained his laughter “this is too good to pass up” he grinned, Gabriel sat forward “you’re not seriously considering playing the poor lad are you?” he asked, Selaphiel glanced at Jegudiel “play him? Good father no! all I’m saying is, we finally have something we can use to help him lighten up a little, he’s a good soldier, but he’s right, we’re quickly losing the need for those, soon enough we’re going to have a whole bunch of angels just as up tight as Toniel, if we can show him how to live as we do, we might have a shot as easing the others into a more relaxed lifestyle a whole lot easier” he explained.

Gabriel hummed “I don’t know about this… you’re suggesting we try and get him to act on his emotions for the demon, this may set a bad example, an angel and a demon together?” he said, Uriel looked up over his newspaper, he was a scrawny looking young angel with brown eyes and nutmeg hair under a beige flat cap, he wore a white polo shirt and a pair of jeans “yo, hey! Isn’t match making Cupid’s department?” he asked with a dramatically raised eyebrow, “oh, finally decided to join the conversation Uriel?” Selaphiel said, Uriel huffed as he put down his paper “yeah listen pal, I don’t like pushing my nose into other people’s business, and this is going too far, we’re angels for crying out loud, archangels, oldest and wisest”. Gabriel nodded “exactly, we should take our time in deciding how to go about this” he said, Uriel groaned as he sunk back “no! look, we gotta leave Tony to his own devices, yeah maybe the two would look cute together, it’s a cliché for crying out loud, who wouldn’t ship an angel and a demon, but we gotta think of the others, most of the younger angels these days don’t know the first thing about having their own lives, it’s all been war and fighting with Lucifer and the demons, there’s allot of hate mail being passed to and from, on both sides”.

“I know, but come on! This is Tony we’re talking about!” Selaphiel cried, “he’s a good kid, he deserves to be happy, I think all he needs is a little push in the right direction, maybe if we started treating Demons with a little more etiquette, it could ease relations on both sides and encourage Tony that we wouldn’t disprove of him being with Tornilia” he said, Gabriel nodded “yes, this could also help show Lucifer we mean peace, if we can convince him to set aside the old hatreds we may have lasting peace, he is our brother after all”. Selaphiel nodded “alright, and if that’s not enough we give him another little nudge, give him the old ‘dad’s nudge nudge wink wink’ routine” he chuckled, the others muttered in agreement, except for Raphael “I’m not so sure, most demons were bred for war and hate, even if Lucifer agrees to peace there is no guarantee his demons will accept it” he said, Gabriel waved dismissively “we can worry about that later, for now, let’s just see if we can’t help Tony with his little demon infatuation” he smiled, Selaphiel’s eyes were drawn upward “we might not actually have to do anything…” he said, the others froze “you feel that?” he asked, Gabriel stat straight “sin… lust…” he said, Raphael breathed deeply “what should we do? Is it the demon, or… Toniel?”.

Tony lay awake on his bed that night, the covers were kicked off and he lay there in his underwear, his chest was slim yet well-toned, with runes covering it, ancient enochian magic that sealed him in a human form, Tornilia slept in another bed next to him, fortunately he didn’t have to share one… or maybe unfortunately, Tony was thinking on that. He thought of all the times Tornilia had been flirty and seductive back when they first met, he thought it repulsive and did his best to spite her attempts, but as she did it less and less he found himself missing it, but every time he thought about exploring what ifs he dismissed the thoughts, lust was a sin, and sin was forbidden to angels, he knew for sure the archangels downstairs would be able to sense it, he could only pray that they thought it came from Tornilia. The next morning Tony was awoken by Tornilia jumping on him, “what?” Tony grumbled as he turned over, Tornilia laughed fiendishly as she jumped up and down on the bed “come on feather brain, wake up! I want breakfast!” she said, Tony sighed “get it yourself” he said as he sat up against the backboard.

A wave of sin energy washed over Tony and he shuddered, “well, if you insist” Tornilia crawled forward on the bed and Tony snapped his eyes open “WH-what? Wait! No! that’s not what I meant!!” he pushed the girl away by her face, he noticed her arrow head shaped tail was coiling and swishing like a cat, and her horns had grown a little, having fed on his emotions of infatuation last night, Tornilia gave a sinister cackle and licked his hand “ewww!”, “that’s not the attitude you had last night” she said, Tony’s face was bright red and he bore a stern, angry look “you were awake the whole time!” he said and shoved her onto her back. Tornilia sat up and shrugged “meh, so? I was too adorable sleeping on your lap” she grinned, “besides, the archangels seemed fine with it” she said, Tony swung out of bed and wiped his face, he quickly dressed into a set of white pyjamas and left the room without a word, all the while hiding the burning red blush on his face.

Tony was in an angry state of stern attitude and stiff movement all morning as he ignored the archangels and reluctantly made Tornilia breakfast, finally he sat down in his armchair near the fireplace and sighed heavily, Selaphiel sat in the chair next to him “hang in their slugger” he said as he opened his morning newspaper, Tony rubbed his face “sir… about last night” he said, Selaphiel puffed “pfft, give over kid, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for” he said, Tony grunted “no, sir, you were right, I…” he hid is face as Selaphiel lowered his paper “do like Tornilia” he finished the sentence. Tony covered his face “it’s so wrong! She’s a demon, I’m an angel, screw the cliché for a moment and think about how messed up that is!” he cried, Selaphiel lay a hand on his shoulder “its fine Tony, how is it messed up? Just yesterday you were defending Tornilia” he asked, Tony rested his elbow on the arm of his chair “you… we are angels, we’re purity and justice and she’s a demon, she’s sin and hatred, that’s the way we were made, to follow orders and fight each other, but at the same time I…” he paused “It would be so easy to give into temptation, to allow myself to fall for her” he finished.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of giving in, it’s a matter of how you give in, we angels were built to do our father’s bidding, he’s gone now, and all we have left are his instructions, protect mankind, we can handle that with just us archangels, meanwhile, I don’t think it’s fair that you should concern yourself with what we were made for, Lucifer made demons to mock our father’s creations, using his anger and dark power he took human souls and twisted them into demons, but Tornilia isn’t evil, we know this, that’s why she was pulled from hell” Selaphiel explained.

Tony screwed his face in thought “what? She was banished from hell by Lucifer wasn’t she?” he asked, Selaphiel shook his head “we pulled her out, told her to use that ploy as to mask our and Lucifer’s delicate peace treaty, one of our sinful angels for one of his virtuous demons” he said, Tony was speechless, he held his head in his hands “I don’t… so, she’s not defective?” he asked, Selaphiel nodded “that’s right, but I don’t want you to give into sin so completely, don’t mistake my encouragement to explore for consent for you to do as you please” he said. The other archangels were still in the kitchen and Tornilia had gone upstairs to change, Tony nodded “I understand, you don’t have to worry about that” he said, Selaphiel smiled, which was rare even for him “if you want to be with Tornilia, we’re fine with it, in fact, I believe there’s a winter fair being held in the park today” he grinned, Tony held up his hand “ok, alright enough of that” he said, “I think it would be an excellent opportunity-” Tony stood up and left the room silently.

Tony sat on his bed staring into his wardrobe, Selaphiel had a point, the fair would be an ideal opportunity for a date, it’s what a human would do, right? Take people on dates? Tornilia was in the bathroom, still getting changed as he asked “how long does it take to change into a dress?” Tony asked as he stood up, Tornilia grunted “you try having a tail and horns, I tear almost everything I put on if I’m not careful! Damn human clothing” she swore repeatedly after that “why can’t I just wear the outfit I came here in?!” she asked, Tony blustered “you know damn well why!” he said as he turned back to his wardrobe and began to pick out an outfit of his own, he chose a white shirt and a silver waistcoat and trousers with an emerald tie, white shoes and a long white trench coat, “I hope your dressing for outdoor activities” he said, the bathroom fell quiet “what? Why?” she asked, Tony paused as he was tucking in his shirt.

“Ah, didn’t I tell you? We… we’re going to the winter fair” he said, his face burning, Tornilia opened the door and came out half dressed, she was wearing a rather complex looking dress, still half complete and the top half of her chest was exposed, Tony growled and turned away “what are you doing? Get back in the bathroom” he said, “we were supposed to stay in today and work on some magic thing weren’t we?” she asked as she walked around the beds and stood beside him. Tony turned away again “change of plan, I thought…” he bit his lip “I thought it would be nice to have some fun for a change” he said, Tornilia squinted at him “huh…” she murmured “alright, fine, I’ll go with you lot on one condition” she said walking back to the bathroom “you all disable you’re seal for the day” Tony was surprised by the request. “It’s uh, it’s just you and me going, the archangels are busy with the talisman of Dorticka today” he explained, Tornilia took a while to reply “alright… my conditions still stand, disable your seal for the day or I’m not coming” Tony finished dressing Tornilia came out of the bathroom again, fully dressed this time, but not in the complex dress.

She wore a woolly sweater dress of black and dark grey stripes with a red heart knitted in the middle of the stomach, a pair of thick black and red striped knee socks covered her legs, her hair hung loosely, shining in the light. She had straightened most of it and curled one long lock that fell over her face “let me put it another way, turn of your seal or I go to the fair with someone else, like that hot kid from next-door” she grinned. Tony scowled “what? I-I couldn’t care less if you… went or not at all” he turned away to hide his face, “but I’ll disable it anyway, just because I need to stretch my wings” he said, “sure, just to stretch” she winked and sat on her bed, Tony frowned “go downstairs, I’ll be with you shortly” he said.

Tornilia raised an eyebrow “what? I can’t watch? It’s not like it’s gonna kill me or anything” she scoffed, Tony’s frown deepened but he said nothing as he reached under his shirt and pressed two fingers to the rune in the middle of his chest. A flash of brilliant white light filled the room and Tornilia had to cover her eyes as Tony’s normal form was revealed, his hair turned snow white and from underneath his coat Tornilia could see white feathers peeking out, an odd sort of hunch filled the coat now as Tony rolled his shoulders, “woah…” Tornilia watched as he took off his coat and four pristine white feathery wings extended from his back “alright, happy now?” Tony asked as his wings jostled back into a comfortable position.

Tornilia bit her lip as she got off the bed and walked around him, “they’re so soft!!” she exclaimed as she stroked the silky white feathers, Tony held his face in one hand as his cheeks grew bright red, after a minute of her fondling his wings he turned around and flared them, “enough!” he said sternly, Tornilia backed down and almost fell on her backside as she stepped away from him “wow” she whispered, a silence followed as Tony glared at the demon girl until finally she smirked and said “awkward wing boner” she giggled. “Shut up” Tony’s wings created a draft as they closed quickly and he put his coat back on “come on, let’s go before I change my mind” he grumbled, Tornilia was enjoying his flustering more than Tony was willing to tolerate, thus ignored her groping his wings as they left the house, it was a large three story house in the middle of a long street, it looked oddly out of place in terms of size and shape but like everything else was made of a slate stone.

The archangels bid them farewell as Tony closed the door behind him, he had struggled to get out the door with his wings, Tornilia shivered a little but she had forced Tony into using magic to keep her warm, now that he was in his normal form he could perform feats of simple magic, the two set off down the street and as they walked snow fell softly on the ground, everything was covered in a fresh inch thick blanket of sheer white.

The park was little over five streets away from where they lived so it wasn’t long before the cheers of laughter and merriment could be heard ringing all around, Tornilia was surprisingly eager to see the festival, as was Tony, he’d never attended the winter fair since he was last on assignment in America during the civil war. As expected, the pair of them weren’t as prepared for the occasion as they thought, the public, while small, was still as effective at alienating Tony and his little companion, it didn’t help that Tony was forced out of discomfort to fit his wings through his coat, but that didn’t stop Tornilia from having fun at the various attractions, for a something hundred year old she acted like an utter child at times.

Tony sat on a bench while Tornilia took a ride on the merry-go-round, he looked around, keeping an eye on both her and the people around him, his true name was Taphioniel, but in public he was to use the name Tony, the archangels decided on unofficially shortening his name to Tony simply to make things easier on their tongues, as if Jegudiel is any easier to pronounce, but he didn’t mind, so when an elderly gentleman came and sat down next to him, asking his name, he replied as such. “Tony, a pleasure to meet you” he offered to shake the man’s hand and he accepted “Ben, you wouldn’t happen to be an angel would you? I mean, a real, angel of the lord?” he asked with a glint in his eye, Tony winced “we are…” he sighed, no matter what truths he wanted to tell the old man, it was simply better to roll with their misguided beliefs, the nature of angels stretched far beyond human religion.

“Yes, I am an angel” he replied simply “However, I’m afraid I have little time to talk, eh, Ben, I’m on an important mission” he lied, the old man nodded with a smile “of course, of course, well I’ll be off then, god bless you” he sand and teetered away, Tornilia appeared on the bench next to Tony the instant he was gone “boo!”. Tony jumped a little and raised an eyebrow “I… weren’t you on the ride?” he asked, Tornilia shrugged “meh, spinning’s so overrated, besides, what are you doing just sitting here? You came to enjoy the fair right?” she stood up on the bench, Tony nodded “I am enjoying it” he said, Tornilia rolled her eyes and jumped down, her tail wrapped around his wrist and yanked him off the bench “come on, you’re coming with me to have some actual fun”.

Tony was dragged half way across the park to the large hill at the other end, covered in a thick untouched blanket of snow and easily was big as a two of the archangel’s houses and fairly steep too, “alright, stay here” Tornilia said as she ran back to the fair “and do what?” he called back, but she was too far away to hear, Tony sighed and folded his arms and stood in waiting for the next two minutes before he spotted Tornilia coming back up. She was hauling what appeared to be a flat looking boat thing with rails underneath “what’s this?” Tony asked as he heled the girl up, she took a moment to catch her breath “curse this tiny form” she said, Tony placed his hand on her back and golden energy flowed from it and into her chest, she stood up, no longer out of breath “thanks” she said somewhat surprised.

“Now, what’s this for?” Tony asked and Tornilia grinned “it’s a sled, you get in and you ride down the slope in it” she said and had the angel lay it down on the ground, the rails digging into the snow and Tornilia got in at the front “come on” she said eagerly and Tony sighed “this isn’t a good idea” he said, the girl puffed “so?” she replied, Tony got in behind her and she sighed “you’re supposed to push us off before getting in” she said. Tony said nothing and opened his wings Tornilia looked up awkwardly to watch as with two large strokes Tony shifted the sled forward and they began to slowly dip down until they took off down the slope. As a creature with the ability to fly Tony was somewhat indifferent to the experience, however Tornilia had never done this before and was having a blast, she wrapped his arms around her waist for safety as she giggled, seeing her this happy made Tony feel greatly at ease and he smiled.

Eventually they came to a stop and Tornilia whooped “come on, let’s go again” she said and Tony nodded, but suddenly he felt a pain welling in his chest and he growled as he was forced to double over, Tornilia looked back as she had already set off back towards the slope with the sled “Tony?” she called, she watched as the angels wings slumped on the ground and he fell to his hands and knees. “Tony!” the girl cried and ran over, she fell to her knees at his side and held him by the shoulders “Tony what’s wrong?” she asked, the angel gasped for every breath as he slowly lost his strength and fell face forward into the snow.

Gabriel spat out his tea and the archangels scrambled to their feet as Tornilia heaved through the door she just kicked open “help me!” she said, Selaphiel took the boy into his arms and laid him down over the sofa, carefully positioning his wings under him, they’d turned grey and dull, some had even started to fall away. “What did you do?” Raphael growled as he snatched Tornilia’s wrist, she yelped in pain and squirmed “I didn’t do anything!” she said, her face was red from crying on the way here, not knowing what to do she had to carry him all the way back here on her own, Uriel smacked his brother’s hand away and lead Tornilia into the kitchen “lay off Raphael he’s just sufferin’ from seal blight” he said sternly, Tornilia looked up at him “seal blight?” she asked, Selaphiel took her into the kitchen and closed the door behind them to let Michael and Gabriel begin to heal Tony with their magic.

“Don’t worry, he’s going to be just fine” Selaphiel said as Uriel handed the girl a tissue, she wiped her face “I… is it something I did?” she asked, Uriel puffed “no, Raph’s just being the hot head he is, seal blight is caused when an angel has been in a sealed form too long and isn’t careful about unsealing into his normal form” he explained. Tornilia gasped “it is my fault! I’m the one who asked him to break his seal” she said into her hands and the two angels glanced at each other, “it’s fine kid, you couldn’t have known” Uriel said and set down a mug of hot chocolate to warm her up. The archangels gave Tornilia a few minutes to calm down before Uriel whispered something to Selaphiel and went back into the living room, Selaphiel sat next to Tornilia and she looked up at him “why did you ask him to break his seal?” he asked her.

Tornilia looked down “I… I don’t know, I just wanted to see his wings I guess” she said guiltily, the angel rubbed his chin “why?” he asked again. “Well… it’s just, he’s always normally so…” she bit her lip and Selaphiel sat back “go on, it’s alright, whatever you say will stay between us” he said, Tornilia took a deep breath “he’s normally so, well, angelic” she smiled awkwardly “he’s always stern and calm and strong, and he always knows how to solve a situation, he’s smart and…” she blushed, Selaphiel grinned “and?”.

Tornilia huffed “and nothing…”she glanced up at him from where she held her head in her right hand and the archangel gave her a look, the kind of smirk that people get when they know what you truly mean and she groaned “it’s so stupid… he’s an angel, your all angels, I was made to kill you guys and you were made to kill me, I should be looking at an angel and thinking about wanting to…” she sighed and Selaphiel raised a brow “wanting to what?” he asked sternly and the girl bolted upright. “No, no! I… romantic things” she said and Selaphiel nodded slowly and sat back, “cuddling by the fire, being wrapped up in a blanket with him, laughing together, If Tony even can laugh” her lips wavered into a small smile and Selaphiel patted her shoulder as Uriel walked in “he’s going to be fine, he just needs a few days bedrest” he said and Tornilia sighed “thank f**k” she said and the angels watched as she stood up, she stopped at the door and stepped back.

“They’ve taken him up to bed, if you want you can stay with him until he wakes up, but it might be a while” Selaphiel said after Uriel talked with him quietly, Tornilia wrung her hands and nodded before heading upstairs, Selaphiel and his brother sat in the living room as Gabriel and the others settled once more “she did well to bring him back so quickly” Barachiel said as he lit his pipe. Raphael huffed and Uriel cracked his knuckles “she could have easily not thought to bring him here, or worse she could have left him in the snow to die, show a little appreciation, brother, one day she might just have to save your a*s too” he said firmly and Raphael folded his arms but said nothing, Gabriel sighed “your young Raphael we don’t expect you to agree with us, but please, try to show a little more restraint when it comes to handling the girl”.

As the bedroom door creaked open Tornilia poked her head in to see Tony sat up in the bed reading a book, “hey” he said when he noticed her, Tornilia walked in and closed the door behind her “I thought you’d be asleep” she said and Tony waved dismissively “I’ve been in worse conditions, besides I can’t sleep when I’m ill, never have been able to for some reason” he closed the book with a golden ribbon to mark his page and set it down on his bedside cabinet. Tornilia sighed as she climbed up onto the bed and lay on her stomach over his legs, Tony raised a brow “are you alright?” he asked as he shuffled his wings, they were opened slightly and resting over the back board as Tornilia sat up again “I’m just glad you’re ok” she said as she crawled over and sat with her back against his chest.

There was a brief moment where Tony could have sworn the girl was crying and he took her cheek in his left hand and turned her to him, her eyes glistened as she looked up at him and Tony felt a twinge of guilt, he should have warned her this might happen, ‘she probably thinks it’s her fault’ he thought and he rested his right hand on her back and brought her close. Surprised at first Tornilia hesitated before embracing him, she felt a great warmth emanate from his chest as a faint light spilled out from under his shirt, she felt the light brush against her soul and shuddered, Tony yelped in surprise and Tornilia sat up again “sorry, I…” the boy rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as Tornilia giggled “what was all that about?” she asked.

In truth Tony had felt genuine affection towards the little demon in that instance, feeling her close to him, sensing her emotions of concern and relief, it made him happy and normally when angels experience emotions that strong it’s reflected outwards in the form of light. Tony blushed and scratched his chin briefly before he sighed “thank you, you did well bringing be back here all on your own” he said and Tornilia beamed “I know, I’m awesome like that” she said, straight back to her normal witty self and Tony laid his head back, relieved.

The two spent the rest of the day on that bed, at times Tony read his book to Tornilia, at other times she insisted on playing board games and even a few card games, but she soon gave up on those, except poker, the two loved it to the point where Tornilia helped Tony downstairs so they and the archangels could play a few games together. Gabriel, Uriel, Selaphiel, Michael, and Jegudiel sat at the dining room table with Tony, and since there were no chairs left Tornilia sat on Tony’s lap, at first anyway the archangels felt a little uncomfortable with the slightly sinful thoughts emanating from Tornilia and so now she sat on Selaphiel’s lap as they played.

There was a tense silence hanging over the room as everyone eyed everyone else, Tornilia had the best poker face; blank and emotionless, a very odd look for someone normally so impulsive, while Jegudiel was sweating profusely and Michael had a huge grin on his face. Everyone else was trying their best to stay cool but it was obvious Gabriel and Uriel were deep in thought by the concentration etched onto their brows and Tony had a somewhat calm and peacefully happy look gracing his face, his eyes half lidded as he reached forward and took four tens and a fifty from his pile and placed them in the pot.

“I raise ninety and call Michaels bluff” Tony announced calmly, Michael’s expression dropped instantly and he threw down his cards “dear father Toniel, your bolder than Uriel at the pool” he said as his cards showed a straight, Gabriel eyed Tony for a moment before throwing in a ninety from his own pile “I’m in” he said, the others did likewise, save for Selaphiel who folded with a three of a kind. Tornilia huffed and threw in two hundred “I raise two hundred” she said, Jegudiel folded with a flush and Gabriel winced and reluctantly put two hundred from his pile into the pot along with the remaining players, it was him, Tony, Tornilia, and Uriel.

Tony eyed the demon girl, who smirked at him and he grinned back “I raise five hundred” he said and there was an audible groan as the others threw in their lot too, then Gabriel called Uriel’s bluff, he took a deep breath and beamed, setting down a full house and Gabriel swore as he slammed his cards down, a flush, Uriel folded his arms proudly and bobbed his head to Tony “top that” he said smoothly. Tony calmly lay down his cards “four of a kind” he said and Uriel smacked his knee, Selaphiel and Jegudiel eyed Tornilia while Gabriel stealthily showed Tony his crossed fingers and Uriel shook his shoulder, Michael watched was the little demon slowly spread out her cards and burst out laughing, a royal flush! Tony cursed as Tornilia laughed somewhat menacingly as she scooped up the pot and her pile into a smallish leather sack.

“Selaphiel, you knew all along didn’t you?” Gabriel said and Selaphiel covered his mouth as he tried to contain a chuckle, Tornilia giggled fiendishly for a while as the archangels argued and Tony smiled at her “well done” he said, Tornilia grinned “I pride myself on my card skills” she said, “and a poker face carved in marble!” Michael said with a chuckle. “I haven’t seen anyone play better than Uriel or I since the time that Cupid working in Israel challenged all seven of us” Gabriel said and Jegudiel patted Tony’s shoulder “I was never one for Poker, but I couldn’t pass up a challenge to my brothers, or a chance to play with you Tony, your unit always used to boast about you, you know” he said and Tornilia looked up “really?” she asked as she got down from Selaphiel’s lap to sit on Tony’s again.

“Oh yeah” Uriel grinned “they never shut up about it, whenever games were mentioned around them they’d sing songs of Tony’s praise, apparently the best poker player in heaven, though we’ve never had a chance to test that before” he said and Tony sighed “they always used to call me the four figure face of tranquillity” he said, Tornilia giggled “I thought you looked a little too calm last game, especially considering you were only rocking a two pair the whole time” she said. Tony shrugged “still won though” he smiled and Selaphiel watched as the little demon reached up and wrapped her arms around the young angel’s neck and he brought down his wings around her “it’s late, I think I’m going to head out for a stroll before I go to bed” Selaphiel said with a smile. Tony nodded before turning his attention back to the girl on his lap, Selaphiel patted his brother’s shoulder and Gabriel looked up at him “won’t you join me?” he asked and he gestured stealthily to Tony and Tornilia, Gabriel nodded slowly “yes, I could use a good stretch.

“Well, you weren’t wrong” Selaphiel said as he and Gabriel “sending them to the fair brought them closer, but I think we might’ve pushed just a little too hard, yes” Gabriel said and Selaphiel nodded “but… I get the feeling the two don’t fully realise what it is they’re feeling for each other” he replied and Gabriel hummed but listened still. “Tornilia of course is a demon, feeling a certain small amount of lust is natural, healthy even, for her, and Tony’s natural affection for all things is well within his normal behaviour” Selaphiel sighed “but… given Taphioniel’s real… nature” he rolled his wrist and Gabriel nodded “I think he’s a little too young to know that what he’s feeling is genuinely… important” Selaphiel finished.

Gabriel stopped and scratched his beard “do you think we should tell him?” he asked, Selaphiel puffed “heavens no, he hated when Barachiel tried to explain to him the concept of human reproduction, trying to tell him about love would be-” Gabriel held up a hand and Selaphiel stopped “the other thing” he said and Selaphiel paled a little. “Well I…” Selaphiel bit his lip “should we?” he asked, Gabriel was silent as he looked around, it was snowing, a huge grey blanket lay over the sky, fluffy and rolling as flakes of snow descended all around the two archangels, “he has to be told as some point, all of heaven must know too, but telling him is more important” Gabriel finally replied. There was silence “it’s going to be the greatest scandal in heaven since father banished Lucifer” Selaphiel said and his brother nodded “it will mark the end of the old ways though” he added, Gabriel turned back to Selaphiel “it may hurt our pride, perhaps even compromise our place as leaders within the pearlescent gates, but It will be worth it if we can bring peace and balance to the realms”.

Selaphiel covered his mouth “then… soon?” he asked, Gabriel put his hands behind his back and nodded “soon… two days” he answered and Selaphiel sighed nervously and set his hands on his hips “Raphael must tell him” he said as he ground his teeth, Gabriel looked up and so did his brother “or perhaps… Lucifer” he said, Selaphiel staggered “are you ma-” he covered his mouth. “No, Raphael has always been arrogant, we can’t wholly trust him” Gabriel said sternly, and Selaphiel’s face became etched with concern “and we trust Lucifer more?” he asked, Gabriel shot him a glare “you know him Selaphiel! Lucifer has atoned for his sins and he has changed for the better!”. Selaphiel bit his tongue and eventually he nodded “your right… Lucifer then…” he sighed “I’ll have him brought here tomorrow, he should meet Taphioniel first, get to know one and other” he decided and Gabriel nodded in agreement “father help us” he said, Selaphiel patted his shoulder “father forgive us”.

The next day Tornilia awoke startled, her chest was heaving and sweat dripped from her head and chest, her palms clammy and she kicked the covers off, Tony slept peacefully in the other bed not a metre from her, his wings draped behind him as he lay facing her. The demon massaged the head of her tail as she felt an uneasy aura pushing down on her, she bit her lip and glanced again at Tony before scrambling off the bed to shake him awake “Tony” she said, the boy moaned as he stretched, his wings spread out wide and his feathers quivered, they looked allot whiter and healthier this morning. “Tony!” Tornilia hissed and the angel propped himself up on his elbow as he rubbed his eyes “what?” he asked, “something’s wrong” she said, Tony blinked as he looked at her “what do you mean?” he asked, Tornilia shuddered and pawed at his chest “I don’t know I just feel… uneasy” she said and looked up at him pleadingly.

Suddenly Tony felt an aura wash over him, like the archangels only different “oh” he mumbled, he looked down and saw how distressed the girl was and felt a twinge of something he’d never experienced before, he acted on instinct and scooped Tornilia up onto the bed and let her huddle up to him. Tornilia felt the imposing aura subside a little as she basked herself In Tony’s own, she sighed with relief as she buried her head in his neck, Tony rested his hands on her shoulders, they were so small ‘she’s so tiny, so fragile… you’d think as a demon she’d choose a more appropriate form, a more…’ he frowned. If he was honest with himself he rather liked that she was so small, it was cute, and she was easy to carry, it suited her personality too, like a feisty kitten… suddenly Tony realised Tornilia had pushed him down onto the bed and snuck into the covers with him and he threw them off “hey!” she yelped and Tony got up “you little fiend” he hiss playfully as he rubbed his face.

Tornilia was confused for a moment before she realised what it looked like she was doing and she giggled “sorry, I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking about that at all” she said and the angel rolled his eyes “sure” he said as he picked out a fresh white shirt and grey trousers before grabbing some white underwear and socks from the drawer and heading into the bathroom to change. When the boy emerged from the bathroom Tornilia had changed into a pair of black tights and a loos neck black T-shirt with a red skull on it, her hair tied into a loose bun at the back with her fringe curled over the right side of her face, Tony had swept back his hair like a mane and had he first two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing the Latin and Enochian runs etched into his skin in gold.

“Are you feeling better now?” Tony asked as he put his feet into a pair of slippers by the window and Tornilia nodded “it’s not as bad now… what about you? Feeling any better today?” she asked in return, Tony nodded “I don’t think the others will agree with me being up and about but I can’t stand being in bed doing nothing” he said, Tornilia giggled “you could be in bed doing something” she growled seductively and Tony rolled his shoulders “never gonna happen” he laughed and they went downstairs. The archangel’s sat in their usual spots in the living room, except for Gabriel, Raphael and Michael, “you should be in bed Toniel” Selaphiel said as Tony sat in his armchair and Tornilia hopped onto his lap to read the morning paper with him “it’s ten sixteen Selaphiel, I’ve had my night’s sleep” he said with a smile. “Besides, I need to keep myself busy” he said and glanced down at the paper, Selaphiel took a deep breath and set down his cup of coffee before heading into the kitchen and closing the door behind him, Barachiel and Jegudiel exchanged glances and Uriel pulled down his flat cap and they waited.

Five minutes later the kitchen door opened and Gabriel peaked his head out “Toniel, Tornilia, would you join us in the kitchen please” he said and the two looked at each other confused before they nodded and got up, the archangels watched nervously as Tornilia took Tony’s hand. The moment Tony stepped into the room his wings dropped and Tornilia hid behind him, in the middle of the room Michael, Raphael and Gabriel stood with a man about seven foot two, he had messy dark grey hair and a handsome chiselled face, light stubble lining his jaw and mouth, his eyes were dark blue and he wore a pristine white morning suit with crimson red cufflinks and tie clip over a golden tie.

“Hello Taphioniel” said the man, his voice was smooth and rolling, hearing it speak his true name made him shiver and his wings ruffle “L-Lucifer…” Tony stammered as the man stepped forward to offer his hands, “please, call me Satan if it makes things any easier” he said and Tony shook his hand, somewhat in awe, “no, no Lucifer is fine, hello” he said. Meanwhile Tornilia hid herself by wrapped one of Tony’s wings around her, Lucifer looked down and sighed “it’s alright Torinialla, you don’t need to be afraid of me” he said and Tony knelt down to comfort the demon, she peaked out from under his wing “y-yes sir… sorry sir” she said and stepped forward.

Lucifer sighed and sat down at the dining room table “please, both of you, relax, Lucifer isn’t hear to hurt anyone, in fact he’ll be joining us here for the next few weeks” Gabriel said, Tornilia held onto Tony’s arm as the two sat down at the table with everyone else and they talked, about Lucifer and the current affairs between heaven and the underworld, about the archangels considering returning Lucifer's title and place among them. Eventually the tension eased up and Tony and Tornilia relaxed, Lucifer was in fact a rather easy guy to get along with, he acted allot like a friend or even a brother to Tony and a father figure of sorts to Tornilia, when eventually it became obvious to Lucifer that the two were close he grinned “so… how long have you two been a thing?” he asked sitting back and Gabriel scratched the back of his neck.

Tony frowned in confusion but Tornilia knew full well what he meant “w-we aren’t together, it’s just…” she bit her lip “we’re close friends” she said letting go of his arm and Tony raised a brow “I don’t get it, what do you mean we’re a… a thing?” he asked and Lucifer’s brows shot up. “Wait… Gabriel! You didn’t tell me he was this clueless” he said and Gabriel laughed, Michael patted Tony’s shoulder “don’t worry, I’ll explain later” he said and Tony nodded, Raphael sighed “can we get this over with, I’m beginning to lose my patience” he said. Gabriel shot him a glare and Lucifer sat upright “well… I thought we were, you know” he gestured to Gabriel who patted his brother’s shoulder “don’t worry, we are” he said and Raphael folded his arms and sat back, looking away as Tony and Tornilia talked.

“Your true name is Torinialla?” Tony asked and Tornilia blew a stray lock of hair from her face “well, yeah… It’s too long so I shortened it” she said and she grinned “and yours is Taphioniel?” she said, Tony nodded “my name was shortened as well, human tongues are so… complicated to operate” he said, Tornilia giggled and sat back “aren’t they just” she smirked. The day went by rather slowly after that, the house had lunch together as everyone talked, Tony and Tornilia got to know Lucifer better and he them, shortly after they all decided to go for a walk and Lucifer noticed Tony flaring his wings allot to stretch them. “

I have to ask, Toniel, why don’t you have your normal human form?” Lucifer asked and Tony turned to him “oh… well, Tornilia-” he was cut off when Tornilia cut in “he wanted to stretch his wings” she said, Tony frowned “well yes, that and Tornilia was curious about them”, Tornilia turned away to hide her blush and Lucifer laughed “fair enough, it’s not very often none angels get to see them… in fact why don’t we all stretch out huh?” he said and the archangels looked at each other.

Gabriel patted Lucifer’s shoulder “we’re in the midst of a human settlement Luscious, it would draw too much attention to us” he explained and Lucifer dismissed him with a wave “Pshh, the humans know of our existence here, and tell me honestly, when was the last time you truly let yourself relax?”. They turned a corner and walked into the park, the fair was gone and it was mostly empty, the ground was covered in a beautiful thick white layer of undisturbed snow, save for the path through the park “well” Uriel rolled his shoulders “I could actually do with a short flight” he admitted, Selaphiel sighed and nodded “I think we call could, it’s been weeks since most of us even left that stuffy little house”.

The twins nodded to each other “a fly would be nice” they said in unison, Tony flapped his wings before shuffling them back into position “I agree, I think it would be a good way to unwind” he said, Gabriel glanced down at Tornilia, her head just level with Tony’s stomach as her eyes glistened with curiosity and an excited grin curled her lips, he sighed “alright, but let’s not try and be careful, we don’t all want to incur seal blight too” he said and Tony and Lucifer laughed. Tornilia watched as the archangels slowly manipulated the complex runes and sigil etched into their bodies and Tony shielded her eyes with one wing just before a huge flash of blinding white light filled the park, when Tornilia opened her eyes she gasped, the archangels had magnificent wings of all different colours and numbers of pairs.

Barachiel and Jegudiel both had three pairs of wings with straight and perfectly lined blue feathers, Gabriel had four pairs of somewhat fluffy golden wings, Michael had two sets of bright pink wings, Selaphiel had three pairs of bright purple wings, Uriel had three pairs of chocolate brown wings, and Lucifer had four sets of crimson red wings, Raphael however, had a single large pair of dark grey wings and Tony frowned with a somewhat concerned and confused feeling. Tornilia however didn’t pay attention to Raphael’s inconsistency to the other archangels and was giddily going to and from each of the wings to inspect them.

“Curious little snapdragon aren’t you?” Lucifer said as Tornilia’s fingers brushed against his feathers, he picked her up and held her so she could better reach the joints and the feather tips; she seemed surprisingly humbled by the experience. Tony felt a little sad having to leave Tornilia on the ground, he would have taken her up with him but he wasn’t strong enough yet, as it was he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to take off, the archangels stretched for a little while before they found a long stretch of path to use as a runway of sorts, “you sure you’re going to be ok?” Gabriel asked as Tony jostled his wings “I’ll be fine, if I can’t stay up for long I’ll glide down” he said and the man nodded.

Tornilia watched as one by one the Archangels took a running start before leaping up as they brought their wings down, while one or two sets would go down, another would come up and seamlessly they’d allow the men flight, they held position a few meters of the ground, their great magnificent wings beating and whipping up the snow beneath them into a flurry, finally it was Tony’s turn. He ran for allot longer than the others before taking off, he rose high into the air and allowed himself to sort of hover down to the others. “It’s been far too long!” Uriel said as he rose up and did a backflip “come on, a lap above the clouds?” Selaphiel suggested and the others took off, Lucifer stayed somewhat close to Tony just in case, he was already looking a little tired.

The angels soured upward and emerged from the clouds and were greeted by the sun, Gabriel lead point as they flew in formation for a while before breaking off to do stunts and race one another, Tony however couldn’t hover any longer and glided down to the clouds, Lucifer watched as he cast a spell and his feet sunk into the clouds a few inches before he landed on it. “Are you alright?” Lucifer asked as he landed next to Tony, who nodded and sat down, letting his wings spread out and rest flat around him on the fluffy grey clouds, “I’ll be fine, I just…” he hummed as he watched Raphael fly alone “Lucifer, can I ask you a question?” he asked, Lucifer looked up and followed his gaze, biting his lip.

“Sure, shoot” he said and sat next to the young angel, Tony licked his teeth, a nervous habit of his “why doesn’t Raphael have wings like the others? They look like a middle class angel’s wings” he pointed out, Lucifer glanced over at Gabriel, who was with Selaphiel and Uriel as they observed him and Tony “I… I think…” Lucifer patted his shoulder “fly with me, I don’t think it can wait till tomorrow” he said and Tony took off with him. “Are you sure?” Gabriel said, Tony paced as the Archangels sat on the clouds “yes, I want to know, you said it concerns me and that it’s important but I should wait till tomorrow, what’s tomorrow? Why would it make any difference?” he asked slightly annoyed that they were trying to dance around the issue, Uriel sighed “tomorrow would be better, it’d give you and Raphael time to prepare yourself, emotionally” he said, Tony was extremely unnerved now.

“I don’t see how it could help now” Gabriel sighed, Lucifer stood up and took Tony by the shoulders and lead him aside, the other archangels landed and Raphael too nearby, “he’s telling him” he said as he walked over, Selaphiel hesitantly patted his back “yes… I’m sorry” he said, Raphael rolled his shoulders “no, it was all part of the plan, this was inevitable” he said, Gabriel stood “but so soon? Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”. There was a sudden silence before Raphael could answer as Tony stepped away from Lucifer, the archangels watched, their bodies shook with anticipation as Lucifer gestured and opened his arms to embrace Tony, he stepped back and there was shouting.

“Uh oh” Uriel stood up, Lucifer stepped back and Tony’s wings flared, there was a sudden rumble in the air as Lucifer’s wings sagged, he tried to reach out to the boy and Tony looked as if he was about to lash out, in a single bound Tony leapt into the air and hovered, Lucifer could do nothing but watch and call his name as Tony disappeared down into the clouds. “I may be alright, but will he?” Raphael said somewhat surprised, the archangels met Lucifer halfway “What happened?” Gabriel asked, Lucifer folded his arms and looked down “he did not take that well, not at all” he said and took a deep breath to steady himself, he was shaken, “for an angel to be that… hateful” he shuddered and Gabriel swore “he’s going to do something stupid” he said and made to take off after him.

Lucifer grabbed him “no! no, we need to give him time, he’s a good person Gabriel, he’s not going to do anything, maybe a little property damage but it’ll pass…” he said, Gabriel pursed his lips, Raphael stepped forward “I’ll go after him” he said and Lucifer hesitated about stopping him, just long enough for the angel to take off. Tornilia watched as Tony swooped in out of nowhere and landed hard, he walked straight past her, furiously muttering to himself, “Tony?” she frowned, he didn’t answer her and she ran after him “Tony!” she repeated and the angel turned suddenly and flared his wings “leave me!” he boomed, the demon cried out and staggered backwards, she tripped on the icy path and fell, “Tony…” she felt such rage emanating from him it terrified her.

Tony glared down at the girl for a moment before turning away and walking off, suddenly he stopped, in the split second where his own rage subsided long enough for him to begin processing what he’d just been told he was opened again to the feelings and auras around him, suddenly he felt Tornilia’s fear, her sadness, her pain. She was actually hurt, she’d landed hard on her back and Tony’s rage was instantly replaced with guilt, he turned back to see he struggle to her feet facing away from him “Tornilia” he said and started to walk toward her, she turned to look at him, her face red with tears he suddenly felt anger from her, Tony stopped dead “what’s wrong with you?” she growled, Tony covered his mouth “I’m so sorry” he said.

Tornilia glared at the boy “sorry?” she asked, “what the hell is wrong with you? You scared me half to death, you let me fall and walk away” she sniffed and Tony got up to approach her but she held up a hand “you don’t get to take out your anger on me, whatever happened up there, I don’t wanna hear about it, I’ve been down here waiting for half a f*****g hour, and the first thing you say to me is ‘leave me’?”. Tony balled his fists but couldn’t say anything, he was too confused and angry and upset to think and he groaned as he rubbed his temples “I’m going home Tony, when your done stomping around out here, I suggest you go to bed, your obviously not well in the head either” she said and stormed off, Tony sighed and sat on the bench.

He should have stopped her, he should have tried to explain but he couldn’t, he could only begin to explain it to himself when Raphael landed close to him and walked over “Toniel… are you alright?” he asked coldly, Tony sighed “no” he replied and the angel sat next to him as he sealed away his wings “I understand you were told… about me, about who you truly are” he said as he crossed his legs and folded his arms. Tony looked away “I was…” he sighed, his heart heavy with guilt over hurting Tornilia and Raphael sensed this “you don’t truly believe she would have done that if she actually cared about you, you know” he said as he looked around at the park, Tony glanced at him “excuse me?” he asked.

Raphael looked back at the boy and nodded “you heard me Toniel” he said and Tony looked away shaking his head “she’s just upset, I let my anger get the better of me and I lashed out at her, I deserved that” he said, Raphael frowned “no you don’t, she’s a demon, and your… well, your Taphioniel” he held his shoulder. “You really think that when she’s told about what you really are she’s going to even want to talk to you?”, Tony wrung his wrists, unable to reply “she’s a demon Toniel, why would she ever feel anything but hatred, spite and malice toward you? She was born to kill you” Raphael’s eyes began to glow and he began to layer his voice with magic.

“Toniel” he said and the boy turned, his eyes met Raphael’s and his mouth fell open “a time will soon come when heaven will have to choose it’s new leaders, if they don’t choose someone who can lead them properly the demons will kill us all, Lucifer will dominate this world” he said, Tony tried to ignore him, but no matter what he couldn’t deny Raphael’s hypnotic voice “come with me, to heaven Taphioniel, together we’ll protect our kind, protect our home” he said and stood up. Slowly Tony rose with him and they began to glow softly, as their bodies were enveloped in a golden light the archangels hovered some distance away, Raphael turned to them just as he and Tony disappeared in a golden flash, a wicked grin on his face.

Gabriel stood in awe. He landed seconds after Raphael and Tony disappeared, ascended back to heaven, “Gabriel… what just happened?” Selaphiel asked, Barachiel held his twin’s shoulder “Raphael… he used his magic on Toniel, Gabriel what’s going on?” he asked, Lucifer cursed “I knew I should have stopped him, I felt something from him, something familiar” he said and Gabriel turned to his brother “he’s betrayed us” he said. “Raphael? No… why?” Michael ran his hands through his hair nervously, Uriel closed his eyes and froze, he winced and then gasped “oh sweet father!” he exclaimed, Lucifer shook Gabriel’s shoulder “he’s locked us out” he said, Gabriel turned to him “why?” he asked, Lucifer scratched his head for a moment before he realised “it’s the demons” he said and turned back to his brothers “Raphael, you told me he always despised them”.

Jegudiel nodded “the entire time we’ve been here he’s tried to deter peace between us, he’s doubted everything, why didn’t we see this sooner?” he exclaimed, Gabriel shook himself out of his shock and his face turned stern “if he’s planning on leading a rebellion he must have already announced Taphioniel’s true nature, he’s probably taken him under his control, with Toniel’s influence under his thumb Raphael could easily lead a full on assault on hell”. Lucifer growled “like f**k he will” he said and began to walk away, Gabriel grabbed his shoulder “wait! We can’t just rush off, we need a plan” he said, Lucifer turned to Gabriel “I’ve been making huge headway with converting the demons towards peace, if the angels attack now it’ll ruin any chance of that” he said and Selaphiel stepped forward, nodding.

“So, we need to formulate a plan to stop Raphael before he gets to hell, going straight down there and warning them will only make things worse” he said, “Uriel, locate the back gate, see if you can gain entry and try and sort things out, Selaphiel go to the house, fetch Tornilia, Barachiel head to the pit and guard it, Jegudiel, Lucifer and I will stay here and begin formulating a spell to free Toniel of Raphael’s control” Gabriel ordered. The hours swiftly flew by, seeming like minutes as the angels hurried to prepare for whatever Raphael was planning, Tornilia arrived at the park as Michael was guarding the others as they worked on the spell “good, you’re here, we’re going to need your help” he said, Selaphiel knelt by Tornilia and she nodded “what’s going on? Is Tony going to be ok?” she asked, Michael let Selaphiel join the others in the spell and he began to explain what was happening to her.

“He’s what?” Tornilia exclaimed and Michael hushed her “keep your voice down, yes he-” Tornilia stepped back “he’s an archangel?” she repeated, Michael grabbed her shoulders “listen to me, Raphael is planning to use Toniel to rally an army against hell, if he manages to reach it there will be no stopping him, your race will be wiped out” he explained and Tornilia gaped in despair. “We need you to go to heaven and find Toniel” Gabriel said as he walked over, the spell was finished and in their hands was the amulet of Dorticka, “you need to get close enough to slip this onto him, that should break Raphael’s control over him Lucifer said as Gabriel handed Tornilia the amulet “but… if you can’t get into heaven, how will I?” she asked. “a long time ago a group of demons attacked heaven, they made a back entrance that only you can use” Lucifer explained, Barachiel knelt “it was sealed as part of the treaty, but now Uriel’s managed to open it, we’ll take you there and you’ll have to move quickly and quietly to avoid being found” he explained and Tornilia nodded.

She was scared, terrified, and excited at the same time, she was scared for herself and for her friends and family in hell, and also for Tony, what could happen to the both of them if she fails… Tornilia looked up as Uriel carried her in his arms as he flew her higher and higher, suddenly the air began to get thinner and thinner and she had to gasp for every breath. “Not too much longer now, try and hold each breath” Uriel shouted and Tornilia nodded, suddenly the sky beyond them began to glow and Uriel suddenly disappeared from Tornilia’s senses, she found herself having been thrown upwards and she tried to scream but everything was going white and all sound was being muffled like a pillow was being smothered over her ears.

Tornilia blinked as she soaked in her new surroundings, she had awoke in a stupendously large open hall, with a dome-like ceiling of old ornate floral golden patterns and walls and flooring of pure pristine marble, she looked down to see four passageways on each of the four sides of the hall, suddenly she noticed her feet and she gasped as she looked further to see her body. She was in her true form, a tall and slender figure about seven foot eight with long crimson hair that reached down to the small of her back and pitch black skin, her tail was thicker and spiked with a larger arrow headed tip, two small bat-like wings sprouted from her back and her eyes were pure red, her teeth sharp and nails long and fearsome. Aside from the somewhat sharp appearance she was still for the most part attractive, in her eyes anyway, she always admired her true form, it’s curves, it’s powerful long strides, she stood up and looked around as she fiddled with the amulet “where…” she reached up and sighed as she felt her horns, they were allot longer and curled back slightly.

After untangling herself Tornilia picked a passageway at random and pursued it, it branched several times before she came out into the open, a seemingly infinite plateau of marble floor and random white pillars hovering in the sky, gently bobbing up and down, this was heaven? Where were all the angels? Tornilia walked for what felt like hours before she reached any other sort of building. As soon as she saw the building she saw the angels to and gasped, they were easily as big as ten story buildings, and far more terrifyingly grotesque than anything in hell! Their wings were huge and brushed against the ground, some had eyes in them, some angels had multiple faces or none at all, it was like looking up at a nightmare from an ant’s perspective “how the f**k am I supposed to get this around a neck like that!?” Tornilia hissed to herself.

The angels seemed completely unaware that Tornilia was with them, as she ran between different spots she eventually found her way into the building, after hours of hiking and climbing and walking she eventually found herself in a massive open theatre or court room, Tornilia had found herself on the balcony of one of the upper rooms overlooking the court floor and she saw two figures standing side by side surrounded by others, one was easily taller than anyone else in the room, with four glowing pure white wings, Tornilia could feel a familiar presence, it had to be him, that was Tony, his true form. Toniel had a scrawny frame with three sets of arms each with four clawed fingers, his head was covered by what looked to be a porcelain mask with no eyes or mouth and all along the joints and edges of his wingers were large emerald eyes, his legs were covered by a white and green skirt like piece which flowed down to his ankles and his chest was covered in magical runes and slowly shifted and occasionally pulsed or disappeared completely to be replaced by a different rune.

Beside him stood a more mundane looking angel, with a single pair of dark grey wings which towered above him, his face was covered by a huge single black eye and he had no arms but a pair of hands floated at his sides, the wrists engulfed in black flames “angels!” this one called out and the room fell silent, Tornilia winced and covered her ears, she recognised the voice, it was Raphael. “You have heard the truth! The original seven have betrayed us, and now only Taphioniel has remained loyal to us, but before we can pass judgement to the archangels as we have discussed, we must first eliminate their most powerful weapon, our greatest threat has been allowed to fester for far too long!”.

Tornilia bit her lip as she shrunk down over the ledge of the railing, Toniel was motionless and silent the entire time as Raphael stirred the angels into uproar, there was no doubt, if Tornilia couldn’t get to him and activate the amulet before the angels left heaven to storm her home there wouldn’t be a single demon left in existence, save for her perhaps… she shook her head, dislodging the sudden thought to run and hide somewhere, instead she stood up and waited for the perfect opportunity to spread her wings and glide down to Toniel, that is if she can fly faster than any of the angels around her could reach up and grab her. Tornilia was just about to make her move when Toniel’s gaze landed on her and she froze, she felt his presence wash over her and his eyes dilated somewhat, but he did nothing, when Raphael gestured to him in his speech he looked away, keeping only one eye on her now, some small part of him must be resisting the hypnotic powers Raphael had used on him.

She could wait no longer, she knew if she failed she’d loose him forever and she’d probably die but if she didn’t even die trying, she’d be just as bad as Raphael, she took a running start and leapt, spreading her wings as wide as they could go and she glided swiftly through the air, about halfway down there was a cry of alarm and the room went into a frenzy as the angels moved to snatch Tornilia out of the air, Toniel could only stand and watch as one from the crowd managed to catch her, their hand closing around her tiny frail form and he watched as that angel approached the front “see? Even now they strike out in fear! This demon is an example of what I’m saying, proof that they will never change” Raphael said as he plucked Tornilia from the angels hand by her left leg and she screeched.

“Tony!” she cried out, her voice small and quiet, Toniel looked down at her as she close the softly glowing green metal amulet in her hands and his eyes widened “who will shed the first drop of demon blood this day?” Raphael said holding her up, the room erupted into chants as each member of the court around them jumped at the chance to crush her under foot or splatter her along the wall, or incinerate her with magic. Toniel reached up and grabbed Raphael’s hand “I will” he said and squeezed hard, Raphael was forced to let go of the demon and it fell into his open palm, he eyed his thrall for a moment before nodding “of course archangel Taphioniel, you of all of us deserve this honour” he said and Toniel bent his head down as he raised his hand to about shoulder height, Tornilia was sat rubbing her leg, a pained expression across her face which disappeared as she looked up to see Toniel raise one of his arms up high. “Oh sweet fires how do I work this stupid f*****g thing!” Tornilia muttered as she panicked fumbled with the amulet, she tried pressing it against the angel’s skin, she tried pointing it up at his face, she cried out in panic as Toniel began to bring his hand down, at his size it would only take a few seconds for her to be nothing but a red and black paste in his hands and she looked down at the amulet, she yanked at the chain and noticed suddenly his fingers were curled up slightly.

Tornilia scrambled to her feet and ran across Toniel’s palm and collided with his trigger finger, reaching up she pulled the amulet’s chain over the nail and down to the base of the finger, it flashed briefly before a shadow covered everything and Tornilia looked up just before the hand came down. There was a loud clap and the court burst into applaud, Toniel’s eyes blinked and he looked down, keeping his hand closed he remained still and silent until he felt something patting his palm and he sighed, Raphael was basking in the applaud when suddenly there was a hand at his throat which hoisted him into the air “how dare you!” Toniel’s voice boomed like a thunder clap and every being in heaven stopped and fell silent as he flared his wings.

“What are you-gack!!” Raphael squirmed and writhed as Toniel’s runes blazed green “angels of heaven, hear me and know this!” he thundered “I am Taphioniel, and it is with unfathomable pain that I must scald you all! We have worked tirelessly for peace with hell for thousands of years now and in little under a day you let one man and his bigotry rile you against it” he said. Raphael’s floating hands tried desperately to free him as Taphioniel squeezed his neck harder “Raphael was given the burden of concealing the archangels’ deception, he was never tasked with the destruction of hell nor given the authority by me or any other angel to order an attack on the demons, and worst of all” the angel’s eyes became engulfed in green flames “you crossed me” he said. “You lied to me, you tricked me and you used your magic to enthral me, and this demon here freed me from your control, now you will open the gates of heaven once more or I will sever your head from your body!”.

Tornilia watched from Taphioniel’s shoulder as Barachiel and a small group of angelic guards escorted a chained Raphael out through the gates of heaven and down the huge flight of stairs down through the white clouds, she was almost smiling at how cliché heaven looked, but she knew it was simply her perception of it, “well Tornilia, what do you think?” Taphioniel asked. The demon looked up at the angel and frowned “about what?” she asked back, he gestured all around him as he walked away from the gates and back to the throng of angels gathered outside the court “heaven” he replied, Tornilia hummed “it’s exactly what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting everything to be so… big” she said, Taphioniel laughed “it’s not big, your just tiny, here” he explained and reached up with one hand and gently picked her up by her waist and before Tornilia could even object he launched her into the air, she screamed as a flash of light engulfed her vision and suddenly she landed on her feet.

Tornilia opened her eyes to see herself level with Taphioniel, if a few inches smaller, well… inches in her perspective, “sorry, but I couldn’t have you growing on my hand” he said, Torinialla huffed as she playfully punched his shoulder “you big brute, tossing me about like that” she said and they shared a chuckle before Gabriel approached them, the other archangels all looked mostly the same, save for a few differences in freaky features like faces and spikes and extra or less limbs. “we can handle things here, Lucifer, Selaphiel and Uriel have all decided to stay on earth for now, with everything that’s happened up here lately they feel they need a break from all the responsibility, and while heaven and hell are going to need the pair of you allot in the future I think you two should go with them, allot of angels and demons are migrating to earth now and It would be a good idea if you two were there to keep an eye on things”.

Taphioniel and Torinialla glanced at each other briefly “I…” he sighed and the demon next to him thought for a moment “yo Gabe, a word?” she said and Gabriel hesitantly nodded and she pulled him away, Taphioniel watched as the two talked, at one point the Torinialla put her hands on her hips and leaned in, Gabriel shrunk back and nodded before she came back over “ok, new plan” she said and gestured to Gabriel puffed. “We can manage immigration control, you two…” he sighed “your free to do as you please, but should the archangels be voted out of power, you may need to step up to rule heaven” Gabriel said firmly and Taphioniel nodded, Torinialla clapped her hands “ok! Heaven is officially overrated, let’s go” she said, somewhat eager to get Taphioniel away from all this political nonsense.

Taphioniel held her shoulder “Torinialla, why’re you so eager to leave?” he asked, Gabriel sighed as he turned to walk away “she’s a demon Taphioniel, as good as she is or as virtuous as she likes to think she is, physically heaven is just incompatible with her” he explained and Taphioniel nodded as the demon girl stood fidgeting like she needed to pee “I’ve been here for hours, this can’t be healthy” she said. The two left heaven through the gates and found themselves back outside their house, they were in human forms again but they were different, for one Tornilia was allot taller, she was about 6 foot 9 while Tony was 7 foot 6, they looked the same in terms of features and colour, except for that now Tony’s wings were slightly bigger and had swirling emerald patterns along the joints and now Tornilia’s horns were permanently longer and her back was adorned by two small wings, which looked literally the size of a normal bat’s wings.

“Oh f**k’s sake” Tornilia said as she pulled at the tiny wings on her back, “what?” Tony asked as he stopped at the door, Tornilia turned her back to him “why do I even have these? Don’t succubae normally have this little s***s?” she said, Tony sighed “Tornilia, demons have a wide variety of subspecies, perhaps you are a succubus, a succubus demon” he replies. Tornilia frowned “Tory, Tornilia sounds way to long now, and besides if I were a succubus demon I’d be thirsty for your…” she held her tongue and Tony raised a brow “my what?” he asked genuinely as they entered the house and the girl wrung her hands “nothing…” she muttered, “and Tory? Tornilia is fine” Tony said, the demon frowned “its four syllables as opposed to two” she replied.

Lucifer sat on the sofa in a grey T-shirt and red jeans as he looked up from his phone to see Tony and Tory walk into the living room “what do you mean my milk? You mean the bottle I bought the other day?” Tony said as he sat in his armchair and Tory sat on the sofa “no, I mean” her face was bright red and Tony rubbed his face “I don’t have any other milk Tory, don’t drink my milk” he said. Lucifer burst out laughing and Tory hid her face as he wailed, Selaphiel tried to contain himself and hid his face in his book as he sat by the fireplace “What? I need that milk for breakfast” Tony said, only making things worse. Tory scrambled up from the couch and into the kitchen as a faint aura of lust filled the room like a fart, Tony looked positively bewildered as he stood up “Tory?” he called, when she didn’t answer he walked over to the kitchen door “leave my milk alone” he said and went in.

Lucifer wheezed as he tried to stop laughing “how, how?!” he cried and Selaphiel shrugged “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know” he sighed “this is why I love living in this house, you get random stuff like this happening all the time it’s hilarious”, suddenly there was a smash from the kitchen and they fell silent, “oh!!” they heard Tony say and he came storming out of the kitchen, feathers ruffled and face burning red. Lucifer snorted and Selaphiel bit his lower lip as Tory walked in slowly, when she was she was covered in milk Selaphiel gaped and Lucifer was set off again, the demon grunted in disgust and stormed out and upstairs after Tony. The laughter of the two angels could be heard for ages as Tory changed in the bathroom “you better hadn’t be a succubus” Tony said and there was an audible snort “yeah, no I’m not, I’m just horny” she said and Tony folded his arms “well can you not be? I don’t know whether that warding I put into the walls will contain a demon’s lust” he said.

“Then you better hope that you can” she giggled and Tony stood up and paced “I will do no such thing” he said, Tory emerged from the bathroom in a clean shirt and a pair of black and red panty briefs  with matching red and black stripy knee socks “really? I just saved you and every demon in existence and you won’t so much as thank me by indulging my desires?” she bent towards him “not even a little?” she said gesturing with her fingers. Tony shuffled his wings “no, absolutely not” he said stubbornly, yet a small part of him had begun to writhe within him and began to whisper thoughts as the demon giggled “not even the tiniest bit?” she slowly crept forwards, eventually landing on all fours crawling over to the edge of the bed where Tony sat.

“No, there is not the tiniest shred of a chance of us two fornicating” Tony crawled back on the bed somewhat away from Tory and she pouted as she rested her head on the mattress like a begging dog “not, ever?” she whimpered coyly and the angel wavered as he felt a sudden rush of energy flow over and into him, she was using her magic now ‘oh it’s like that is it?’ Tony narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, his face just inches from hers, their noses practically touching “never” he hissed slowly and a sudden unspoken spell welled within the boy and cut off the flow of energy from Tory. The demon narrowed her eyes and buried the lower half of her face In the mattress as she coiled her body, her tail swishing behind her as Tony sat up straight, his wings proudly lifted as he completely quelled his nagging desires, “are you s-u-r-e about that?” she stretched out her words as she brought her knees up to her chest.

The angel, blissfully unaware of the demon’s movements glanced down at her with a smug look “I’m one hundred percent, undoubtedly, implicitly…” he reached down and pushed his index finger into the middle of Tory’s forehead “sure” he finished, there was a brief moment of silence before Tony’s face dropped and a faint playful growl made him tense. The next thing Tony knew he was being pounced on, his body pressed down and his wings spread themselves instinctively and they curled up around the walls and ceiling, Tory’s tail coiled tightly around his legs and hers pinned them down, she sat straddling his chest as she held his arms down, her horns glowing like they were about to melt away as pulse after pulse of seductive energy flooded the angel’s body. Tory knew she’d ruin their relationship if she pushed the boy, she couldn’t risk losing that, so seeing Tony’s struggle against her she ceased her magic and bent down gently, her lips brushed against the angel’s and she hesitated.

The two stared deep into each other’s eyes, their noses rubbing slightly as Tory held her lips just above Tony’s her breathing faltered as she felt Tony overpower the weight pressed on his legs and he brought his knees up, bumping against Tory and knocking her forwards and in a blur the demon was flipped over and pinned against the bed lying on her stomach. Tory yelped as the angel held her arms behind her back with one hand and her tail in the other, his hand squeezing the base and pinching the nerves so she couldn’t move it, suddenly she could feel his whole weight pressing down on her, his aura flooding hers and she whimpered as Tony used the tip of his upper left wing to turn her face to his as he leaned down “who do you think would really end up being…” his voice was deep and growling as he spoke softly into her ear “subjugated, in your ‘desires’ Torinialla?”. “This isn’t fair!” Tory whimpered and she yelped again as the angel on top of her tightened his hold on her and he leaned down, his face to hers “do you want me to stop?” he asked, she looked at him, feeling shivers of energy radiating up her spine as Tony massaged the base of her tail, the tips of his feathers slowly running up and down the backs of her legs, he was feeding her, he knew she’d gained a higher level of power within her own demonology, she was a succubus now and he knew it, and he was playing on it.

“N-no” Tory bit her lip and squeaked, she tried to supress a moan as the angel sent a wave of energy into her “too bad” he said and in that single moment where Tory felt his grip loosen and his wing wrap around them, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, her eyes widened in surprise before she submitted to the kiss and returned it. Tory could feel her whole body becoming weightless as she found herself facing the angel fully, his wings encompassing her fully and his arms wrapped around her waist, his legs tangled with hers, she moaned meekly as she felt an unusual passion coming from Tony, she reached back to pull away one of his hands and locked their fingers together.

Downstairs Selaphiel shuddered “do you feel that?” he asked and set his newspaper down, Lucifer looked up and peered over his reading glassed “feel what?” he asked, there was a moment of silence “ah! That” he smirked “do you think… they’re…” Selaphiel frowned and Lucifer laughed it off “no, you’d know if they were, trust me” he said and returned to his book. Selaphiel wrung his hands “what is going on up there then?” he said shuddering again, Lucifer sighed “they're probably just kissing or being intimate, you know I’ve been around demons so much I’m kinda desensitised to that whole” he rolled his hand “sin, energy, thing” he said fumbling with the words. “I’m not… I’ve been around Toniel for over a year now, and Tornilia for half a year and I’ve never felt anything like that before” Selaphiel replied and rubbed his arms as he folded them, Lucifer closed his book and looked up “a kiss doesn’t normally last this long either” he said, the two sat in silence for a moment before they exchanged a worried glance and leapt up from their seats.

“Toniel? Open the door” Lucifer banged on the bedroom door, a faint white light spilling out from under it, Selaphiel pulled his brother aside and kicked it, the door swung open and hit the wall as the two scrambled into the room “sweet father…” Selaphiel muttered and Lucifer sighed and they turned away “well you weren’t wrong, they are doing something” he said, Selaphiel hissed “what do we do?” he asked, Lucifer raised a brow “we break them up, it’s not healthy for a demon and an angel to do…. That, for too long” he said, Selaphiel held his shoulder. “Is it wise to part them? Do we even have the right?” he asked and Lucifer cracked his knuckled “you might be hasty about breaking up this kind of bond but I’ve seen first-hand the damage it can do” he turned swiftly and plunged a fist into the oval orb of light hovering in the middle of the room.

Tory gasped as she felt a hand on her shoulder and they broke the kiss, Tony watched as she was yanked out of the small space of pure white they had resided in so peacefully and happily for… who knows how long, he felt a sudden rage build within him and he flared his wings. The orb flash and Tony stood hunched, ready to pounce at whoever disturbed him, his wings spread wide ready to carry him into the aggressor and suddenly a hand struck his cheek “pull yourself together brother!” Lucifer growled and hauled him upright; Tony blinked and groaned as he held his head “what… Lucifer?” he found himself sat on the bed, Tory at his side feeling equally discombobulated. Tony held Tory’s arm as she rested her head on his shoulder, the two sat downstairs curled up on the sofa, both with cups of ice tea in their hands as the nursed each other “how’re you feeling?” Selaphiel asked as he sat back in his armchair, Tony winced as Tory’s words pierced his head, this was worse than a hangover he was sure “like I drank seven barrels of vodka in an hour straight” she replied.

Lucifer laughed intentionally loudly as he sat in the other armchair “good, you two deserve what you got” he said, “you know how dangerous it is melding with anyone other than another angel Toniel” Selaphiel said and Tony nodded “I know, I know… I didn’t intend for it to happen I just…” he glanced down at Tory “got caught up in the moment” he said and they blushed. “Well…” Lucifer said sternly “we can’t blame you for that now can we?” he grinned and Selaphiel shared his smug attitude “so you finally did it” he said, Tony raised a brow as his head swam “did what?” he asked, “oh, right” he said instantly realising what they meant. “No.. I mean yes… yes” he rubbed his face “what did we do?” Tory asked and Tony hushed her “the kiss… the thing…” he gestured with his hand and she ah’d.

“So… we’re a thing?” Tory asked, Tony frowned in confusion “a thing?” he asked, “you know… a couple?” she asked and Tony nodded “I believe we are” he smiled “if you like” he said, Tory carefully slunk her tail around their arms as they held hands and Tony placed a wing around her, suffice to say Selaphiel and the other archangel’s rejoiced in knowing their ship was now cannon. Uriel skipped “I knew it, I knew it and I knew it” he laughed, Selaphiel shook his head smiling “so you keep saying brother” he said, Lucifer chugged his wine “but come on! Sela, this is huge news! Once the two realms learn of this it’ll ease tension between them drastically! And it’s the biggest” he bobbed his head “most adorable, cliché, since that young priest married the prostitute back in 1998, I told you about that one, right?” he said.

“You did” Selaphiel said and read his newspaper “… you don’t seem overly thrilled Sela, what’s on your mind mate?” Uriel lifted his cap off his head and scratched his scalp, Selaphiel sighed and set down his paper “I’m just worried for them… there's still allot of people, angels and demons, who hate one and other, Toniel and Tornilia are going to be subject to allot of stigma and hate, I just don’t want to see them hurt” he said. The room fell silent “I don’t think it’d be a very good idea to make news of their relationship public” Selaphiel said and Uriel sighed “your right…” Lucifer nodded “agreed, we’ll keep this to ourselves… the two deserve to live out a peaceful life” he said. The war is over, it has been for a long time, finally, people on both sides can begin to heal, old friends can reunite without having to fear attack, but Tony and Tory must still keep their relationship somewhat of a secret, for there are those out there who would use their joining to spark another war, those like Raphael, and his allies, lurking in the shadows, and hiding in the blinding light.