Lovers & Devils [BxB]

Coffee or tea?

    Jesus. The inside of the skyscraper was something entirely different. A huge cylindrical aquarium was on concrete walls sandwiching white lights and curved walls betwixt the quarters. Each curved wall had carvings as if pilfered from a weathered Greek Pantheon, latin quotes etched in vaults. The glowing blue waters housed haired luminescent jellyfish, bubbling elodea along one side and cooled black magma on the other—representing the four elements. The sandy tiles at its feet had round oak tables for shells and a quartz coffee counter as a ship, illumined with saffron lights. Stories and stories of balconied floors encased the lobby as though crates. Behind the tank was a dark grey wall of six high-rise semi-circle elevators coasting up the rhodium bars in a see-saw motion. It was the perfect blend, and that coffee-lover knew all about that.
A mirror, unsullied by foggy fingerprints, greeted us when the elevator bell pinged and we spanned the metal threshold. I positioned my hands behind me on the gelid handrail, tilting my head to contemplate him poking buttons. I hadn't seen him in a good minute since he was rather occupied with training. Couldn't even make time for your big brother? It in an instant hit me and the sentimentality soured. This was our last time together.

"So, Mick, how are you?"

      "Authorised personnel only. Please place your book on the scanner."

      Mikkel was a bit confounded but lifted his book hesitantly towards the scanner that came out like a cuckoo in a clock before I stopped him. "I can take care of that."

      I hovered my splayed hand over the scanner. It clearly wasn't a book, however, the scanner was programmed to recognise other forms of identification. A red laser travelled down my palm before the scanner retreated with mechanical noises back to its home behind the distorting walls. The number buttons he pressed proceeded blinking.

     "Good morning to both of you. Luka, I assume you are here to see Ezekiel, correct?" a female voice from the intercom said.

     "Yes, I am. Is he in his office?"

      "Indeed he is. I'll notify him that you're on your way."

      "Gratias tibi ago, Helena," I responded, remarking the black intercom box as if it could see me. I then spun back to Mikkel, taking in the ironed black suit with a paisley navy tie that was once a cow-onesie. "Look at you in a suit. You look great, Mick, whereas I'm in a toga..."

I aerated my robe by tugging gently with pinched fingers, smiling a diffident smile. I backed away from the wall, eyes lighting up with an idea and I spread my arms. "Here. Soak me in water."

I felt my stomach flip as the elevator began ascending. The ceiling lights assailed his thick-framed glasses, concealing the way his matching eyes widened. "W-what!"

"Just do it!"

Mikkel gulped like the powers squatted in his throat, and lifted his right hand whilst the other clutched the sapphire blue book. It had bite-marks at the top from his corgi, Arlo. Tiny beads of water from the air all charged to his fingers, connecting together in a foamy whirlpool that grew bigger and bigger. It plashed before he pushed it grudgingly to me, and I closed my eyes, bracing for impact. I felt it seep through the fabric, sticking it to my skin and trailing down my legs and arms. It was lukewarm. I smiled. Did he do that on purpose?
In the twinkling of an eye, the water wetting my skin morphed to a fitted white shirt, a hunter green paisley waistcoat that coupled with my eyes, and black pants. I tied the waistcoat, trimming it to my waist, feeling how the shirt strained around my biceps.

"Not too shabby, huh?" I grinned stupidly. "Now that I'm all dressed for business, I...need to tell you something."

Keep that stupid smile, Luka.

"W-what is it?"

"I'm going on a trip down to Earth...It's not anything...alarming, just routine." I tried looking happy, delighted, even when the lie chipped like a chisel. Lies were never on an angel's tongue, but I'd rather taste falsity than his heartbreak.

"You're going on a t-trip?" Mikkel chewed on his bottom lip. "Earth is getting more dangerous...and p-people are losing their faith. How can it not be alarming, frater...?"