FOUND: A Hannigram Devil AU

34

     Will sat cross-legged with his back to the fireplace, the only source of light in the dark bedroom. He had his wings spread as far as he could stretch them. It didn't take much effort, but they were heavier after being washed in the shower. Hannibal had easily towel-dried his, but he was worried about harming Will's wings. "They're still pretty weak," he'd said. "It would kill me to hurt them somehow."
     Now, they had a blanket draped across their laps and they sat, their knees touching. His face was bandaged and stung from antiseptic. Will felt the warmth on his back, heard the crackling of the fire. His wet hair smelled of pine needles.
     "What did you see? You said you saw Heaven?" Hannibal asked, his face shrouded in shadow. Will described the scene that had taken over his sight, and he watched a small smile creep up onto Hannibal's face.
     "I remember that night," he said. "The night you kissed me."
     Will blushed. "I kissed you?"
     "Yes." The smile grew even more. "I had no clue you were going to. It was certainly a surprise."
     "Huh. Not like you to be surprised."
     "That night was full of surprises." He glanced over at Will. "Do you remember the rules that were in place? Up there?"
     Will thought, then shook his head. He could only remember fleeting moments.
     "Heaven was just as much of an enigma to us back then as it is to humans now. Early on, we had angels that nearly perished from just touching each other," Hannibal said. "They'd brush their fingers together, and it would create this..electric shock, I guess I could call it. They were sometimes so big that the angels would fall unconscious. It was a horrifying time. We didn't know what would be a disaster and what wouldn't." He frowned, clearly haunted by the memory of nearly losing some of his angels.
     "Was I there for that?"
     "You were one of them."
     Will blinked in surprise. "That got hurt?"
     "Yes. With Angel Chaos." Hannibal's lips curled up at the name. "You were hurt horribly. I think it left a dent in you— you were different after that day."
     "Wow." Will racked his brain intensely for something, anything about that day, but nothing came up. He should probably be glad about that, he thought. "Did it finally stop?"
"We had to forbid angels from touching each other. We were too afraid of what would happen." He shook his head. "It was such a barbaric idea at first; how could we go about things without even touching each other? Not even in the slightest? But you all adapted quickly. Angels became more isolated.
     "You and I were..close. I gave little lessons to all of my angels, showing them how to work their elements. But you were different. Rain— I just told them to make water. Thunder— she just made a lot of noise. She loved to make noise."
     "Rain. Rain..was my friend."
     He smiled, a grin of pride and nostalgia. "Yes. You two were inseparable. You used their power and they used yours.
     "Tranquility is intangible. It was something that was difficult to master. We worked together a lot, and I took a liking to you."
     "Surely there were other angels that created intangible things." Will still found it hard to believe that someone would choose him over anyone else. He'd never been chosen before; he was always just left behind once someone better came along.
     "Yes, but none of them were like you. Hatred and Death and Intolerance..they wanted nothing to do with me. They wanted to be left alone. You were, well..tranquil. Fresh air."
     "Hm." Will tilted his head back and let the image spring into his mind. He listened to Hannibal speak, placing himself into the story he told. He could almost picture the feeling of the clouds, the sound of Lucifer's voice, his presence as he looked over Will's shoulder..
It was nighttime, and he was floating on thick fog that nearly covered his feet. He looked down at his hands; they were pale again. He was an angel once more, and it couldn't feel more right.
He looked over his shoulder at Lucifer, who was staring intently at something in front of them.
Tranquility followed his gaze to a hole in the sky, a mirror to the world below them. He could see a peaceful forest at dusk. Soft rain pattered down onto the canopy, making everything seem even greener. A doe curled up asleep with her fawns. An owl guarded his home in the trees. It was a true display of serenity, and he found himself yearning to be there.
"Good," he heard Lucifer say, his smooth voice startling him. Lucifer never spoke; no one in Heaven ever did. Words were unnecessary. The Creators could communicate without them, and angels mainly relied on touch— but even that was gone now. Their world was silent, and hearing Lucifer speak made him feel important.
Tranquility smiled to himself, raising his hand to add something else, something small. But he hadn't realized how close the two of them had gotten to each other.
Their fingers brushed.
There was a jolt of electricity, causing a loud popping noise to echo across the sky like fireworks. Small forks of lightning erupted from their hands, and the sky lit up into a dusty pale blue. They both jerked away, mouths open in shock, and the world returned to normal as if nothing had happened. They both stood, dumbfounded.
"M-My Lord," Tranquility said, falling down onto his knees. If there was a time to use his voice, it would be now. "Please forgive me, my Lord. I promise I didn't mean—"
He was cut off by another jolt, this time on his shoulder. Again, the sky shifted, but instead of a frightening pop his skin simply buzzed. Warmth spread through him, and—
Gone again. There again. Gone.
Lucifer was staring at his hand with wonder, turning it around. He gazed at Tranquility, but he wasn't angry; in fact, a hint of playfulness ignited in his eyes. He brought his hand down again and kept it there for a long time, the warmth spreading through both of them. Soft yellow light crept up their skin. Tranquility felt the same way as when he completed a transfer, like part of his peace was rubbing off onto something else. He watched Lucifer's eyes flutter closed in pleasure. Slowly, he rose off the ground, making sure to keep Lucifer's hand where it was.
Tranquility lightly touched Lucifer's neck. Lucifer's face was illuminated by the glow. His face..Tranquility sighed. It was youthful and soft and beautiful in every way. Lucifer was stunning, and here he was melting into Tranquility's touch. He slid his hand up to cradle Lucifer's cheek.
"Oh, Tranquility." Lucifer's voice sent a chill down him. "I didn't know you could do this."
     Tranquility stood on his toes and lightly kissed Lucifer's lips. Their bodies began to shine— they were light and air and color all waiting to combine into one beautiful, iridescent picture. A soft hum sounded from their souls, a musical note that the universe sang to show its pleasure.
Then it was the moment in the shower that he remembered. Pulling away, lips tingling, Lucifer watching him with a new emotion in his eyes.
"Will?"
And then he was skin and bones, weak wings drying by the fireplace. "Yeah."
"You seem distracted."
"I remember it now," he said softly. "I felt it."
Hannibal's face softened as he took Will's hand. "Good," he replied, "because it was a feeling beyond words. It had to be experienced."
He was right: the exchange had been ethereal, something that he never could have even dreamed of mere days before.
"We can't stay here," Hannibal said. "Not for long, anyway."
"I know. I just.." Will sighed. The options were so open for him, but his instinct wanted something familiar. Comfortable. He couldn't dive in too fast, or he would break down. He already hated the transfers back and forth in his memory. "This world is all I know," he confessed. "It's the only solid thing that I have, besides you. We can go anywhere we want to go— as long as we're safe, I don't care. But..can we stay here? If that makes sense?"
"Of course it does." He squeezed Will's hand. "I like it here. I like it much better when I'm with you. We can stay for the rest of this life, if you wish."
Will smiled. "Thank you."
"I have a plan, Angel. No one will bother us ever again." Hannibal leaned his head on Will's shoulder. His wet hair was cool against Will's neck. "Do you trust me enough to follow along?"
"Yes." Will leaned on his head in return. "You're the only one I trust."