Gehenna's Gate

High Water

"You dodged my question earlier, by the way. You aren't slick."

The two had eventually been rewarded for their hard work with a delicious pot full of chicken noodle soup and had now both taken seats at the kitchen table to enjoy it together.

"Hm?" Kazuha gave a muffled response, brows furrowed in confusion as he continued to chew the spoon full of soup he'd previously shoved into his mouth.

"You told me a bit about everyone aside from Xiao." A spoon was now being pointed his way, yet the gesture wasn't very threatening.

"Ah." Another muffled response, trying to finish chewing before giving some kind of answer.

"I mean, you might know him better than I do at this point. We've all changed as time progresses."

Vena paused her motion to scoop up another spoonful of her soup, sapphire eyes raising to meet Kaz's again once she realized he wasn't going to continue.

"Not good enough, Kaz."

"What?" The white haired boy shrugged his shoulders again.

"Look- we've all been alive for a really long time. We've all changed, our experiences down here made us different than who we were in heaven. Aside from people like Scara who continued that same destructive path, I don't want to tell you things from the past that might influence how you feel today. If you want to be romantically involved with a fallen angel, that's something you'll have to grow to accept. It's a double-edged sword."

Vena bit at her own lip, chewing anxiously at the thought, and the realization that he may be right.

"If you want to be with Xiao, you'll have to judge him for who he is today- not who he was- or you need to move on entirely." That statement landed like a ton of bricks, but neither could deny the truth in it.

There it was, laid bare.

"You're right." Vena admitted softly, yet it was bittersweet.

A hard truth she needed to hear.

"But as for when I was last around... He truly was my best friend. I'd trust him with my life. Xiao is confident, incredibly protective and he doesn't back down from anything. He tends to try and hide his emotions, just like you do, but he'll give subtle little hints. Everything he does is for a reason, most people just aren't looking at the tiny details."

Now that was better. It sounded a lot like the Xiao she knew today, and that confirmation was comforting, even if it wasn't a dirty little secret.

Did that mean all those songs he'd shown her did mean something after all?

"He might be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he was like a brother to me. I'm hoping maybe we can get back to that place again one day." Seemed like Kazuha really did idolize the guy, even if he always said that none of them really were good people.

But what did that even mean, anyway? What is 'good' when it comes to a fallen angels standards? They can't exactly be judged on the same playing field as humans.

"I believe you will." Vena smiled genuinely over at her friend, thankful for the time they'd gotten to share today.

It was a pleasant surprise for once. The surprises lately had definitely not been up to par.

"Oh yeah- what all does Rae know? I've been avoiding her calls because I wasn't sure what the story is supposed to be..." The girl stirred her soup awkwardly with her spoon for a moment, feeling a soft tinge of guilt ping in her chest.