A tale of Frost and Storm (male/male)

Chapter 12

As Jace awoke, he felt strangely warm. He turned around and pulled the blanket over his naked body, when suddenly something soft tickled his nose. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself faced with a single pure white feather. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it. Wasn't there something he should remember...?

Suddenly he jerked up and looked around frantically. He faintly recognized his surroundings as his former hotel room, but also... he was alone. And it wasn't the kind of loneliness where your company has left to get breakfast. No, this was the kind of true, final loneliness. A soft trembling built up in Jace's chest, growing and growing until his whole body was shaking violently. He turned around and threw imself back onto the bed. Pressing his face into the pillow he muffled his scream, until it finally died down again. After that, he lay motionless.

The sun rose high to the sky... and went down again. This happened once... twice... before Jace finally forced himself up. His legs almost gave in, as he made his way to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. He didn't even bother to turn it hot, he just stood under the cold spray of water and let it wash over his skin. His mind felt far too numb to feel anything anyway...

After that, he walked back into the bedroom and dropped down on the bed again. Later that evening, he looked out of the door for a brief moment and found a tray with various food on it. After a scarce meal, he went back to bed once again and let his mind drown in delightful numbness. He didn't want to think about the reasons or anything else... he only knew that Ashgen was gone. Without even as much as a Goodbye, the angel had left him behind. Just like Sía, he had vanished from Jace's life.

- 4 months later -

Jace glanced back to the hotel one last time, before he finally shouldered his belongings and walked off. He didn't want to admit it, but up until now he had remained at that place in hope Ashen would one day return. As days passed, his hope had died once again though... and now after 4 months, he had finally given up. Just like the Vatican being gone, there was nothing which held him here now.

After a walk of almost half an hour, Jace reached an old rundown house. It was nearly completely covered with vines and the baby blue shutters made a strange contrast. Yet, it felt more like home than anything else right now. Up until now he had been saving almost everything he had gained from hunting demons and just a few days ago, he had bought this place. Originally, he had planned to create a place for Sía to stay after freeing her from the Vatican, but that was not an option anymore. Sía was gone...

Slowly, Jace unlocked the door and stepped in. From inside, it was old and shabby, a hint of dust in the air. But to concentrate his energy on something, it was perfect. The next few months, Jace would be able to busy himself with renovating this place. And while his body was occupied, he didn't have to worry about his mind wandering off. This was home now.

- another 2 months later -

The sun was shining brightly, reflecting in all the tourist sunglasses at Piazza Navona. Up until now, Jace had carefully stayed away from this place, since it stirred up way too much emotions. But today, he had finished renovating his house and somehow, his feet had carried him here.

The baby blue shutters were freshly colored, the floor was fixed and the walls had a soft cream color now. He even had a kitchen, even though he seldomly bothered to cook. Most times, he simply got something from the pizzaria across the street.

Glancing up at the sign of an ice cream parlor, Jace suddenly made up his mind. He took a deep breath, a hint of pain showing on his face, before he finally walked in. After he sat down at a table, one of the waiters walked over to him to get his order.

"One chocolat parfait please." Jace ordered, his voice in a firm grip. This one would be for Sía... for Sía who had never been able to enjoy ice cream together with him. After a while, the waiter brought the ordered parfait. Just as Jace had promised the girl, it really was huge.

"I bet you wouldn't have managed to finish this.." he chuckled softly, his voice breaking. "But you would have tried nonetheless."

He dipped the spoon into the parfait and took a small bite. The sweet taste almost turned his stomach and he grimaced. Sweets seriously were made for girls... "You would have loved the taste..." he murmured and licked the spoon. "I bet you would..." His expression softened and he dropped the spoon. "If you were here, I would have been able to order a black coffee instead... I wouldn't have to eat all this sweet stuff to remember you."

"Then why don't you?" a well-known voice suddenly asked.

Jace almost wiped the parfait off the table in an attempt to jerk around. As he looked into a pair of amazing chocolate brown eyes, his whole body froze. "No..." he whispered. "That can't be..."

"Is this parfait for me?" Sía asked and flashed him a bright smile. There she stood... wearing a light white summer dress and a baby blue ribbon in her hair. And even more... there wasn't a single scar on all that delicate skin!

Not even waiting for an answer, the girl dropped down on the chair next to him and snatched the spoon. Jace watched her every movement, as she dug the spoon into the parfait and tried a hue bite. "Ahhhh, so good!" she beamed in delight.

"What... how...?" Jace couldn't find the right words at all. But before he could even try to get his thoughts into the right order, he was interrupted once again.

"Your coffee." another voice beside him said.

Thankfully, Sía managed to get a hold of the parfait, because Jace jumping on his feet made the table shake quite a bit. "Really..." she scolded, watching as Jace threw his arms around Ashen.

"You goddamn idiot!" Jace complained furiously, yet he clung to the angel for dear life. "You assh*le! D*ckhead!" he went on. "Can't you even imagine how life's been without you?! Half a year! You left me hanging half a year!!!"

"I am sorry..." Ashen whispered and caressed his head softly. "I am so sorry..."

"You better be..." Jace squeezed out with a hoarse voice.

"He went negotiating with god to get me a second chance, you know?" Sía threw in and smiled at Jace mischievously. "Took him quite some time to find me but eventually he did."

"You..." Jace's eyes widened and he looked at Ashen in disbelief. Then, his expression softened. "Thank you..." he finally whispered. "Sorry for insulting you... and thank you."

"It is alright..." the angel replied with a deep smile. "Honestly, I was not sure, how you would react to my return after I left in such a manner. But time was precious, if I wanted to have a chance to find Sía."

"It's okay... I shouldn't have doubted you... I should have known..." Jace said softly and leaned in to kiss Ashen. He didn't even care for all the attention, they were getting by now. Neither did Sía, who happily devoured her chocolat parfait.

"Say... is there a more private place for us?" the angel suddenly asked and looked at Jace with a slight frown. "When we went to the hotel we found out you already left. We didn't know where you might have gone..."

"There is." Jace smiled. "In fact, there is a perfect place waiting for us. Or... do you have to leave again?"

"No." Ashen shook his head softly. "I do not have to go anywhere. For as long as you live, I will stay by your side. And then, I will meet you in the heavenly gardens."

"Gee being all theatralic here..." Sía huffed as she finished the last bit of her parfait. "Jace, now you made me curious... I wanna see that perfect place of yours!"

Jace turned around to Sía and pulled her up from the chair, right into his arms. "You'll love it..." he told her as he hugged her tightly. "It's the perfect image of your dreams. Just like you always told me. Come, I'll show you..."

One hand entwined with Sía's, the other one with Ashen's, Jace walked out of the store and only the lonely cup of black coffee remained behind. But if fate willed it, there would be so much more opportunities to visit the ice cream parlor together now. As for now, they were off to their new home... and a new future.

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