Revelations [malexmale]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Despite our differences, despite the arguments, if there was anyone I could count on to be there for me when I needed it most, it was Hades.

I sat on the edge of his bed while he dressed to join me for the trip to Heaven. I felt a strange sense of panic, of fear, at the thought of going back after so long. However, knowing Michael was in danger seemed to dampen some of it. I bounced my leg, clasped my hands together in front of me, closing my eyes and wondering if the realm had changed at all since I'd last been there.

Hades had been there on medical business in the past, but always accompanied by an angel, considering non-believers couldn't wander the realm freely. Heaven had a very strict guest list and those who were allowed to enter had to be chaperoned. Although, I supposed Xiphrus was a special case, considering he and Michael were in a relationship.

Which led me to wonder where the hell Xiphrus had been when Michael had been injured? At first, I'd felt extremely wary about Michael dating Xiphrus. Xiphrus was, after all, the Demon of Destruction and also the first, in our realm anyway, to be cursed with the Beast. A curse that released a ravenous emotional nutcase that was attached to their souls. No amount of spells could remove the beast. It was as much in existence as the host.

But I'd grown accustomed to their relationship, knowing that if anyone could protect Michael, Xiphrus would be said being. Now I was beginning to question it all over again.

"Stop it," Hades's voice said, making me blink and look up to see that he was standing over me, towering like a menacing shadow, dressed in black leather from head to toe with his hair braided over his shoulder, a style he'd adapted thanks to Akin, and it made him look so serene, despite the scowl on his face.

"Don't sit there and talk shit to yourself," he said, making me sit up straight, "I'm not stupid, you know."

"Never," I agreed softly. Hades cocked his head, then came and sat beside me. He bumped his shoulder against mine on purpose, an attempt to cheer me up, and I smiled at that.

"He's fine. Otherwise, Xiphrus would've been rampaging all over the place and half of Heaven would be dead, alright? He's probably just mother-henning again. You angels are like a bunch of chickens, I swear to fuck. You worry about the dumbest shit," he scoffed, making me laugh softly before he tilted his head to look up into my face, trying to grab my attention back before my mind could wander, "Look at me, asshole." I looked at him, met those glowing blue eyes.

"He's fine. And don't let going back to Heaven freak you out, alright? It's same old, same old, except they have better toilets now. Promise," he tacked on, sitting up straight before pushing his hands off his knees as he rose to his feet. I smiled at that and rose with him.

He took the initiative and grabbed my hand, teleporting both of us from his bedroom in his realm to the hospital in Heaven.

And immediately I was stunned into silence.

Good gods above. The place was at once different and all the same.

The air was still the same. Crisp and clean. Everything sparkled and shined with good hygiene and environmentally friendly, well, everything. It had all received an upgrade, though, like something out of a utopia sci-fi movie with tall gleaming buildings of steel and glass, mostly in shades of white. There were more people on the streets as well, more foot traffic, and more liveliness to the place as people chatted and laughed, speaking a multitude of different languages, though the most common were Hebrew and Arabic, both of which I understood fluently.

It was just so much to take in that for a moment, I felt as if something inside me had broken and I couldn't move. I was a frozen computer, the cursor unable to move, and no matter how many times I hit the keys, nothing came up, except an occasional break in the image. It was just so much to absorb all over again, and I immediately had this temptation to walk around and see what had changed, what was the same. Was my old dormitory still around, or had they removed them to put up the apartment buildings that I could see in the distance? Was it converted? What about the place Michael and I had spent hours playing in, the meadow outside our Father's private quarters?