The Lost Angel [BxB]

lalo & rory

And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.

'East of Eden'
[John Steinbeck]

♡ ♡ ♡

25: LALO & RORY

It was over.

No loose ends, no missing pieces, no forgotten details.

Lalo and Rory had successfully covered up a murder, and soon, they would be leaving Spain, leaving the mansion, the cat, the statues, and the painful memories. Julien was at the bottom of the sea floor, never to be found, never to be remembered. Meanwhile, the two boys were off to start a new life.

They'd boxed up most of their things, and Lalo had already said a painful goodbye to Carmelita after handing her over to Ignacio. They gave their bikes to a couple of kids from the village, returned Yolanda's car, and had a teary parting with Josefina. There was nothing left to do, nothing left to say.

The garden looked beautiful. Vibrant colours burst from healthy soil, tall flowers lounged in the sun, and green leafy bushes overflowed with life. Lalo had polished down all of the statues, trimmed all of the plants, and given the Hernandez family's graves one last grooming. He'd come here to do a job, and he had done it well.

He was sad to leave behind the life he had created, but he was desperate to start a new story with Rory at his side. They were going to go everywhere, leaving behind a small fraction of their soul in each home they found. But the Spanish mansion, abandoned for the past twenty five years, would always hold a special place in their hearts. They fell in love here. And that would always mean something.

"So, what do you think?" Rory sighed as they glanced across the mossy pond, a mug of coffee in his hand. It was their last morning. Their flight to Chicago left that evening. "Do you think this place ever was haunted?"

Lalo smiled, leaning into Rory's side, "I do." He answered. "But not by ghosts."

Rory laughed, "Let me guess; we were the ones who haunted it all along?"

"Something like that." Lalo said. "We're so scared of what we're capable of that we make up stories about the impossible. We're far more afraid of ourselves than we ever were of ghosts."

Rory hummed in agreement, "And what about Uriel?"

"The lost angel." He chuckled, "We'll never know. And isn't that the essence of every great mystery?"

Rory finished his coffee and set the mug down on the floor, wrapping his arms around Lalo's slim waist, "I wonder what mysteries await us out there."

"The great unknown." Lalo grinned.

"You wanna go for a dip before leaving?" Rory nudged him towards the water's edge teasingly. "It'll be your last chance."

"I'm good." Lalo winced, examining the slimy green water.

"Oh, but it looks so appealing." Rory teased, slowly edging closer to the pond.

"You're right." Lalo giggled, twisting around and grabbing onto Rory's shoulders. Without a moment's hesitation, he shoved him into the pond and leapt back when he was splashed with water. "What's it like?" He laughed when Rory resurfaced, hair drenched and sticking to his forehead, leafy green plants clinging onto his clothes.

"Very funny." Rory responded dryly, paddling to the edge, "Give me a hand, will you?"

"Fuck off, no way." Lalo took another step back. "I'm not letting you drag me in there."

"Fine." Rory continued to swim the short distance to the limestone water banks, but then, suddenly, he stopped, his brows furrowing.

"What's wrong?" Lalo asked in concern.

Beneath the water's murky surface, Rory's hands navigated the shape of an object that had sunk to the bottom of the water, "There's...uh, there's something down here." he gulped, fingers tracing the smooth stone figure.

"Hilarious." Lalo crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed, "What, like a shark?"

"No..." Rory grabbed a hold of the mysterious shape and pulled it to the surface, "Like a statue."

Lalo gasped when Rory managed to pull the sculpture up, revealing an eery white face. Cold empty eyes, still hard lips, and cracked stone skin. He stared at it in disbelief, "I-Is that...?"

Rory smirked, "The lost angel."

They had spent so many lazy afternoons lounging on the bench, theorising about the missing piece of the puzzle; Uriel. All this time, he was resting beneath the water that sat right in front of them. "W-Why would he be down there?"

Rory shrugged, and dropped the statue back into the water, before crawling out of the pond, shaking like a wet dog. "I don't know."

"Well, we should get him out of there... Right?"

Rory shook his head, "Let's leave him for someone else to find."

"This doesn't solve anything." Lalo insisted. "The woman who lived here in the thirties...she swore she locked Uriel away in the cellar, and the missing boy...the boy was never found."

"You're right." Rory agreed, "We found the lost angel, but we've only deepened the mystery. We'll never know what really happened. Isn't that exciting?"

Lalo gazed into the emerald eyes he had fallen in love with. Rory was once the boy adamant on discovering the truth, abiding by logic, and refusing to entertain any notions of supernatural powers. But reason was no longer holding him back. He had discovered freedom. Freedom to leave, to travel, to believe in something entirely impossible. "It's very exciting." Lalo whispered back. "Now, c'mon, a million more mysteries await us."

While Rory showered, Lalo did one last lap of the grounds. He glanced through the dirty window of his wooden cabin, sighing sentimentally. That was his home, his sanctuary, his life. That was where he first told Rory that he loved him, and first heard those words said back. The scent of peach iced tea, and lavender lemonade would forever linger. His memories would live there for eternity, trapped in a bubble of time where he could truly be happy.

He still bore the scars on his skin, of pain, and torment, and suffering he wanted to forget. But he wore happy scars too. The sound of Carmelita's purr, the feeling of Rory's soft sweater against his skin, the smell of the lemon trees that protected his cabin. He smiled as he wandered back to the house.

He would never forget this place.

Rory met him in the foyer. Where there was once a dead body and a puddle of blood, now there were a collection of suitcases and bags. After loading their things into the cab, they linked hands, and for the last time, walked past the arches of the front door together.

They didn't look back.

The world was waiting for them.

"You ready to go?" Rory asked, giving his hand a tight squeeze.

"I'm ready." Lalo smiled.