This Love Only Brings You Pain (COMPLETED) ✓

Chapter Twenty Eight

Michael wasn't sure how long he'd been in Hell. Time passed differently there, sometimes more slowly, stretching out every millisecond, sometimes so fast that years could've gone by in the human realm. When he'd first arrived, his safety had been ensured by the divinium pumping through his veins, causing the demonic entities to hiss and cower away from him. But as the days went by, he grew more and more lonely, longing for his mother and a friend.

It was on the second blood moon during his time in Hell, a weekly occurrence he assumed, that he was climbing hazardously down one of the magma cliffs. The first time he'd set foot in this awful land, he'd burnt his feet and left blisters there for days. Eventually, he'd found a dead demon corpse and skinned the creature using  a twig, transforming the skin into makeshift shoes. He'd now made some gloves too, which also made the climbing easier, as the callouses on the dead thing's hands made gripping the molten rock much easier.

Michael wasn't sure why he was scaling the cliff in the first place. Maybe it was because he didn't want to have to see demons ripping one another to shreds, or be dive bombed by a pterdactyal (apparently asteroids hadn't killed them all). But it was a gut feeling mostly. Something deep inside of his soul was urging him to explore, even if he did run into a giant scaly spider and her creepy venomous babies.

And so that's what he did. Explore. Safely and without any venomous baby spiders, without knowing that his friends in the human realm where either swimming in month old sewage or being held at gunpoint talking about the halo bearer's butt incident.

(☉｡☉)!

"Stupid butt," Ava cursed as the three of them were bundled into the boot of Jensen's car. Dylan gave her an uneasy look, probably telling her to drop the subject or shut up, but the brunette wasn't having it. "What? It's true. It's a stupid arse. I'm a stupid ass. There. I admitted it. I hope Lilith is proud of me."

"Lilith probably doesn't care," Beatrice snapped, clearly in a sour mood at Jensen's arrival and the downfall of plan Bernadette. "So I suggest you save your breath and stop complaining about your body. It's lovely, okay?"

"You think my body's lovely?" Ava retorted, wearing her usual shit eating grin, causing Beatrice's eyes to widen at her confession.

"What? No, I-I..." Her face was becoming redder by the second, remembering the near kiss at Otto's apartment, the emotional breakdowns in London and how Ava had to basically lie on top of her just so Bea could regulate her breathing, even though it only strained her heart even more. Because what she wanted was right in front of her, but she wasn't brave enough to take it. 

"Okay, as much as I ship you two, we don't have time for your romcom," Dylan whisper shouted, breaking them out of their reverie. He glanced behind his shoulder, meeting Jensen's eyes in the wing mirror before he ducked his head, gesturing to the cuffs binding his wrists and ankles. "How are we supposed to escape when we're tied up and he's armed? My doctorate will be useful if I'm tied up and you two are bleeding out from a gunshot."

"Unless...." Ava drew out her sentence dramatically, causing them to furrow their brows in confusion. "Unless I phase into the front of the car, knocked him out with something, we steal the keys to the cuffs and bust out of here. Then we rescue Camilil and beat some Adrient ass!"

Dylan looked perplexed. "Camilil? Adrient? Who are they?"

"Ship names, silly," Ava said as if he were asking the dumbest question on the planet. "Adrient: Adriel and Vincent. You know, because Vincent is Adriel's little bitch."

"Language!" Beatrice hissed. "You've crossed the line with your swearing. Both of you, now isn't the time for ship names, whatever those are. What I do think is that your plan is reckless, Ava. You'll get yourself killed."

"I've got the halo," the brunette protested.

"No," the nun scolded. "I won't allow it. You're not ready to handle someone with Jensen's capabilities, heavenly powers or not. He's dangerous."

"That's not fair," Ava whisper yelled. "I let you go on life threatening missions all the time, but do you see me complaining? No, because I trust you. I'm worried sick, but I believe in  you and that our friends can protect you. Cut me some slack, Beatrice. I'm not a baby, despite how immature I can be. I've been trying, okay? But I'm not perfect and you don't have to be either. Not all plans have to be flawless. This is a perfect example of that."

"But..."

"You don't have to be flawless," she whispered, delivering a line that took Beatrice's breath away. Dylan almost felt like he was intruding as the raven haired woman's eyes brimmed with tears and the halo bearer reached forward to embrace her softly.

"Thank you," Beatrice whispered once they pulled away from the hug. There was more to be said, so much more, but lives were at stake. Dylan was right. They had no time for a romcom. "Plan C it is folks."

(ノ｀⌒´)ノ┫：・┻┻

Michael rounded another corner in the maze of cobwebs and chalk like rock that looked as it could crumble with a few kicks. He was hot and bothered, his grimy shirt and sweatpants sticking to his skin like moths to sunlight. But there was nothing he could do about such a minor inconvenience. Something, or someone, was calling to his soul.

He scaled around a pack of sleeping hellhounds, jumping across a series of  hovering pebbles before reaching an expanse of bloody desert. Not even the fiercest monsters ventured near here. Michael had no idea why, but he did. It would prove to be an unfortunate choice.

For this would be how he could die, at the expense of a fanged shapeshifter high on revenge.

*Sorry it's been so long. Not much Avatrice, but I can't really fit a kiss mid way through Plan Bernadette. But of you're lucky, there might something in like chapter thirty if I can force my lazy butt to write. Thanks for reading.*