The Tale of Two Singers

IX: borderline - tame impala

Just like the last time Aida had stayed over at the shadowsinger's house, it was well into the afternoon before they left. He flew her this time, her washed clothes bundled in her hands as they soared through the skies. The flight was quick, and Aida had to remind herself to ask him to take her out longer next time they got together. Azriel had unlocked the door from the inside when he left earlier that morning but made sure to put a ward around it should Malakai try to return. It broke the second they landed on her front steps, the small extension of power flooding back into Azriel.

"Are you doing anything on Wednesday?" Aida asked, her fingers playing with the ends of her four braids. Azriel shook his head.

"No, but I feel like that's going to change."

"I have a show at eight at a restaurant downtown, the Eulogy or something like that. Can you and Mor make it?" He nodded again. "And bring the other bat with you, he's beginning to grow on me."

Gods help us all if Cassian and Aida ever become friends, Azriel thought. Aida and Mor were already bad enough, he didn't need his brother thrown into the mix.

"Epiphany?" The Eulogy?

"Yes, that place!" Aida explained, clapping her hands once the name came to her. Good, Wednesday then. As much as she hated to say it, she didn't want to have to wait another three days to see the male again. She was really beginning to grow used to his steady company in her life. After last night all thoughts of taking it slow had flown out the window. She would still be cautious, he already knew about Malakai. But there were other things that she didn't have to tell him if she didn't want to. He had to earn the right to know more of her. Prove to her that he wouldn't just use that information against her later on down the road. If there was one thing she knew, it was that the withholding of information was going to be the hardest part of all this.

Despite herself, Aida always fell very fast and VERY hard. Most of the time it worked in her favor, she had always been a great judge of character. But the one time she messed up, it nearly cost her everything. It wasn't like her relationship with Malakai had always been terrible, it was truly beautiful in the beginning. She thought this was the man she would start a family with. Now, the thought of letting a child anywhere near him was almost comical.

"Do you want to come in?" Aida asked as she turned the handle on her front door. Her brows furrowed when she realized that it wasn't locked from the inside like Azriel had left it last night. It wasn't locked, period.

Fuck, fuck, fu -

"It's okay. You can open it," Azriel coaxed, a small smile coming to his lips as he put his palm flat against the door and pushed it the rest of the way open.

"What the fuck?" She wondered aloud, taking slow steps into the house as she looked around. "Did you-?" She trailed off, her arm reaching behind her to wave in Azriel's general direction. His deep laugh sounded from behind her as he tucked his wings and followed her into the house. The house was spotless, the debris and mess all cleaned away, the smell was gone too.

"The couch should be here tomorrow afternoon, and so should the table and chairs. Your kitchen will take longer to fix, and I left some money on the counter for food. If I've overstepped I can just cancel the orders, it's no problem." Azriel rambled nervously, again mistaking her silence for anything other than admiration.

"Just shut the fuck up for two seconds, yeah?" There wasn't much to look around, her first-floor plan was pretty open. There was no glass on the floor, the table and chairs had been thrown away, same with the couch. She was thankful that none of those things really had any significance to her, they weren't family heirlooms, she just thought they were pretty in the storefronts she had spied them in. Her kitchen on the other hand. He had cleaned up the floor and the food, but her pans and her stove were beyond repair.