Surely he had no real sense of time with his being practically immortal- well, unaging at least, however the one week he had been with the priest had seemed like forever. He didn't want to say he hated every minute of it because he didn't. The little activities he did were nice. He got to help people. Unfortunately, through it all he felt like the spokesperson for the church, or those faces always associated with some product. He was so obliged to learn this and then learn that, it was starting to become more exhausting than farming. . .Every now and then as much as he tried not to, his mind wandered to the barn. Where the animals okay? Were the plants still growing? He’d be devastated to know if anything bad happened to it, mainly because he worked so hard. 

But his attention is always averted. There was always someone to aid to, there was always something important needed to be read. Kuro mentioned how the book had a few flaws- however he was in no place to question it. He kept his mouth shut and just followed along. Everything became a routine. Wake up, read a scripture or five- as they were called, eat breakfast, the priest would show up, some form of community service would be done, then there was usually another reading and a prayer, cleaning up, dinner, and then he was left in the church to sleep. Everyday was the same, minus the different community service projects they did. There were times when he did really enjoy himself, of course. Helping injured people or making someone smile always made him feel accomplished. But in the end, Aoba still felt hollow. He still didn’t feel like he belonged. 

The sadness from the first day had kept him up all night. Now it was just a numbness he couldn’t avoid. There were times he found his thoughts trailing to those “unholy monsters” and he found himself shaking his head trying to dispel the thoughts. “That’s not pure. They’re not pure. . .I’m supposed to be good.” He’d chant something along those lines in hopes to convince himself not to do wrong.

But it never really worked… 

This day was no different. Gerard had been talking about something regarding a park full of people, however Aoba had been in his own little world paying little attention. The various nods and hums kept the priest talking. “-Of course there will be plenty of food, however I was thinking about changing things up. We could even go out to eat. You do need a bit more sunlight.” 

“...Hm? O-Oh, yeah okay.” Before Gerard could frown at Aoba’s inattention, the sudden yell made both of them freeze. One in frustration and a bit of horror, the other in shock and unadmitted happiness. It was hard to keep that typical monotonous expression, but there was a new- small light in his eyes. He knew that voice. He knew that voice! Wait...He wasn’t supposed to be happy. “Pure...pure..-”

“Aoba!” 

Now Gerard was calling him. The danger suddenly crashed right in front of him. It- It was Kuro! But there were other demons too! He realized what he was supposed to do but looking around the park, there was no place to hide. The howls had been all too familiar, but the screams of pain made him freeze. “K-!” No, he wasn’t supposed to say his name. He wasn’t supposed to talk to him, especially not with Gerard right there. He managed to get a few feet back in order to watch the priest get knocked back and watch as the third demon raced towards him. Of course he didn’t just sit there, he ran off again. Haven’t flown for a week and keeping his wings tucked made his first instinct to run, but he didn’t have to. Kuro had once again saved his life. And there he was, only a few feet away from him. The fallen angel’s hand started to reach out, but quickly snapped back to himself. 

“F-Father!” As Kuro walked away, Aoba raced past to make sure the priest was okay. 

“I’m getting older, but I’m not that old. I can still take a hit.” He was grumbling more to himself than out loud, leaving Aoba to watch Kuro. It had been so long. . . He noticeably flinched as he watched Kuro sever the demons, only to be shocked at what he turned them into. [i]’That was my bracelet. . .’[/i] He rubbed his wrist, but didn’t take his eyes off of the demon in front of him. He felt Gerard’s intense stares, probably expecting him to do the ‘right’ thing. 

~~~~~~~~~

Fenrir had seen it all. The sudden attack made him sputter out the drink he had. The medical angel was in a slight panic, and noticed just how calm he got when Kuro swooped in to save the day. He had Kuro save Aoba enough times to. . .That thought stopped. Kuro was a demon. He did not- he wasn’t supposed to- trust him. These conflicted feelings made Fenrir run a hand through his hair. 

[i]’Don’t just stand there. . .do something. . .[b]say[/b] something!’[/i]

He couldn’t believe he was actually encouraging the angel to talk to Kuro. He tried to rationalize it; tried to make sense of it. [i]’Despite the priest’s good intentions. . . He’s still human. He’s still weak. The only way to keep Aoba safe would be locking him inside that church- but that’s immoral and a prison. . . Kuro is stronger and can keep him safe.’[/i] The conflicted feelings were giving him a bad taste in his mouth. 

~~~~~~~~~

Being closer, he could see the wounds a lot clearer. The last time he remembered his wounds being so. . .horrid had been when he was in heaven and tending to them. Sure he got hurt a lot when they lived together, but they were just cuts and bruises. This was much more severe- for any human at least. His usual worry for the demon never faded despite the distance. He hated to admit that the ‘progress’ Gerard was accomplishing wasn’t working all too well. In this instant, that’s what it seemed like however. Despite the moral and emotional battle, Aoba moved first. He hesitated at first but that didn’t stop him from closing the distance between them. 

“Kuro you’re injured really bad. . .” There was a soft whine to what he said. Aoba wanted to do something to help, but he couldn’t. It startled him more to see the damage done to his wing. He reached out to the demon, stopping half way and looking at Gerard. He could see the priest glaring at Kuro, but instead of cowering back the fallen angel sighed and gave a guilty look, quickly turning back to Kuro. [i]’I’m probably going to get into so much trouble or something. . .’[/i] “How’d you-” Well of course he could easily find the one fallen angel around here. “I-” Being away for so long, Aoba didn’t know what to say. He desperately wanted to say something and desperately wanted to hug the demon. That wasn’t progress though. That was the exact opposite. 

What could he do? Aoba couldn’t help him heal, despite desperately wanting too. He couldn’t say anything that wouldn’t make him feel guilty. He was the one that left Kuro after all. He made that decision. . .Kuro wouldn’t want him back. Aoba hurt him. There was no way the demon could ever trust him again. 

That thought echoed in his mind enough times to make his heart drop. It was somehow so much easier to convince himself that Kuro wouldn’t want him and that he probably must have hated him by now. The fallen angel bit back tears from making himself sad. From the messenger bag he carried, he grabbed a small towel that was supposed to be used for something (He wasn’t paying attention to Gerard) and walked closer, holding his breath the entire time. Impulsively, he reached up and wiped a bit of blood off Kuro’s cheek before quickly handing him the towel and stepping back. 

“Th-. . .Thank you Kuro.” Aoba bowed a little, not wanting the priest nor Kuro to see his face as he tried to keep the little composure he had left.