Category: Darksiders I & II
Rating: M
Couples: Azrael/Abaddon, Zeruch(War)/OC
Warnings: AU, Disturbing Imagery
Chapter: 69
Copyright: Characters & places © By Appropriate Copyright-holder, Plot & OC´s © by me
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It was a day shortly after Azrael remained consistently awake that he was visited by someone surprising.
"Enter." The scholar internally winced at how weak his voice sounded. His eyes widened when seeing Abaddon himself enter. Unlike what was normal, the warrior was not in armour, instead wearing a set of robes himself. "Ab…?"
"I hope you don't mind?" The General asked surprisingly softly as he closed the door and made his way over to the bed. He noticed in horror that the scholar seemed to shrink from him, even if he didn't say anything.
"Why are you here?" Azrael seemed to shrink into the bed, almost trying to hide between the pillows that supported his frame.
"I wanted to apologize." The taller angel breathed the words more than he spoke them. Slowly sitting down on the nearby chair, he looked at the angel in the bed.
"Why?" The scholar ducked a bit. "You were right…"
"And I failed to actually do anything about it." The warrior muttered darkly. "All my talk about doing anything about it, instead I just… left it and let you fall to it. Not to mention what happened in Lostlight." He actually shuddered at the memory, both of Azrael when Zeruch brought him back and the scene that greeted him in Lostlight when he had to clean up after Lucien.
"If I had just helped you..." Azrael countered. "All this could have been prevented..." He leaned closer to his former lover.
"I suppose we both made mistakes." Abaddon's hand closed around the one of Azreal. "I should have kept you safe."
For a while, neither of them spoke, though after a few moments the slender hand closed as well, clinging to the other.
"I screamed for you..." Azrael's eyes couldn't meet those of the other. "I tried to resist, but I couldn't… And he was just everywhere."
The warrior exchanged the chair for the bedside, wide wings starting to curl around the mystic protectively.
"He taunted me… Intended to use my body..." The older angel shuddered. "I… can't..."
"Sshh..." Abaddon easily lifted the other into his lap, wings sheltering him from everything. "It's alright. You are safe now." Inwardly, he was still pretty certain that things wouldn't have gone this way had the both of them not had their falling out all those years ago. But lingering on that would not help Azrael in the now. "No one will touch you ever again."
The first night after Azreal and Zeruch had returned, he had been in what quite frankly could only be called mental anguish. For all that they had broken with each other, feelings that had build up over eons did not disappear in a few years. The thought that Azreal could have died – and at that point, actually could still die – had nearly completely broken the General. He had simply never needed to mentally prepare for the thought and as such, had no defence against the near-reality of it happening.
The feel of the usually near-unflappable scholar clinging to him, sobs wracking the slender body caused a whole new wave of agony. He should have been there, should have kept the fellow parent of his only child safe. It should not have fallen to said child and a bunch of Nephilim to solve this. "I am here now… I won't leave again."
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Zeruch was elated when finding out his parents were on talking-terms again. He handily used the distraction from the mess in the White City, because despite Michael's words, people still were leery around the suddenly-revealed Nephilim among their people.
The Horsemen didn't care much at all, though they now openly visited the adopted child of Abaddon and Azrael. They also visited Azrael himself, giving little care to the near panic they caused among the healers attending the scholar.
"I feel the only reason they are not running for the nearest guards is because of my presence here." Abaddon was leaning against the wall beside the scholar 's bed.