Marcus stirred gently, blinking away his sleepiness and stretching, only to be tugged down. He yelped and leaped up, like a man jumping out of his own skin, but Justice held him in a gentle hug, yawning with a small smile down at him.
"Good morning, young master~. How can service you this morning?"
Marcus just hugged back, voice muffled by her jacket.
"Get off me. I need to use the bathroom dangit."
She chuckled, tilting her shades down and smirking, "You want some help?~"
His eyes widened as he hastily got off her, repeating a fervent "No, i-I'm fine!"
She silently cursed herself, slapping a hand over her face in frustration, wonderful idea to bring up his trauma not even a day after it. Just great. She thought, standing up and beginning to stretch.
Marcus shook as the water cascaded over his form, not from the heat of the water, no. His grip tightened on the shower rail as he remembered yesterday night.
"Quit struggling and I'll make this good for you." Ramiel had said, and that echoing laugh of hers.
It wasn't over. And that terrified him.
Oddly, as he shut off the water, he felt water drip into his eyes and down to his lips.
Since when.. did water taste salty?
He left the bathroom and was greeted once again by the Awesome Demon, who knelt and brought him over to the couch, whispering a quiet apology to him.
He nodded numbly as she held him close. Her voice was soothing as she spoke in his ear warmly.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there…" She purred quietly, "I promise you. I won't let it happen again. I swear on my life."
Marcus only leaned into her chest, long asleep from her words, his arms loosely wrapped around her neck as he dozed. She just smiled softly, draping her jacket over his prone form, standing again and rolling her shoulders, slipping outside with barely a creak.
Zdrada leaned against the inner wall of the cabin, smoking one of her ever-present cigarettes, the smoke trailing in spirals as she flicked her eyes between Marcus and the door. Her sister sat at the table, chugging a bottle.
The demon sat, snubbing the glowing embers of her tobacco stick into an ashtray as she shot a baleful glance at her sister.
"Do you ever not have a bottle on your lips, Malinka?" She said, grimacing. Her sister didn't even bother to glance up before she replied, almost on instinct, "Do you ever not have one of those infernal smoke sticks between yours?"
Ah, The Sour Demon indeed.
Zdrada was silent a minute, looking down at her lap before she retorted, "You know exactly why I smoke."
"And you know," Malina growled, taking another swig, "That's the exact same reason I drink."
Marcus rolled off the makeshift bed then, interrupting the small conversation before it even really started. He stirred, groaning.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty, Your therapist went to grab some food, for right now, we have plenty of booze to drown your trauma."
"I will," he yawned, "gladly partake in that offer, pass me the whiskey."
Malina chuckled slightly, passing over a bottle and uncapping it with her teeth.
"Bottoms up, kid."
He stared for a long second at the bottle, then raised it to his lips.
The whiskey burned like liquid fire as it ran between his taste buds and down his throat, leaving a bitter aftertaste to linger in his mouth. His brain shot endorphins at the taste, compelling him to take a long drink. He set the bottle down, capping it and sliding it away.
"I'm gonna take a walk, I'll be back in about half an hour."
"We can't really allow that, sorry."
Marcus glanced back for just a moment, "You don't have a choice."
Justice leaned back against a wall, pulling her arms through her jacket as the Archangel walked up to her.
"Demon." The Archangel spoke, her voice neutral, flicking her hat's brim up, exposing her deep blue eyes, filled with barely hidden rage.
"What's your business on Earth." She continued, her tone growing even more serious as the seconds passed, Justice noticed her fingers twitch as she popped her knuckles quietly.
"I've been contracted to a job, something your "Guardian Angels" should've already been doing."
Justice's voice grew razor sharp, "So, considering you're the place for the good people of this world, wouldn't it make sense to, oh I don't know, actually help the suffering people in this existence?"
The Archangel met her look of accusatory indignation with a calmer look with resigned tiredness.
"You know the laws. We aren't allowed to interf-"
"FUCK THE DAMN LAWS!" Justice snarled, her shades tucked into the collar of her jacket as she gripped the Archangel by her greatcoat.
"People are suffering here. Children are committing suicide because they can't find any reason to live anymore! Do you know what that does, Uriel?"
The Archangel seemed legitimately surprised at the demon's mention of her name, but her next words were cut off as Justice continued her tirade.
"They end up in Hell. Because they figured death was better just pushing through their pain. And they end up there because suicide is a goddamned SIN!" She raged, shoving Uriel against a wall.
"We're doing what we can. Justinia."
The Awesome Demon heaved a heavy sigh, dropping the Archangel, who took her by the shoulder.
"That's why I'm here. I've come to help, because it seems my subordinates couldn't do much to stem it."
"Is that so?" Justice met Uriel's sky blue orbs with her silver ones in a piercing stare. "Welcome to the team then."
The demon turned to see a flash of dark blue exit the right edge of the alley they were in.
A familiar dark blue.
Marcus tugged his jacket closer around himself as he walked down the sideway, singing under his breath along with the song playing through his headphones.
"The days are blending together
Pretending like I don't notice
Drowning in mental fog so thick
My hands might close where my throat is
Not gonna rap that "I'm cursed"
My words got heavy
And sure enough the steady ebb-and-flow of life subsided
But I wasn't ready
Last night, I thought up a song but I'm too wired to hum it
Inspired sight, like tunnel-vision on the life I got from it
Not tired yet, right? Hah
"It's fun," I'll tell ya that much
Adventures oughta be remembered as such
But, I'm not well
Not today, not tomorrow
These souls insidе my pocket are just sanity I borrow
"Sayonara" to the sorrow of еternity alone? Yeah, right
Part of the joke is that it's all that I've known
It's justified—can't help that I romanticize your concern
Now I can fantasize forever if you never say the words "Goodbye"
This tainted mindset really must go free
Finding someone so fuckin' wonderful when I'm just so... "me."
He shoved his hands into his pockets, bobbing his head as he listened to the hook of the song, continuing to sing as more lyrics echoed in his ears.
"Laid back in the cracks of my past, it's kinda funny
Got sick of the tricking myself into thinking that others would only run from me
Because, as you know, I'm Death-
You heard about me?
I'm kinda famous, now it's awkward...
But welcome to my constant state of mind
Like, could you knock first?"
"Why is it every time your kindness is making my chest unbearably tight?
But, not for the first time
A terrible night for a curse
But don't you worry, 'cause it hurts fine
Drunk, lost, CalliP
Wandering Rengoku-shi
Enlighten me—is this what they call a "sunk cost fallacy"?
Frightening, in spite of things I want tossed my way
I'm looking everywhere at once and months are passing like days
"By myself" is just better. I know I say that a lot
But if somebody holds you back, then you cannot become God
Lost in the night, 情けない, hostile, hostage or free
These childish eyes will only show my mind what I wanna see."
He paused as he reached a secluded corner street, sliding down the wall, smiling sadly at the falling snow.
"A wonderful way to go, listening to music as snow falls around you." He whispered, "Truly, an idyllic way to die."
He slid the coat off, its cocoon of warmth disappearing into the cold winter air.
Even as the chill sunk in, he grinned as his head hung low.
Justice motioned for Uriel to follow as she followed the snow prints of her charge. Her composure, which had held up despite the circumstances, was near shot at this point.
"He's doing the exact thing he's been doing for the past few days." A part of her brain spoke up, "At this point, it may be better to simply let-"
She shoved the thought from her mind, she wasn't giving up on him, not when he'd already gone through it once.
She wouldn't make him go through it twice.
She reached him, cold and asleep, in a matter of minutes, Uriel on her heels.
Uriel's boots slid on the snow as she stopped and knelt down, checking the teen over. She gently picked him up, brushing the snow from his clothes and holding him tightly in her greatcoat.
"Let's go, he needs to get someplace warm." Justice spoke quickly, "We can't take him back, he'll freak and run again."
"I know a place." Uriel replied, dashing off, her white and gold coattails flying behind her.