Raphael went still, transfixed by the crystal blue gaze that met his in the window. 'It's you...' he thought dumbly. 'It's...you...'
A million emotions, most of them going unnamed, stormed within him. The foremost one was relief, although he wasn't quite sure why. He had known Michael would be safe, especially since he suspected the archangel might have at least met with Uriel, if not stayed with him. And it wasn't as if Michael would do anything rash; he just wasn't like that. The brief time spent on the planet those few years before and the supervising of the investigations gave them enough information on the dangers posed to angels on Earth. It was some irrational fear, Raphael decided, that he had kept subconsciously, a result of Michael's sudden disappearance.
"Raphael...?" Uriel ventured, but his voice seemed to come from far away.
The singer turned his head, following his companion's gaze, and stiffened the moment he saw what -- or rather, who -- the archangel was looking at. Raphael noted this small change in the angel's posture, but didn't avert his eyes from the enchanting, blue gaze they currently held; he had already heavily suspected Uriel's involvement in the whole thing, anyway.
Surprise registered in Michael's eyes and, if he wasn't mistaken, perhaps even a tiny bit of fear. But for what exactly, he didn't know. Of being found out, maybe? And by him, no less. It was the only plausible explanation in his mind at the moment. Then the archangel closed his eyes, hiding those crystal blue orbs that betrayed his every emotion, breaking the spell he'd unknowingly cast on the dusk-eyed angel. Raphael felt himself relax, breathed out a sigh, startled by the fact that he did so; he hadn't been aware of holding his breath, nor did he feel himself stiffen, poised at the edge of his chair to rise.
"So now you know."
He stood, glancing at Uriel as he did so. "I do."
"You gonna talk to him?"
Raphael frowned inwardly at the tones underlying the question. "Of course."
"You won't get much from him..."
He was perfectly aware of that, and his gaze told the other archangel so. Surprisingly, however, the singer didn't attempt to delay him further, only watched with a faintly curious glint in his pale eyes for a moment. Then Uriel, clearly looking like he had a million questions to ask, shrugged and turned to face the bar again, going back to his drink and saying nothing.
Raphael strode to Michael's side, his hold on a calm posture tenuous. The angel didn't turn, nor did he open his eyes, but a second's flash of expression said that he knew who was coming. Michael stood rigidly, refusing to acknowledge his partner's presence, the curves of his lips pressed into a thin line.
The archangel laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Michael-sama," he murmured simply, schooling his voice to a neutral tone that he allowed to show a faint hint of relief.
Still the saffron-haired angel didn't move.
"To say everyone was worried about you would be an understatement," he continued. "Perhaps even a lie. Even now, extensive searches are still being conducted. And a whole list of rumors has followed the wake of your disappearance."
Slowly, the pale curtains of Michael's eyelids rose, unveiling the beautiful, crystal blue orbs they'd hidden. He said nothing, however, but a faint accusation was a shadow in his eyes.
"You said not to follow." The angel inclined his head a fraction and he sighed. "If you don't forgive me for that, Michael, I understand. But you have to understand, I had to search for you. Even knowing you were safe, I..."
He trailed off, suddenly realizing he didn't have any idea what to say. Or maybe he was afraid of what he would have said had he gone on, whispered a traitorous voice in his mind. He pushed the thought away. The faintest question in Michael's eyes told him that an answer was expected of him.
"Did you think it would be easy to leave just like that, Michael?"
He allowed a little anger to show in his voice, still managing to keep his tone low. Which was too much, apparently, for the look in the other archangel's eyes indicated he would have drawn back had he not also been exercising an immense amount of self-control.
"Are you even aware of the repercussions of your disappearance?" he continued. "The only reason I didn't inform anyone of what I knew is because--"
He paused, frowned, forced it away. What had he been about to say? His companion still remained silent, his expression guarded, his eyes betraying none of his thoughts. Raphael managed to keep his irritation at the angel's lack of response from showing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, organizing his scrambled thoughts into some semblance of order before once again meeting Michael's gaze.
"...Because even if you can't trust me to stay put with everyone else and worry over where you are and what's happening to you and if you're even still alive, you can still trust me to keep the details a secret," he finished softly.
Michael blinked at him in surprise. Obviously, he hadn't expected a statement like that. The dusk-eyed angel fought the urge to grab his partner's shoulders and shake him until he yelled, berated him -- anything. Now he understood what Uriel hadn't said.
It made him wonder what the singer really knew.
He watched as a whole range of emotion flashed across his companion's face in the space of a few seconds. Finally, some indication that he wasn't talking to a wall. Of course, Michael had never hid his thoughts successfully for too long -- it just wasn't in him. That, Raphael had always reasoned, was why he'd developed such a knack for hiding. From several experiences, the dark-eyed angel learned that if Michael hid -- truly hid -- no one would find him unless he intended for them to do so.
'Like now, perhaps...' he mused.
But something wasn't right. In the note to his partner, the blonde had made it crystal clear that he did not want to be found. So what had been the tiny writing at the bottom of the paper? Had it been anyone else, Raphael would have reasoned that the note was written the way it had in case anyone else got his or her hands on it. The type of subtlety he knew Michael never bothered with. And, if anything was to be indication that his presence was unexpected, it was the reaction his appearance elicited.
There was only one person who had the answers he sought.
"Michael, you're going to have to talk to me sometime."
A pained expression crossed his superior's face. He was right and they both knew it.
They gazed at each other wordlessly for a moment, before the blond lowered his eyes. "Leave me alone, Raphael," he whispered, nearly inaudible. "Just leave me alone."
"No. No, I won't leave you alone. We have to talk. And God help us both, we have a lot to discuss."
Michael gave a start, gaze sharply shifting to meet his.
"Oi, oi," a voice cut across whatever reply the other archangel would have made. "You two enjoying this little lover's spat? I don't--"
The singer fell silent as they faced him, their expressions identical. Uriel glanced from one to the other, blinking in surprise, the remark he was about to make dying on his lips. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn his words had hit the mark. Taking in the stricken looks in the angels' eyes, he half wondered if it had been a good idea to step in. He'd been covertly watching them both since Raphael had left to talk to his partner. Not without a little bit of guilt, of course, but that couldn't be helped.
Michael was the first to recover from his shock and, taking full advantage of the interruption, left his companions in one moment and was at the entrance in the next. He disappeared into a group of incoming patrons before either of them could so much as blink. Raphael made to follow, but the Miracle Voice barred his way. For a few seconds, those storm-dark eyes bore into his, but he gazed back passively, maintaining his position. In between two tables, with the window at his back, there was no room to sidestep the singer.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you planned that, Uriel," the dark-eyed angel muttered, his voice even.
"I don't think you'd believe me, but no," was the reply. "I actually didn't."
Raphael made one more attempt to go after his partner, to which the other angel moved to block his way once more. "Stop it, let me go. I have to follow him."
"And I suppose you know where he'll go, hm?"
That stopped him. "And I suppose you do," he returned.
"I may."
"Let's not start that again."
"Agreed." Uriel gestured for him to sit in one of the nearby chairs, only taking a seat himself when the angel did so. "Let Michael be for a bit. Let him calm down. Then maybe we'll see if I know where he's gone. But in the meantime... We're going to have a little talk."
Kagetsuya watched as his lover wandered down the stretch of beach ahead of him, the tiniest semblance of a smile hovering upon his lips. The violet-haired angel could fit in anywhere they went in mere moments. As it was, the youth had already made several friends in the space of the fifteen minutes they'd already spent walking the sands of Ala Moana among the tourists.
Chihaya stopped suddenly and, in the same action he used to regain his balance, knelt down and helped a toddler who couldn't have been older than two stand steadily in the warm sand. The blonde angel watched as the young woman behind the child, presumably his mother, smiled at the youth in gratitude. Chihaya picked the little boy up and made faces at him, making him giggle, before handing him to the woman.
"He's really adorable," the blond angel heard his partner comment cheerfully to the Earthian.
"Thank you." She cooed at the toddler and kissed his cheek. "Such a handful sometimes, but that's how babies are, hm?" Shifting her child's weight in her arms, she gave the youth a grin before starting off again. "Nice meeting you."
"You, too!" he replied with a wave before turning to his mate. "Ne, Kagetsuya, do you think Uriel-sama and Michael-sama are back yet? We should all go out and do something, the four of us."
The taller angel smiled as he slung an arm around Chihaya's shoulders and steered them both in the general direction of their hotel. "And to think you were jet-lagged a couple of hours ago."
"But I'm all right now!" was the youth's cheerful reply, violet eyes twinkling as he gave the other a sideways glance. "Hey, you know, I overheard these girls saying that Waikiki had these really nice shops. Elvira's birthday is coming up, isn't it? Why don't we get her something? You think Uriel will take us around Waikiki later, Kagetsuya?"
The dark angel chattered on happily the rest of the way back to the hotel -- all the way to their room, for that matter. Kagetsuya was content to listen and let his mate talk on, wondering not for the first time how he ever deserved this beautiful creature's love and affection.
"I want to open the door!"
Shaking his head, the elder angel fished the keycard from his pocket and handed it over to his partner. His loving amusement never seemed to cease when he was with Chihaya.
Not that he wanted it to.
"Ah, Michael-sama! You're back!" the amethyst-eyed youth literally bounced into the hotel room at the sight of his adoptive father. "Is Uriel-sama in the other room?"
There was a silence that stretched for several heartbeats before the archangel on the balcony turned to face them, a ghost of his ever-present smile on his lips. His expression was withdrawn, Kagetsuya noticed, a look that didn't seem right on his features.
Chihaya immediately left his mate's side for the balcony, knowing that the elder angel would follow. "What is it, Michael-sama? Is something wrong? You look a little pale..."
Michael tried a reassuring smile. "I'm all right, Chihaya-kun."
Not even the dark angel was fooled by that reply. "Really?"
"No," the archangel replied after a moment, his smile genuine this time, even if it was a bit rueful. "Not really." A pause. "Raphael's here... I think he's still with Uriel........." He turned his gaze back to the sky, where it had been focused before the two angels had entered. "For some inexplicable reason I have yet to find out... Raphael has found me."