Tori: *wakes up to find Awa and Kegawa staring down at her intently* Hold on. I'll let you guys out in a second…

Awa & Kegawa: *run to the door and start scratching on it and whining*

Tori: …Awa…You have opposable thumbs…

Awa: *pouts even more and throws himself against the door, allowing himself to slide down to the floor in a moaning heap*

Tori & Kegawa: O.O `(O-O)'

Kegawa: Just a tad too dramatic there…

~*~*~*~*~*~

            "Sooo…" Duo sat on the porch step next to his ward. He hadn't touched her yet, though, so they were still separate.

            "Sooo…" Rachel agreed.

            "You sure you can see me?"

            "Yep."

A few moments of awkward silence between the two followed.

            "Hey! Guess what?" Duo began gleefully.

            Rachel turned her head to face him, not bothering to lift her chin off her knees. "Chicken butt…?"

            Duo gasped. "How'd you know…?"

            "Because it rhymes with 'what'…"

            The braided angel blinked a few more times before he came to a conclusion.

"You scare me."

The girl blinked at him.

"With good reason. I instill fear in the hearts of children and adults alike…for I think and believe beyond what is expected or rational."

"Now you're re~ally scary."

"Listen." The girl sat up straight and faced him head on. "All I did was step outside my back door today. YOU were the freak with the braid dressed like you just came from a Angel Sanctuary frat party making out with some winged chick in my back yard. NOW HOW AM I THE SCARY ONE!?"

            "Not helping the scary image there…" Duo replied meekly.

            "…you're actually afraid of me? You've gotta be, like, ten years older than me. Not to mention you've got these… wings," she scoffed, tugging at the wing feathers nearest her. "What are you anyway? A ghost? A spirit? …a necrophiliac?"

            "Necro-YOU'RE FOURTEEN!"

            "And you're old. Whooptie-friggin-do."

            "For your information, I'm eighteen!"

            "And what else are you, hmmm…?" she smirked, toying with the end of his braid.

            "GIVE THAT BACK!" He snatched the plait away from her and hugged it protectively. "My name is Duo. Your name is Rachel. I am your guardian angel. You are my ward. Don't kill yourself and we'll get along fine."

            "Guardian angel, huh? Well, then." Rachel rose. "You better stop me before I do…" She stood on the deck railing and crossed her arms over her chest. "-this." And with that, she fell backwards off the porch.

            "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Duo yelled and rushed down the steps and around to where she landed. "…not funny…" he frowned and she grinned up at him from the pile of leaves she had landed on.

            "You're new at this, aren't you, Duo?"

            "You're new at this, aren't you, Duo?" the braided boy mocked in a girlish voice. "Who told you that? Your old guardian angel?"

            "Never had one."

            "What'd you do? Tell him off?"

            The girl stood up and walked off.

            "Well, hell, if you say you didn't have one, I believe you! You can see us and all, right? What happened? You tell him he was ugly? You yell at him?" Duo kept it up, trotting just behind her.

            She stopped in her tracks.

            "She died," she said simply and resumed walking.

            "Hey!" Rachel stopped again and turned to look at him.

            "What?"

            He placed his hand on her shoulder. "You've got one now."

~*~*~*~

Tori: Ah, Rachel. The walking, talking inside joke.

Awa: I'm still new here. What's the joke?"

Tori: *holds up Volume 1 of a Pokémon doujinshi* Journey to the Top a.k.a. Angel Eyes.

Awa: Ah! You titled that GWing ficlet Angel Eyes

Tori: A mental lapse on my part… Haven't heard the end of it since, but I love 'Angel Eyes' as the title for both, so….

Kegawa: What are you guys up to?

Awa: Oh, nothing. Tori was just reminding me how stupid she is.