"Why don't we just drive?"
Michael was taking note of everything he could see - People walking down the streets as the night fell, lights from stores, and at one point he was incredibly disturbed by a headless mannequin in one of the windows that Ella had steadily guided him by, comforting him by telling him it wasn't an actual person. He did see someone holding a weirdly shaped stick with strings that Ella had explained was a "guitar", and the sounds coming from it reminded him of the music on the radio. And he liked music, so…
"No fun, man. You're new, you gotta see the streets of LA, you gotta experience it," Ella insisted, her arm hooked around Michael's now as they walked. Michael blinked, but sighed and allowed himself to be led along. "Besides, no point driving, y'know? We're going to a bar, and driving drunk is a bad idea." She paused, looking up at him. "Hey, where do you live, anyway?"
"H…" Michael trailed off, realizing she meant, where did he live in LA. "Oh, I don't - I haven't quite figured that out yet," he admitted, frowning slightly. He had considered just staying at Lux for the month - Lucifer obviously couldn't do anything to stop him from doing so. The archangel clicked his teeth together, considering, and Ella stared at him in confusion for a moment before shaking her head.
"Okay, well - You can stay with me until you figure it out," she offered, flashing him a bright grin. "I've got an empty room I've just been keeping boxes in, but I can move 'em out and get the spare bed out of the attic."
"You're very kind," Michael sighed, a smile appearing on his face as he gazed down at her. "Really, but you don't have to do that."
"Mm… I insist. How 'bout that?" Ella replied, eyes sparkling mischievously. "I want to, seriously, Mikey."
"Well, as long as you're insisting." Michael rolled his eyes playfully at the human, who lightly punched his arm before continuing to drag him along, smiling a little brighter now. Michael sighed, keeping his gaze on her for a moment before turning away and looking around, never breaking stride beside Ella. "We're not going to be drinking too much, right?"
"Doubt your virgin liver could handle that," Ella joked. "No, we're just gonna get some of the good stuff. Not all alcohol tastes like skunk spray."
Michael thought about that for a moment, shaking his head. Well, his Father hadn't said he couldn't enjoy himself, and to be honest, he was having a lot of fun with Ella at the moment. She was very sweet, and funny - And so positive. He could definitely see why Azrael liked her so much. And he could see exactly what his sister had told him about Ella before - She was just so happy, so kind and honest and beautiful…
Michael's heart jumped a little, throat closing up as he thought the last word, and an uneasy expression crossed his face for a second. Well, Azrael hadn't exactly said beautiful, but… Ella was. It wasn't a lie. The archangel cleared his throat, wondering why the Hell it had suddenly gotten hot, and shoved his free hand in his pocket, his other arm still being held hostage by the girl beside him.
And yet, he told himself, he wasn't going to get attached. He wasn't going to get attached. He'd just have to leave in a month anyway and… Was it fair to Ella for her to get attached when he just had to leave again? The archangel huffed and shook his head, biting his tongue and looking up, toward the darkening sky. It was just like him to overthink these things. And his Father had sent him to Earth with an order, to bring Lucifer back in a month, and he'd gotten sidetracked by a human.
Then again, what did He expect me to do in a month? Michael wondered, frowning. He did tell me to stick around and work with Sammy, so…
Why was he questioning this… The archangel shook his head and looked down at Ella, who was skipping along happily, a smile on her face. And just like that, Michael had completely forgotten what he was worrying about in the first place. He smiled a little bit to himself, forcing his gaze away and looking ahead with a sigh. He heard that sound again - The sound a guitar made, the sound of music, and this time, Ella stopped, pulling them both to a halt with wide eyes.
You know, I'd fall apart without you
I don't know how you do what you do
'Cause everything that don't make sense about me
It makes sense when I'm with you…
"I love this song," Ella breathed, turning to look up at Michael, then turning to look around. Michael stared at her in confusion, then turned away to look around as well. They saw him at the same time, some guy standing on the sidewalk, leaning back against a building with the guitar in his hand. And the more Michael stared, the more he realized that guy wasn't there before at all.
Like everything that's green, girl, I need you
But it's more than one and one makes two
But put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted, too
"What's he doing?" Michael whispered, daring to tear Ella's attention away from the song. But she didn't seem to mind, her gaze fixed on the man.
"Singing," she murmured back, the smile on her face seeming to widen. Michael cast her a confused glance, shifting his weight to one side and tilting his head faintly as he listened.
'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips, I
Wanna make you feel wanted…
I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand, forever
And never let you forget it
Girl, I… I wanna make you feel wanted…
"Isn't it beautiful?" Ella giggled, turning to look up at Michael. The archangel glanced at her, unable to help a small smile back despite himself as he raised his gaze back to the man, then focused his attention on Ella again.
"Definitely beautiful," he replied quietly, reaching out and brushing the girl's hair from her face. Ella smiled slightly, squeezing his arm lightly and glancing back at the man as he continued to sing. Michael was honestly content to just stand there and listen to the music with her, but after a few moments, she turned back and continued to tug him along down the street.
"Now, we were going somewhere?"
"To a house of intoxicants," Michael mused, glancing back at the man curiously as he continued to sing and play the guitar. He honestly didn't remember the guy being there before, but he could have just as easily overlooked him while he was lost in his thoughts…
The archangel tilted his head, and sighed, turning back to Ella and offering her a small smile. She smiled back just as easily, eyes sparkling joyously, and Michael chuckled, looking down as she released his arm to instead grab his hand, locking their hands together and spinning to face him. Michael stopped, and she grabbed his other hand in her free one before giving a small tug and starting to walk backwards. "Then, let's go, angel boy."
Michael blinked a few times, glancing behind her carefully to ensure she didn't bump into anything, but he smiled all the same. "Alright."
As they continued on, he could still hear the music.
You're more than everything I need
You're all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted…
When they reached the bar, Ella finally and reluctantly let go of one of Michael's hands to turn and open the door, smiling slightly. "This is one of the fancy bars. No bar-fights. Figured I'd take you somewhere calm for your first time," she told him, leading him inside. It was a little brighter than it was outside, but the place was still dim. He heard music playing, though the sound of people around them talking kind of drowned it out, some of them laughing and chatting and drinking the weird-smelling and bad tasting liquid.
"Heyyyy, bartender~" Ella sang, skipping over to the counter, and Michael followed quickly. It looked like the area in Lucifer's penthouse, shelves of alcohol behind the counter and a guy walking back and forth, serving drinks. He moved over to Ella and Michael when they approached, looking them up and down.
"What can I get you?" He prompted, his gaze lingering on Michael for a moment before he turned back to Ella.
"Two glasses of red wine," Ella responded, offering her heart-warming smile at the bartender. Michael didn't know why, but seeing her smile at him like that kind of hurt his chest. The archangel frowned, looking away. "Please."
"Right up." The bartender turned and walked off, grabbing something off the shelf as he did. Michael frowned, watching him go before looking at Ella.
"And why would we trust…" He narrowed his eyes, glancing after the man. "A stranger we don't know to pour our drinks for us?"
"Trust me, he gets paid a lot for this, he's not gonna do anything to ruin that," Ella promised, turning to him and offering the archangel that sweet smile. Michael's lips twitched slightly into a small smile back, shifting slightly to lean against the counter. "So, whattya think of the place?" Ella turned her head, glancing around. "Nice, isn't it?"
"It's not as horrible as I expected," Michael admitted, giving her an amused smile.
"I wouldn't take you anywhere horrible," Ella laughed, looking up when two wine glasses were set in front of them, and the bartender poured red liquid into both cups. "Thanks, dude."
"Mhm," the bartender sighed, walking away to fill up another person's shot. Ella chuckled, picking up one of the glasses and turning to Michael, handing it over to him. The archangel took it silently, a wary look crossing his face as he stared down at it, then up at Ella, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"Go on," Ella encouraged, chuckling a little. "I think you'll like this one."
"Mm…" Michael sighed, then leaned back and reluctantly put the glass to his lips, tilting it back and taking a small sip. It was, admittedly, a lot better than the bitter, strong drink he'd previously had, but it still had a certain edge to it that wasn't quite favorable. He grimaced, running his tongue across his lips and looking up into Ella's expectant gaze. "Okay, it's not bad," he finally relented. "Still, it's…"
"Weird, yeah, it'll taste weird," Ella finished for him, eyes sparkling with amusement. "I mean, come on, you've never drank before, have you?"
"I've drank coffee and water," Michael replied seriously, eyebrows furrowing. "Does that count?"
"Not quite," Ella snickered, turning and waving the bartender over. "White wine?" She asked sweetly, shooting a glance at Michael and winking at him. "White wine tastes sweeter than red. You'll probably like that one a lot better."
"Maybe," Michael responded, taking another small sip of the red wine and narrowing his eyes down at it. "So the point of this is for me to taste the various types of alcohol?"
"Yep. To see what you like and don't like."
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt…" Michael trailed off, eyes narrowing slightly as he shook his head. "Ah, I feel funny."
"That is called a buzz, my friend," Ella grinned, sipping from her own glass and looking up at him. "Welcome to the real world, you've only just scratched the surface. Mikey, I am going to show you how to properly live your life."
Despite himself, Michael offered her a small, amused smile, pausing when another glass was set down in front of them. "I'll hold you to that," he replied, setting the red wine down as Ella handed him the new drink. He stared for a moment before taking a tentative sip, letting out a small hum of approval. There was still a faint edge to it, but Ella was right, it was much sweeter and easier to taste. "I like this one."
"Alright!" Ella slammed her hand down onto the counter, flashing her signature grin at him. "Now, what'd I tell ya? Stick with me, Mike, I'll never steer ya wrong."
"I think I believe you," Michael remarked, giving her a small smile before taking another sip of the white wine.
When they left, they were both drunk.
Ella managed to call a cab, and she was currently using Michael to support her. The archangel sat absolutely still as the girl leaned into him, wide eyes fixed out the window. That "funny" feeling had intensified tenfold. He felt lightheaded - But he also felt pretty great, like he wanted to laugh until he cried, and he wanted to go back 'cause he was playing darts with a few humans and was actually pretty close to actually managing to hit the dart board… But he was also tired, and Ella seemed tired, which is why they were going back to Ella's in the first place.
"See?" Ella mumbled into his shirt, face buried into the archangel's chest as she spoke to him. "Told'ja this'd be fun."
"Yeah- Yeah, y'did, y'did," Michael sighed, looking down at her and shaking his head vigorously. "Can't believe I did that… Ohhhhh is my Dad gonna be mad at me?" He wondered, turning his head to look out the window. "No, he's so gonna be bad at me, hfff… I've screwed up."
"Relax," Ella groaned, pulling her head back and squinting up at him, before burying her face back into his chest and closing her eyes. "I'm try'na sleep."
Michael squinted right back down at her, but he fell silent for a while, turning to look out the window again. Despite his anxiety as to what his Father would think of him getting drunk in a bar of all places, he honestly did have a pretty good time. A better time than he'd honestly ever had. No more worrying about the angels or his Father or leading Heaven's Armies - Just worrying about not taking a human's head off with a dart by accident and what type of wine to drink next. No stress.
The archangel sighed, closing his eyes. "Thanks for this, Lopez," he mumbled. Ella hummed back quietly in response, already half-asleep at that point, and Michael leaned his head back, rubbing her shoulder wordlessly.
She was asleep by the time they got there, but Michael had to wake her up briefly so she could pay the cab driver since he didn't have any money like… At all. Ella fell back asleep almost immediately after, so Michael ended up carrying her to the house. He stopped at the door, looking it up and down before glancing down at the girl in his arms. There was no way he could wake Ella up a second time, she was exhausted and had been extremely irritated when he had the first time…
The angel cleared his throat and spread his wings out, glancing around carefully before squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he was inside the house. "There we are," he sighed, looking around for a moment.
A frown tugged at his lips, because where the Hell was he supposed to put her? He hesitated where he stood for a while before eventually heading up the stairs, lightly kicking doors open and adjusting Ella to hold her bridal-style. He eventually found a large room he assumed was hers, shuffling into the room. He turned the light on with just a slight nod of his head, and used his powers to pull the blankets back before settling Ella down in the bed, making sure she was comfortable before moving back.
He was about to pull the blankets back over her when she stirred, grabbing his wrist. "Stay," she mumbled sleepily, her eyes still shut. Michael blinked, but nodded, moving around to get in the bed beside her. She turned and rolled over to curl up against him, her back to his chest, and Michael pulled the blankets over them before hesitantly wrapping one arm around her.
"G'night, Mikey," she breathed, nuzzling her head under his chin. Michael blinked, staring ahead and relaxing slightly. And, after a moment, he ended up wrapping one of his wings around her, careful not to wake her up.
"Goodnight, El," he whispered back, closing his eyes.
He didn't plan on falling asleep. But he did.