A World Like That

Chapter XVI

-Ariel-

He decided to be brave and go look for Dante. He knew it was dangerous for him to leave the forests and wander into the desert, especially alone. He had never done anything like this before. As far as he knew, no angel had done anything like this, but it was the only way. Dante wasn't going to be waiting for him in any of the forests, and if he ever wanted to see him again, he'd have to take the risk.

Cautiously, he checked the skies to make sure he couldn't see any demons. He closed his eyes and listened, making sure he couldn't hear any music that would announce the demons' imminent arrival. When all seemed safe, he began to fly through the desert. It was a large expanse of brown filled with dirt and rocky terrain. He had no idea where to look, but he kept flying. Every once in a while, he came across mountains or canyons. There were never any trees. Nothing grew out here.

After what seemed like an hour of searching and being on high alert for demons, he finally spotted a demon sitting on a cliff. He carefully approached, making minimal noise with his wings until he could verify if this demon was Dante. Once he was closer, he recognized Dante's spiky black hair and a small tear on the edge of his left wing that Dante had gotten when he was younger.

Dante was looking out over a vast canyon, and everything in his body language conveyed sadness. He'd been so careless to focus only on Dante's eyes as an indicator for emotion when there were a hundred other ways to tell how Dante might be feeling.

He landed next to Dante and sat down, smiling warmly at Dante when he turned to see who had joined him. This time, he didn't miss the shock displayed on Dante's face. His lips parted, showing just the tips of his teeth, and his eyebrows rose slightly as they pulled together, creasing his forehead.

Reaching out, he put his hand under Dante's chin and gently lifted it so he could look straight into Dante's eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I do like you."

"But I thought -" Dante began.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have said any of that. I let what my friends said about demons get to me, and I allowed that to be more important than how I feel. I like being around you. I like being your friend. That should have been all that mattered."

"I'm not beautiful like you," Dante responded. "I understand if some things about me bother you, like my eyes."

"I'll get used to your eyes," he said firmly. "I like you, so eventually I'll like them too."

He reached out his hand, and he was relieved when Dante took it and smiled.

"Can you forgive me?" he asked.

"I do forgive you. I want us to be friends. Seeing you is the best part of my day."

His sadness returned and he squeezed Dante's hand. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault this happened. I haven't been completely honest with you, and maybe if I had things wouldn't have turned out this way."

"What do you mean?"

"Something did happen. That's why I wasn't on Earth for a few days."

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"It wasn't me. My friend Jael was attacked."

"Is he okay?" Dante asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"He'll be alright. He got hit in the mouth and had large chunks of his feathers torn out. I tried to ask him what the demon looked like, but he couldn't give me many specific details. He told me the demon had black hair, and my mind went to you. I didn't think you'd do something like that, but you were late meeting me and we had just talked about the soft feathers on my wings, and whoever did that to Jael had made the effort to tear those out too. I was confused. I didn't know what to believe. I'm sorry I didn't ask you about it, and I'm sorry I doubted you in the first place."

"Ari, I would never hurt your friends. I'm not going to lay another hand on an angel, not now that I know you. You were the first and last time."

He nodded. "I should have trusted you and believed that. I let my friends' talk about demons get to my head and -"

"I don't blame you," Dante interrupted. "I attacked you before, the same way Jael was attacked. I wasn't with you when it happened. And after all the history between demons and angels, sometimes I think it's a miracle we're friends."

Now he felt like crying. It really did feel like their friendship was against all odds. He had been so quick to turn on Dante and think the worst. "I'm sorry," he apologized again, his voice breaking.

Dante's arms were instantly around him, and they clung to each other, not wanting to let go.

-Dantalion-

He wanted to hug Ariel for hours, but he was forced to let go when they both heard the sound of discordant music in the distance. He had never known why Beleth felt the need to announce his presence, but he was grateful for it today.

"Let's go to the tropical forest," he said, jumping to his feet and pulling Ariel up. "I'll pretend to chase you in case we're spotted."

They took off and he made sure to stay close behind Ariel. It was the only way to keep him safe while they were in demon territory. Speaking of that, he'd have to scold Ariel later about how stupid it had been for him to come here. 

Halfway to the forest, he decided to lighten the mood and actually chase Ariel. He reached out and playfully grabbed Ariel's foot. Ariel looked back, grinning, and then swerved to one side, freeing his foot.

They began to wrestle in the air, chasing and dodging each other, grabbing onto feet and arms and wings. They tumbled to the ground together, landing in the soft, tall grass with Ariel on top of him. He stopped laughing at the same time Ariel did, and they stared at each other. He felt his heart fluttering in his chest.

Tentatively, he reached up and put one of his hands in Ariel's hair. Ariel leaned into the touch and his heart started to race. He liked Ariel. It went against everything he knew and everything that was allowed, but he couldn't stop it. He slowly stroked Ariel's hair with his thumb, and Ariel lowered his head slightly. He wanted to kiss Ariel, but he knew he shouldn't. He could feel Ariel breathing heavily. If Ariel was feeling it too, then what was to stop them?

Ariel leaned down further and nuzzled Dante's nose with his own. The scent of flowers enveloped him - a wonderful smell, intoxicating and taking his breath away. His lips were so close to Ariel's that they almost brushed them and he could feel Ariel's breath on his face.

Time seemed to stand still as Ariel was suspended above him, only one small movement preventing their lips from joining. He wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything, but he couldn't. For all he knew, something bad would happen.

They gazed at each other for a moment more, and then Ariel made the sacrifice and did something that must have taken a tremendous amount of effort - he pulled back.

Dante was disappointed, but he understood. "I don't know what would happen," he said quietly.

"I don't either."

Ariel rolled off of him and sat in the grass. He sat up and looked in Ariel's direction, and then reached out a hand. "I'm glad you came back to me."

Ariel took his hand and smiled. "I'm glad I came back too."

He gazed at Ariel, feeling a sense of ease and a buzzing all throughout his body. He was almost lightheaded, like how he felt when he drank the wine. Maybe he was drunk on Ariel. After yesterday's heartbreak, he was elated that Ariel had changed his mind and put aside his misgivings. He knew Ariel was taking a risk on him, and he admired him for it. It only made him like Ariel more.