21. Cassius

Kushiel was adorable, and Cass couldn't help but smile at him through breakfast. They were probably making lovey eyes at one another, and Aunt Ro could only keep her mouth shut for so long.

"He made it all by himself just for you, Cass. Isn't that sweet?" she purred.

Kushiel blushed, adding, "No, I had no idea what to do. Aunt Ro told me. I hope it's still ok, though."

Aunt Ro huffed, stating, "Silly boy. You do not attribute romantic gestures to others."

Kushiel looked embarrassed, letting Cass know that he had indeed meant for it to be something of a romantic gesture, which was too sweet. And of course his Kushiel wouldn't lie about how he'd done it.

Cass reached out and grasped Kushiel's hand across the table. "Thank you, Kushiel. I'm glad Aunt Ro could help direct you, because it all came out perfectly. You did an amazing job."

Kushiel smiled and his light flared so brightly that Cass had to blink. When he did, he looked deeper without meaning to.

He had hoped it was the case last night, but this morning cemented things; they were definitely soul mates. They were twined together by hundreds of golden threads, thick enough now to make it seem like a rope attached the two of them.

Cass knew the process wasn't totally complete, because he'd seen mated pairs, and there would be more threads as time went on; the rope would get thicker. But Cass felt pretty confident that at this point, there was no breaking the bond. He thought he would be able to follow it anywhere and find Kushiel if he needed to, which was definitely a comfort.

He blinked his sight back to his regular vision, and Kushiel was still his brightly shining soul. Cass was beyond lucky to have found someone with such a pure soul. Kushiel was his, and no one could take him away.

Cass couldn't stop grinning, and it was like his mood was infectious, because Kushiel was grinning right back as they finished eating. Luckily they could cut their omelettes with their forks, because their hands remained intertwined through breakfast.

"Are you two done being disgustingly sweet yet?" Aunt Ro finally grumbled when Cass took his last bite.

Cass just rolled his eyes. "Yes, I suppose we do need to move on to business," he agreed, giving Kushiel's hand a squeeze.

Kushiel squeezed back, then turned to Aunt Ro. "Did you discover anything?" he asked her.

She sighed, plopping down in an empty chair. "I'm afraid to say it remains a bit of a mystery. Deception and concealment are afoot," she stated, gesturing to her dress, which Cass only now noticed had tiny snapdragons scattered across it. He fought the urge to roll his eyes again.

"So you guys didn't get anything accomplished," Cass surmised.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Aunt Ro defended. "I taught our ghost here how to float and how to move small solid objects. We explored how to disappear and reappear as well. They do seem to have more form, don't they?"

Everyone turned to look at the ghost, who was sort of floating an inch or two off the ground. Cass squinted. He supposed there was a bit more form to them; they weren't just all dark shadows, but he thought any more light was Kushiel's doing and not his aunt's. Not that he would say that, of course.

He wasn't stupid.

"That still doesn't bring us any closer to answers, though," Cass answered instead.

"Well, it seems you have some leads. I overheard?—"

"Eavesdropped," Cass cut in.

"As I was saying," Aunt Ro continued primly, "I overheard that you had a lovely chat with Lucifer and that some upper level demon is responsible. You have contacts in the demon world, Cassius. They're always dropping into the shop. Simply ask them. Surely most upper level demons know each other. That Arioch fellow would probably have some idea with the clues you have of who might be responsible."

Kushiel looked at Cass, adding, "It isn't a bad idea. I can talk to them if you aren't comfortable doing so."

Cass sighed. "It isn't that. I'm perfectly fine talking to them, and hell knows they owe me for all the assistance I've given them. I'm just not used to explaining myself to demons, and this will definitely require some explanation."

Kushiel squeezed his hand again in support. "You do not need to tell them anything. They know I am looking for lost souls, and they know you are assisting me. They do not need to know where I got my information," Kushiel assured him.

Cass smiled at his angel. He appreciated more than he could admit that Kushiel would protect him. Still, though…

"No, I don't think we should withhold information from them," Cass admitted. "Plus, maybe it's time I let some people into my inner circle. Michael and Ari have been… friends. Maybe it's time for me to start trusting them."

Kushiel's smile was bright and sweet, and if his aunt wasn't in the room, he would probably drag Kushiel back to bed. He might have done it anyway, despite whatever teasing his aunt would unleash on them, but they did have work to do. Unfortunately.

"Alright," Cass sighed, letting go of Kushiel's hand and grabbing dishes to bring to the sink. "I suppose we ought to contact them and see if they can meet up. It would be nice to figure out exactly who's in our suspect pool."

Kushiel jumped up and grabbed the rest of the dishes, rushing to the sink to get there before Cass did. "I'll wash up, Cass, if you want to contact them," his sweet angel said.

Cass sent off a text to Michael about meeting at the coffee shop, and he saw that it was immediately read, so hopefully the man and the demon were available.

"He does dishes too? He's definitely a keeper, then," Aunt Ro whispered in his ear.

He would have jumped if he wasn't used to his aunt randomly sneaking up on him. Damn ghosts.

"Yes, Aunt, he really is. I expect you to treat him like one of the family," Cass whispered back. Might as well get it out of the way now. He turned to look at his aunt, shock clearly written on her face. He knew she had been mostly teasing him.

"Cassius…" she said, trailing off.

Cass felt rather proud. Leaving Aunt Ro speechless was an accomplishment.

"I'm keeping him," Cass said, answering his aunt's unspoken question. "Forever."

"Forever, forever?" she whispered.

"Yup," he replied, and they both looked over at his angel, who was bent over the sink, his glorious black wings folded up behind him, his head bent to the task at hand. "Forever forever. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"Oh, Cass," she murmured. "Everlasting love. How truly romantic."

Cass looked over to see tears in her eyes. Her dress also now had sunflowers all over it. He couldn't suppress the chuckle it gave him. Aunt Ro had always been a bit of a romantic at heart, and she always wanted what was best for him.

"Are you really sure?" she asked him. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up…" she continued.

"I can see it, Aunt Ro. I'm sure," Cass answered.

She looked a little shocked at that, but Kushiel was wrapping up the dishes, so Cass glanced back at his phone and saw that Michael had replied, asking if thirty minutes worked. Cass sent a thumbs up emoji just as Kushiel was shutting off the water.

"We're all set to meet up with them in thirty," Cass told him. Kushiel walked over, and he shimmered the tiniest bit, which made Cass think that he'd put on a human look. He shifted his sight, and sure enough, the wings were gone, and he was dressed in jeans and a sweater. Interestingly, the scarf was also now gone. He went back to his regular vision, and Kushiel's true form now included not just white, flowing pants, but also his scarf.

Interesting.

"The scarf is part of your angelic form now?" Cass asked. He didn't know that angels could change that.

"Yes, well, it seemed easiest to always have it on," Kushiel admitted. "This way I can see what you see, and I don't disregard the idea of ghosts in general."

Cass nodded along, and then he realized a very important fact—when they had been chatting in bed about Lucifer's message, Kushiel hadn't had the scarf on. He'd been naked, yet he hadn't disregarded ghosts. Cass wondered if it was simply that not enough time had passed; it wasn't like they totally forgot about ghosts, after all. They remembered the ghost department in meetings and in general, but they just tended to not think about them. But Kushiel had still had ghosts in the forefront of his thoughts.

The other possibility was that perhaps the soul bond, which was growing stronger every time Cass checked, would enable Kushiel to see what Cassius saw. It made sense in a lot of ways, and the scarf had felt so much to Cassius like looking in a mirror. He wondered if eventually Kushiel wouldn't need the scarf at all. It was something to think about, that was for sure.

But for now, Kushiel was standing patiently and waiting for him, and Cass realized if they were going to walk to the coffee shop, it was best to head out now. He grabbed Kushiel's hand and he led the way out of the house.

They were just stepping outside when he heard a throat clearing behind them, and they both stopped and looked back at Aunt Ro.

Oops.

She merely raised an eyebrow at them, obviously a bit miffed at being forgotten.

"Umm, well, I suppose you could come along if you'd like," Cass invited.

"And who will watch your ghost?" she harrumphed.

"I don't really think they need watching, Aunt, but if you'd rather stay here, feel free to do so. Or go do whatever ghostly things you do when you aren't with me," he responded drily, and then he shut the door behind them and led Kushiel down the walkway.

It was a pleasant afternoon for a walk, and Cass enjoyed Kushiel's hand in his. They walked in a peaceful silence, and Cass tried not to think too much about the upcoming meeting. They both seemed lost in their own thoughts, and before he knew it they were walking into the shop. Michael and Ari were already there, and Ari was waving from a side table.

"Dudes! So good to see you guys!" Ari boomed, standing up to give them both fist bumps. Cass had the thought that Ari probably would have hugged them, except they were still holding each other's hands, which Ari raised his eyebrows at.

Cass didn't bother explaining, despite Ari's clear curiosity, and they got greetings out of the way. Steph brought over coffees and snacks for the table without even being asked.

"Thanks, Steph. All good here?" Cass asked as she set down everyone's favorite.

"I'm hiring someone to do the books and work front of shop," she answered. Her tone was one he didn't dare argue with, so he just nodded.

"I trust your judgment," he said.

"Good," she replied, then she was heading back behind the counter, already shouting orders at the college kids who were working that day.

"Bruh, your manager is hardcore. I always hated working with her. She is all order and no chaos," Ari remarked.

Cass only chuckled. Luckily Ari hadn't unleashed his chaos on the shop for long before moving on. Cass probably should never have hired him, but Ari was just such a sweet and clueless dude-bro, even though he was an upper level demon.

"So, you needed to see us?" Michael asked, getting to the point. He was definitely the order to Ari's chaos.

"Yeah," Cass sighed. "I guess it's time I told you guys some stuff about me."

"Dude, you're totally a mobster with a vast network of underground spies, only you're working on going clean and are really on the side of justice, so you've been feeding information to the police for ages and cleaning up your organization. It's like some good version of The Godfather," Ari guessed.

Cass looked at him, momentarily speechless.

"Or you're like totally the batman type, and you have some underground lair and maybe some hackers who work for you, and that's how you know so much information and are able to give us all the clues you give us. Or you are the hacker, and you have like this giant wall of screens in some hidden lair and you just find shit out and serve the side of justice," Ari went on.

Michael sighed. "He's had quite a bit of time to come up with theories," he apologized, "and we've been catching up on movies."

"Bruh! Kushiel is totally like your Alfred, isn't he!" Ari leaned closer then, looking pointedly at their clasped hands. "You know, I love the batman fanfic, because of course the butler who totally supports the superhero is the one who belongs with him. I bet they get up to some freaky shit in the bedroom, too. Total role reversal," Ari suggested, winking.

"Ari," Michael chastised, but he was smiling.

"It's ghosts," Cass blurted out before Ari could start on his next rant.

"Ahhhh," Ari commented, adding, "Dude, that is so cool. You're like all Sixth Sense. You see dead people. How come we've never seen any here then?"

"Angels and demons cannot see ghosts," Kushiel cut in.

Ari looked pensive at this, but then he just nodded his head. "Yup. Makes sense."

"Wait, what? Why?" Cass asked. This whole conversation was totally running away from him, which shouldn't have surprised him when it came to Ari.

"Well, dude, you know what kind of trouble I'd get into with ghosts? I'd have them doing all sorts of crazy shit. Demons and angels would both constantly be all up in their shit. Hey, do you think maybe we could orchestrate a haunting? I bet that would totally freak out Az and Gabe, and it would be such fun!" Ari mused.

"Absolutely not," Michael said. "They're still pissed off about the whole lube incident, and I am not dealing with Gabe yelling at me for something you did. Again."

"Ah, yeah, dudes, the lube thing was epic. See, I—" Ari started, but Michael turned bright red and cleared his throat, and Ari looked over and wisely decided not to finish the story.

"So, ah, yes, Cass can see ghosts," Kushiel said, attempting to get them back on track. "And my lost souls were turned into ghosts."

"I see where that would present a problem if angels and demons can't see ghosts. So Cass found them for you?" Michael asked.

"No, that's the problem," Cass answered. "They've been hidden from me and other ghosts, and we need help figuring out who did it. It has to be a demon who had access to Erebus, and we thought you guys might have some ideas."

"Dude, what a foul move, even for a demon. But it's cool, because you'll totally go all kickass on them and straighten that shit out. You can go all Godfather on them. Only we'll call you the Ghostfather!" Ari cried out, excited.

Cass tried not to smile, really he did, because Ari did not need encouragement, but he couldn't help it.

"Bruh, I might be able to get you a sword to use, too. It totally sucks up the soul of afterlifers. Wicked shit, dude, and it would take care of the demonic dickhead in charge of this clusterfuck," Ari speculated.

"Yes," Michael said, "but first they need to figure out who they're going after, and I think that's why we're here."

"Aww, my little s'more. You're so smart. Of course we can start a list of who is a giant demonic dickhead. It might be kinda long though," Ari mused, tugging Michael in closer to him and leaving his arm wrapped around the guy.

"Just because a demon doesn't find your pranks funny doesn't mean they want to disrupt the order of the universe," Michael responded, but he leaned comfortably against Ari's side, and then Ari was kissing Michael, and Michael was kissing Ari back, and Cass was wondering if it was really a great idea to ask a demon of chaos for assistance.

Cass looked over at Kushiel, who was staring at the two soulmates with a look that Cass couldn't quite place.

"Hey. You alright? I know they're chaotic, but we'll get some answers," Cass reassured him.

"Of course we will. They are always helpful," Kushiel agreed, but he was still staring at them with… longing?

Heaven and hell, Cass realized he could be an idiot sometimes. He let go of Kushiel's hand, and before Kushiel could do more than look over in surprise, he reached over with both hands, dragged Kushiel's chair closer, and swung his arm around Kushiel's shoulder. Kushiel looked surprised but pleased, and he turned to stare at Cass, at which point Cass gave him a peck on the lips.

At least he meant it to be a peck, only Kushiel's mouth was heaven itself, and his angel tasted of cinnamon and chocolate from the coffee, and next thing he knew he was licking at Kushiel's mouth while his angel melted like butter next to him.

"My god, you guys," Steph's voice interrupted, "we aren't that kind of shop."

Cass laughed as he drew back from Kushiel, and he saw Mike and Ari break apart as well. Steph was smiling at them all despite her comment, and she put down some more snacks from the kitchen.

"Tone it down you guys. A girl can only take so much while she's at work," she winked. She walked off, muttering, "Four hot guys all making out and not a guy or girl in sight for me…"

They all chuckled a little at that, and Michael and Kushiel both looked embarrassed, but Ari just gave him a knowing smile across the table. It was kind of shocking to think that perhaps he and the demon had more in common than he'd thought.

"Anyway," Cass said, clearing his throat and turning back to the topic. "I don't just see ghosts. I also… have visions."

"Dude, me too!" Ari cried out, holding his hand up for a high five.

Ari's reactions kept surprising Cass, although you couldn't expect anything predictable when it came to Ari. He high fived the demon, because why not?

"And I also can talk to gods. Or angels and demons, I guess," Cass added in.

"Dude! Me too!" Ari cried out again. He started to put his hand up for another high five, but Michael grabbed it.

"Of course you can talk to angels and demons. You are one. And maybe we could not call any more attention to ourselves? Now let Cass tell us what's going on. Hopefully without someone calling the cops thinking we're all crazy. Because I do not want to run into anyone from the department," Michael murmured.

"Dude, I totally warded this corner so we can't be overheard," Ari defended. "But little dude is right. Spill the tea, bruh," he said, looking at Cass.

So Cass delved into his story, giving them all the details of his little visit with the devil.