22. Kushiel

Kushiel knew he was staring at Cassius as he explained everything to Michael and Ari, and he knew he probably looked like an adoring puppy dog, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He also knew he should be paying attention, despite having heard the story before. But he couldn't stop replaying that kiss in his head. He had been a little sad when Cass had dropped his hand, but then Cass had hauled Kushiel closer and kissed him, and Kushiel certainly wouldn't complain about that.

Right along with the kiss, he also couldn't stop thinking about what Cass had said. Because when he had been doing the dishes, Cass had forgotten one important detail.

Angels and demons had excellent hearing.

Cass had told his aunt that he was keeping Kushiel. He had said forever. Kushiel couldn't get those words out of his head. Of course, humans said things like forever all the time, and they didn't really mean forever when they said it, because they had no concept of such a thing.

Cass had said he could see it, and Kushiel didn't know what that meant, either.

Of course, he could just ask. That would be the intelligent thing to do. The practical thing to do. But Kushiel held some distant hope in his heart that maybe Cass had meant they were soulmates. He didn't know any angels who had soulmates, and he surely wasn't even worthy of getting such a gift, but still… He hoped.

If he asked Cass, and it didn't mean that, then he wouldn't be able to hide his devastation. Cass would be hurt because Kushiel was upset, because Cass was just that nice of a person. Or even worse, Cass would pity him for thinking that, and Kushiel couldn't abide that. Cass looked at him like he was bright and sexy and wonderful, and he didn't want Cass to feel sorry for him.

It was probably silly, but Kushiel would rather remain with the hope of Cass really being his forever as opposed to finding out the truth of what Cass had meant. Maybe that made him foolish, but he would hold onto his hope and enjoy it while he could.

"...anything to add, Kushiel?" Cass asked.

Everyone was staring at him, but he only shook his head. He'd been daydreaming about soulmates while they had lost souls to find. This was why he didn't deserve a soulmate. He was an outcast amongst angels, and he wasn't a demon, but if he were, he wouldn't be the best of them either. He was just… himself.

"So the message makes me think we're looking for a demon of greed and envy," Michael said, looking at Ari for confirmation.

"Yeah, little dude, except those are different departments. But at least we have it narrowed down to two departments. I'm sure Luce was giving us a hint, but he probably can't make it too easy," Ari responded.

"It's also a high level demon, so that should narrow things down even more," Cass added.

"My guess is they're also topside, or they have been recently, at least. Could you find out who would fit that?" Michael asked Ari, looking at him.

Kushiel squashed his own envy—the two of them really were made for each other, and it was impossible to miss the adoring looks they gave one another.

"My s'more is so smart," Ari bragged. "I can totally check that. I'll be right back," he said, then he stood up and walked back to the bathrooms.

"Mirrors," Michael explained. "They let him talk to his minions."

Kushiel knew that, and he thought that Cass probably did too. His Cass was so smart too, and Kushiel realized he probably hadn't let Cass know exactly how much he appreciated all the help. He would need to make sure to remedy that.

"So, you two are…" Michael started, staring pointedly at Kushiel, who was still scrunched up next to Cass. Kushiel realized he was leaning into Cass quite a bit. Heavens, he was practically sitting in the man's lap.

Kushiel started to shift away a bit, but Cass just hauled him in closer with his arm, which was still resting along the back of Kushiel's chair. The whole thing made Kushiel blush, but Cass just smiled when he looked at Kushiel.

"A ghost whisperer and a fallen angel—" Michael started, but Cass cut him off.

"Don't call him that," Cass corrected.

Michael leaned back, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry—" he started, but Kushiel interrupted him this time.

"It's okay, Cass, Michael didn't mean anything harmful by it. He has been a friend, and he only states what he knows to be true," Kushiel said.

Cass turned to Kushiel then, grabbing his hand and staring into his eyes. "You are not a fallen angel. By heaven, Kushiel, you shine brighter than any angel ever, and you are not fallen or less than or anything else, and I will not sit by and listen while anyone, and I mean anyone, even you, says that. You are perfect, and you are exactly the angel you were meant to be. You are a fucking supernova of angelhood," Cass finished.

"Damn straight!" Ari chimed in, plopping back down next to Michael and pulling him in close. Michael nodded in agreement.

Kushiel blushed again. He wasn't used to such compliments, and Cass gave them so freely. He was used to being ignored by angels, if not spoken of in whispers. The demons treated him kindly and like a brother, but he was always conscious of the fact that he wasn't quite one of them. He really did appreciate them, though. Without Ari and the others… Well, they had gotten him through the last few millennia.

Kushiel cleared his throat and decided to change the subject, because he didn't know how to reply to Cass's statement. He asked Ari, "What did you find out?"

"Ah, so we got two high level dudes who are currently topside. Levi, Prince of Envy, who is usually topside, and Mammy, Prince of Greed and Avarice, who does come topside but not as often. I haven't seen either one in a few centuries at least, so I couldn't even tell you if they've changed or gotten any weird ideas in their noggins. Levi used to be more of a loner dude, but who knows if that could have changed," Ari shrugged.

"What kind of name is Mammy?" Michael asked. "It sounds like you"re talking about someone's mother."

"Bruh, he"s no one"s Momma, but he sure acts like a Momma"s boy, always trying to please the higher ups," Ari joked. "Mammon"s such a suck up. Dude thinks he"s all that, but I don"t know how he would"ve come up with a plan like this on his own. But he does have a large legion. Some lesser demons have no taste in leadership."

"So you think he's more likely to have the following that Lucifer spoke of?" Michael asked. "We should probably start with him, then, if he's our most likely suspect."

"Yeah, my s'more, the only problem is no one was exactly sure where he was," Ari replied.

"Do we know where Levi is?" Cass asked.

"Yup," Ari answered.

They all waited, including Michael, who was staring at him expectantly. Ari, however, took a bite of the chocolate croissant on the table.

"Dudes, this is delish!" he mumbled around a mouthful.

Kushiel stifled the urge to laugh. You could always count on Ari to be… well, Ari-like.

Michael just smiled. "Ari, are we going to go question Levi?" he asked.

"Ah, no little dude. Definitely not. Levi would not be happy to see me. Best if Kushiel and Cassius go on their own to question him," Ari responded.

"What did you do?" Michael sighed.

Ari actually blushed at that, which surprised Kushiel. Usually Ari was proud of his pranks.

"Ugh, well, I might possibly be a teeny bit responsible for a little itty bitty reign of terror he may have had a few hundred years ago," Ari mumbled.

Kushiel's suspicions on who exactly "Levi" was suddenly grew.

"Ari," Kushiel asked, "what is Levi's full name?"

"Leviathan," Ari answered, then he took another bite of croissant and moaned. "Dudes, this is really awesome. So tasty."

Cass looked at Kushiel. "Does he mean…" he started, trailing off.

Kushiel sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid so. He means Leviathan, the sea monster who supposedly destroyed countless ships in human folklore. Although perhaps that is not merely folklore."

"Dudes, it is not my fault," Ari defended.

Even Michael snorted at that.

"Well, I guess we're going to go question a sea monster," Cass replied. "Maybe not the strangest thing I've ever had to do, but it ranks up there."

Ari just snorted, shoving some more croissant into his mouth and mumbling, "He's a chill demon in reality. I'm sure you'll be fine, bruh."

Kushiel couldn't help thinking that the statement was not very reassuring from a demon of chaos.

So Kushiel foundhimself on a boat with Cassius that afternoon. Paradise Falls wasn't all that far from the coast, and of course Ari "knew a guy," and they'd found themselves "borrowing" a boat, although it was more of a yacht than anything, complete with a stateroom, a galley, a head, and a salon. It even came with a captain to pilot the boat—a grizzled old man who was happy to take them a few hours out to the middle of the ocean. When Ari mentioned that they were looking for Levi, the man had nodded his head and said nothing else, heading off to the bridge while Michael and Ari wished them well.

Kushiel decided it was best if he didn't ask too many questions.

He wasn't too worried, at any rate. If there was trouble, he could always use his wings to transport them to safety easily enough. He would've transported them to speak to Leviathan, except there was really nowhere to transport them to in the middle of the ocean, so they found themselves standing on the deck of the boat and watching the coastline get smaller as they made their way out into the ocean.

The sun was shining, the sea was still and calm, and Cassius was snuggled up next to him; Kushiel couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend an afternoon.

Then Cass leaned up and kissed him. His tongue traced the seam of Kushiel's lips, and he parted them without thought, allowing Cass in. He tasted sweet, like the sugary concoctions his coffee shop created. Kushiel couldn't help the groan that escaped him as Cass's tongue dipped into his mouth. He sucked on it, making Cassius groan. The sound had Kushiel hard in a moment. He liked nothing more than pleasing Cass, and suddenly it was all he wanted to do. He wanted Cass's length in his mouth again, feeling that hard, silky skin against his tongue. It made him think of Cass filling him in other ways, and he felt his erection get impossibly harder.

"Come on, K," Cass whispered as he pulled away, and he grabbed Kushiel's hand and led him down steps and into the stateroom.

The stateroom was dominated by a large bed, or perhaps that was all Kushiel could focus on in his haze of lust for Cassius as they stepped into the room.

Cass's eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment, and he said, "Let your true form out, Kush. It's all I see anyway, and I want to know you're being you when we're together. You're so beautiful."

Kushiel felt his chest stutter with the warmth and love in Cass's eyes. He did as Cass asked, letting his true form come out. Cass unwound the scarf from his neck, dropping it to the floor, and then he kneeled and pushed Kushiel's pants down, gently lifting each of Kushiel's legs as he took those off as well.

Cass groaned as Kushiel's dick came into view, saying, "So pretty."

Kushiel couldn't help the blush that spread over his body. No one had ever complimented him there before.

Cass just smiled, reaching a hand out to tug on Kushiel's length. He groaned, the pleasure shooting through him. Still, he wanted Cass naked too. He wanted to please his lover.

"Please, Cass," he murmured.

Cass leaned forward, licking the tip of Kushiel's dick and making his hips jerk. "Please what, Kush?"

"Let me make you feel good, Cass. Please," he murmured.

Cass's hand and tongue on his dick felt amazing, but he wanted to feel Cass, too. He wanted to see him. Perhaps that made him greedy, but he couldn't help it. He loved seeing Cass happy and pleasured.

Cass's eyes gleamed up at him. "Is that what you want? You want us both to feel good?"

Kushiel nodded his head, and Cass stood, stripping his own clothes off. Kushiel had a moment of uncertainty. Should he be doing that? Cass always took the lead when it came to their intimate encounters—should he be doing more? Before he could get too into his head, Cass cut off his train of thought.

"Crawl onto the bed, Kushiel. Let me see your beautiful body," Cass ordered.

Kushiel did as he was told, and when he was on all fours on the bed, his back facing Cassius, his human gave a long, low groan. Kushiel turned his head to see Cass stroking himself, his eyes full of lust.

"By heavens, Kushiel, you're beautiful. So very pretty for me with your ass on display, your wings spread out and looking so magnificent. Will you stay like that for me, Kush? Let me look at you?" Cass asked.

Kushiel's cock was hard and leaking precum from Cass's words. "I'll do anything you want, Cass," he moaned.

"Mmm, I love it that you do what I ask, Kush. I love it that you let me take charge. Do you like that too?" Cass growled.

Kushiel nodded his head frantically

"Good. You don't have to worry about anything. You only have to tell me if you don't like something. You understand, Kush? I won't abide you not speaking up if you don't like anything I do. Your only job is to feel good, you understand?" Cass demanded.

Kushiel felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders; he felt lighter, his head almost fuzzy. He didn't have to think or worry at all; he just had to do what Cassius said.

"I want to please you," he managed to whisper, letting his head hang down. Even though he wasn't looking at Cass, it was like he could feel his stare. Kushiel's body felt like it was melting under Cass's eyes and words.

"Oh you do, baby. You do," Cass whispered, and a hand was sliding up along his back until it reached his wings, then it was caressing them.

Kushiel didn't know his wings were erogenous. He had never been intimate in his angelic form, always too self conscious of his appearance, despite the many offers he had (he was friends with a demon of lust, after all). Not that he had many erotic encounters in his existence overall; it just hadn't seemed important.

He had no idea it could be like this, though. It never had been like this, not with anyone other than Cass.

He shivered under the onslaught of pleasure. Cass's hand trailed gently along his feathers, shooting sparks down his spine and into his dick.

"So beautiful," Cass whispered again, and then a hand was reaching underneath to give his cock a tug, and Kushiel moaned as his head fell to the mattress, his hips up in the air.

"So pretty for me," Cass murmured. "That ass up in the air for me, your sexy wings spread out. Do you want me inside you, Kush? Would you like that?"

"Please," Kushiel moaned. He could suddenly think of nothing else but Cass inside of him, a part of him. He wanted it more than anything in his life. He had never, in all his existence, let anyone into him that way, but he wanted it now more than he wanted to breathe.

He felt Cass's hands move away from him, and he groaned in disappointment, but Cass only chuckled.

"Patience, baby," Cass murmured, and Kushiel heard drawers opening. "Aha! I figured Ari wouldn't leave us unprepared," Cass chuckled.

Kushiel had only a moment to wonder at the comment before Cass's hands were back on his ass, both of them spreading his cheeks. He felt a puff of air on his hole, and he groaned again, knowing that Cass was so close to such an intimate part of him.

Something wet touched his hole, and he had only a moment to wonder before he realized that Cass was licking him there.

"Cassius!" Kushiel cried out, surprise and pleasure coursing through him as Cass's tongue poked and prodded at his entrance.

A chuckle reverberated against his skin, adding to the pleasure. Cass's mouth was then sucking, and by Yah, Kushiel had never felt anything like it. He couldn't help the sounds that escaped him, even as he tried to stifle them and still his hips from thrusting back into Cassius.

"Let me hear all your noises, Kush. Let me hear how I'm making you feel," Cass whispered before licking along Kush's hole again.

Kush couldn't help the whimper that escaped him, and he didn't try to. Cass wanted to hear him. He groaned loudly when something entered him, slowly but steadily. It must have been Cass's finger, and it was slick and wet and slid in.

Kush felt… He didn't quite know. There was a slight tingle, not even a burn, and there was pressure. It felt good, but also unfamiliar. Cass kissed his ass cheek, then he felt a slight bite, and he groaned.

"Do you like that?" Cass asked, but Kushiel could only pant and hum as Cass bit his ass cheek again, that finger sliding deeper.

Cass touched something inside of him, and sparks flew through his body. Kushiel whimpered as Cass's finger seemed to flutter inside of him, hitting that spot over and over again.

"Mmmhmmm. Do you like that, Kush?" Cass murmured.

"Yes!" he cried out, but then Cass was withdrawing his finger, and Kushiel groaned in disappointment.

Cass chuckled throatily, and then two fingers must have been entering Kushiel, because the stretch was more intense, but Cass worked them in slowly, whispering, "So beautiful. So pretty. You look so sexy spreading open for my fingers. You're going to look even sexier when my cock is plunging into you."

Cass's fingers were then both hitting that spot inside of him, one and then the other, rubbing against it and sending shocks through his whole body. Kushiel's dick was steadily leaking precum—he could feel it dripping down his shaft—and he couldn't help thrusting his hips back into Cass's fingers.

"Please!" Kushiel begged as those fingers worked him over from the inside. It felt amazing, but he wanted Cass inside of him.

"Tell me, K. Tell me what you want," Cass demanded.

"You inside of me," Kushiel panted. "I want you to be part of me. Please."

"Always, baby. I'll always be part of you," Cass promised.

He withdrew his fingers from Kushiel despite his moan of protest. Then Cass's hands were urging his hips over, and Kushiel felt himself being gently flipped onto his back, Cass being mindful of his wings. He spread them out beneath him and gazed up at Cass. The lust and want and love he saw in those eyes—it brought tears to his own eyes.

"I love you," Kushiel blurted out, unable to stop the words from falling from his lips.

He was afraid for just a moment, but Cass smiled radiantly at him, whispering, "I love you too, Kush."

Cass leaned down to kiss him. Their tongues tangled together, their lips slanting over each other again and again before their mouths sealed together. It was like they were breathing each other's air, and Kushiel wrapped his arms around Cass, and Cass's hands felt like they were everywhere, touching his chest, his side, then sliding across his wings again.

Cass pulled back, his eyes shining down at Kushiel. "God, you are so fucking sexy," he murmured.

Cass grabbed a pillow and put it underneath Kushiel's ass, then he grabbed a bottle Kushiel hadn't noticed and coated his dick in the liquid within. Within seconds his cock was pressing up against Kushiel's hole, and they both groaned as the tip slipped inside.

It burned and stretched, but Cass went so slow, and Kushiel reveled in the slight burn because it was also pleasure.

Cass's hands grabbed onto Kushiel's hands, pressing them into the bed beside his head, and he stared into Kushiel's eyes as he pressed deeper.

"I love you, Kush," Cass murmured again, and then he slid the rest of the way in, and his cock was pressing into that spot inside Kush, and he couldn't help the mewl that came out of his mouth.

"So beautiful," Cass said yet again, and Kush was starting to believe him. Maybe he was beautiful, at least to Cass.

Cass's hips started thrusting then, and Kush lost himself to the pleasure, all thoughts floating away.