4. Kushiel

Kushiel sat on a park bench, the rain falling softly around him in a light mist. He knew he was soaked, but what did it really matter?

He was cold, yes, but it was even colder when he ventured into heaven.

It had been a week since he'd come looking for his lost souls. A week, and no progress. A week, and not a glimpse of a soul. No sign of help, either.

He thought back to the coffee shop he'd ventured into. Had that only been yesterday? The guy who had flirted with him had been adorable, and if Kushiel hadn't been on a mission, perhaps he would have spent a bit of time flirting back. There was something about the man that called to Kushiel; his light brown tousled hair, the smattering of freckles on his fair skin, his light-colored hazel eyes, and his shorter stature made him extremely appealing, although Kushiel didn't think he had a type. Nevertheless, he had felt attraction for sure.

Unfortunately, his thoughts had strayed back to the cute barista more than once, and guilt ate away at Kushiel for that. He had a job to do, and here he was distracted by… carnal thoughts.

Of course sitting on a park bench in the rain wasn't accomplishing anything either. Heavens, he was really fucking this all up.

He heard voices and laughter coming down the path in the park, but he didn't move. He wasn't visible to humans at the moment, so he wasn't worried.

When Michael and Gabriel, two humans who were mated to demons, walked into view, however, Kushiel became corporeal again.

"Holy fuck!" Gabe called out, grabbing onto his chest and his brother's arm at the same time. "You scared the shit out of me just appearing like that!"

"Kushiel!" Michael cried out, and he sounded a bit more glad to see Kushiel than Gabe was.

Kushiel didn't blame Gabe for not liking him; he had been the bearer of some upsetting news when he'd visited the human and his demon, Asmodeus. He didn't think he would be happy to see him, either, if he were Gabriel.

"I am sorry for intruding upon your walk. I shall take my leave, if you like," Kushiel volunteered. "I only thought to ask Michael if perhaps there was any other news for me."

Gabe rolled his eyes, however, and plopped onto the park bench next to Kushiel. "Don't try my patience, Kushiel. Why are you sitting on a park bench in the rain? You're getting soaked, for heaven's sake. You have about as much common sense as a teenager."

"You are out walking in the rain and have also sat on the wet bench," Kushiel pointed out.

Gabe snorted. "Nope, no changing the subject. I know that look, and it's nothing but trouble."

Kushiel merely sighed and looked at Michael, who just shrugged. The sigh had Gabe leaning in closer and really staring at him, though.

"You're in trouble," Gabe said, leaning back. "What's wrong?" he asked, and he went to put his hand on Kushiel's arm. Kushiel must have flinched, because Gabe held still for a moment, then he slowly brought his hand back to his lap.

It wasn't that Kushiel didn't like to be touched; it was just that he wasn't used to anyone wanting to touch him any time recently. At least not people who knew him and saw him as he was.

"How can we help?" Gabe asked softly.

Michael sat down on the other side of Gabe then and started explaining. "Some souls were stolen from the underworld, and Kushiel is the only one who can get them back. Ari had a vision that he needed to be here. That was about a week ago, maybe? Have you managed to retrieve them?"

"No," Kushiel answered, the weight of failure heavy upon him.

"Ah, I see," Michael responded.

"Well, where do we start looking?" Gabe asked, and Kushiel was surprised enough to look up.

"Why would you help me? You do not even like me," Kushiel responded. He felt stupid as soon as he said it. It didn't matter if Gabe liked him, after all.

"Of course I like you, you idiot. You helped Az and I out, and you helped out Michael and Ari too. Big time, from what Michael has said. So of course we'll help you out too," Gabe responded. "Why on earth wouldn't we help?"

Michael hummed softly, though. "You are supposed to get help, but I don't think it's from us," Michael muttered. When he looked up and saw Gabe scowling at him, he added, "Of course we'll help however we can. I just mean there's someone specific who is supposed to help, and I don't think anyone in our family is that specific person. Unless…" he trailed off, looking at Gabe.

"Nah, I don't think it's Grams," Gabe answered. "She gave him that white scarf she knit, but that already happened—it isn't from the future. I just saw her yesterday and she mentioned not a word about angels of lost souls or anything. You know she can't keep her mouth shut about that kind of stuff."

"There's quite a few demons around; this place seems to be a beacon for them. I actually saw a possession the other day." Michael snorted, apparently remembering the incident. "That was pretty trippy. The possessed guy was apparently happy about the whole thing."

"Listen, if a demon could possess me and teach my 6th period class, I wouldn't complain," Gabe mumbled. "Why admin thought putting that crew of kids together was a good idea… Anyway, I'm not sure demonic help is really what Kushiel needs."

With that thought, they all sat for a moment, thinking. It was still lightly misting, and Kushiel was aware of the humans getting wet, but they had on rain jackets and didn't seem to mind. He knew he should usher them on their way, but it was rather nice to have company for a moment, even if they were just sitting there in silence.

"I do know a guy…" Michael started off.

"What are you, a mobster?" Gabe snorted, playfully pushing his brother.

"Well, the guy is an informant of sorts. He used to help the police department out. He seems to know a lot of stuff that goes on in town. If anything weird is going on, he'd probably be clued in on it," Michael responded.

"Well then, there's a plan. We can go talk to this guy and let Kushiel know what he says. Who is it, anyway?" Gabe asked.

"His name is Cassius. He owns—" Michael began, but Kushiel cut him off.

"A coffee shop?" Kushiel finished.

"Yes!" Michael replied. "Have you met him?"

"Yes, I stopped in. He was flirting with me, I think," Kushiel answered, and then he thought back to the conversation with the barista again.

The barista who had called him angel.

The barista who had asked him if he needed help.

The barista who had said that he was who Kushiel was looking for.

Kushiel put his head into his hands. "I'm an idiot," he muttered.

Gabe snorted, but Michael looked sympathetic. "Cass says some weird stuff sometimes, and he's easy to misinterpret. I wouldn't worry about it. We can come along and smooth things over," Michael reassured him.

"That won't be necessary," Kushiel answered. "He was offering to help me, and I clearly misunderstood. I will go back and see him. You two have helped enough, and I have a feeling your soulmates will be looking for you before too much longer. I don't think I need Ari and Az's assistance in speaking to this coffee shop owner."

Gabe snorted, and Michael even smirked at that comment.

"Yes, our two demons would probably only make things ten times more complicated than they need to be. Chaos and lust, after all," Gabe laughed.

With that Gabe and Michael got up in unison, giving him instructions to call if they needed him and telling him "not to be a stranger," which he had always thought was an odd human phrase. How could he be a stranger if they knew who he was?

As they walked off, laughing and talking together, Kushiel had a moment of envy. He called the demons his brothers, but really, he was alone. He was not fully angelic anymore, but nor was he in any way a demon.

He was an only child of the universe.

Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have had someone to do the work with him, but he knew those thoughts were silly. You could not change the workings of creation.

Well, perhaps a few lucky demons could, since Az, Ari, and even Minos had found soulmates in humans. Kushiel pushed down envy again; it was a useless emotion, and a soulmate was not for one such as him. It didn't seem to be for any angels, and surely if one was chosen to find such an unparalleled gift, it would be an angel of the utmost worth.

It would not be him.

With that, he stood and made his way along the path, back toward the coffee shop. Yes, he could've used his wings to get there, but there was something nice about taking a walk and hoping that there would be answers at the end of it. He wanted to keep the hopeful feeling for as long as he could.

Perhaps he was also feeling slightly silly about meeting with Cass again, too. He had so clearly misinterpreted the human's comments. He knew his human form wasn't unattractive, but the man had clearly been trying to help him, and he had mistaken it for flirtation. It was rather embarrassing.

Nevertheless, a little embarrassment was a small price to pay if this Cass could be of some assistance to him.