Chapter 2

(Dion)

The Angel of Joy

"Oh, my god, wait, wait, wait the whole world is spinning!"

"I swear if you throw up on me…"

"It won't be near as bad as throwing up on the cat!"

Disoriented, Dion sat up and blinked at the sliver of sunlight prying its way past the edges of the curtains. Had Bella really never heard of blackouts? Holy shit.

A bump.

A bang.

Giggles and an outraged shriek.

What the fuck?

Curious as hell and in desperate need of a piss, Dion shoved the sheet off his legs and heard a loud murrrrpppph of protest from the feline he'd displaced. At least she wasn't underfoot when his feet hit the floor, because it had taken days for her to stop peeing in his shoes after he'd stepped on her tail the last time he'd visited. Unfortunately, opening the door meant coming face to face with the realization that he was going to have to hold it a little longer, as a grumbling man with a mop of gloriously curly hair attempted to prop Dion's sister Bella up against her sink in the one and only bathroom in the place.

"Angel?" Dion asked, having only spoken to him over video chat, but man, there was no mistaking those cheekbones and full, kissable lips when Angel glanced back over his shoulder and shot him a grin.

"Hey Dion, I'm afraid the streak still stands."

"You drank her under the table again."

The look on Angel's face was a mix of cocky, proud and tipsy. "Yup."

"Damn, Mighty-Mini, one day soon we're going to have to see if you can do that to me."

"Loser pays?"

"Always."

"Then let me apologize in advance for the abuse I'm gonna do to your wallet."

"Bring it on."

Bella groaned and splashed several handfuls of water on her face and half the bathroom floor. "You're supposed to be in Toronto for another week," She slurred, wagging a scolding finger his way.

"What can I say? I was as good a training officer as I was when it was my position to fill," Dion explained. "Soon as I knew my replacement could handle it, I said Au revoir and hightailed it home before Pops could make good on his threat to come haul me back by my ear."

"Hope you did a better job of letting him know you were coming," Bella barely got out before staggering sideways, forcing Angel to catch her. "Ohh…the floor is tilted bad! I might need to get that fixed."

"No, honey, there is nothing wrong with the floor, or your shoes, which we took off at the door, remember," Angel said. "It's just you, so let's get you tucked into bed before you hurt yourself."

"You're coming back in the mornin', right?" Bella asked as between them they began to maneuver her down the hall towards her bedroom.

Snorting, Angel shook his head, looking an equal mix exasperated and amused, which was exactly how Dion felt, considering he still needed to piss. "It's already morning and I'm not going anywhere but to find the cubby of spare clothes I keep in what is now Dion's closet. Then it's on to the couch where I shall proceed to start snoring the moment my head hits the pillow, and The Golden Girls theme comes on."

Dion snickered at that, recalling just how many times he'd witnessed the sun come up with The Golden Girls theme playing in the background while he tormented himself with memories of whatever disasters had taken place at work to have him too worked up to sleep in the first place. Hell, the three of them had sat up together a time or two, always connected through the video feed, Dion grumbling his complains in between them pouring their hearts out. He'd longed to hug them after listening to a few of their stories, knowing he could get away with that with his sister, but uncertain if Angel would allow it.

"Don't feel like you need to ride the couch on my account," Dion said as they walked Bella through the doorway of her room. "That old queen in the guest room is more than big enough for the both of us and I'm in the mood for some Golden Girls after the way I was so unceremonious knocked out of a rather pleasant dream."

"You shouldn't call yourself an old queen ," Bella slurred as they sat her on the edge of her bed and removed her socks. "You're only thirty-seven."

"Three years ago, but thanks for at least trying to pretend I hadn't crossed the threshold of forty."

"Cause you crossing it means I'm too close for comfort," she muttered, her words barely discernable.

"If you don't go to sleep, I'm going to kick you over it," Dion threatened as Angel removed Bella's wig and placed it on the only bare mannequin head on her vanity.

By the time he got it situated, Dion had helped Bella scoot further up on the bed and spread a sheet over her as she got comfortable.

"Siblings," Dion muttered as he moved her trash can over beside the bed, just in case she woke up vomiting. "Can't live with ‘em and ya can't shake the stuffing out of them, no matter how much you might want to. It's funny how uptight the folks tend to get about stuff like that."

"Oh my god, you're as impossible as ever," Bella grumbled. "Begone with you and your fellow menace!"

Angel chuckled at that and shook his head. "Dion, I think you'd better take a moment and look around, ‘cause that whole thing you just said about siblings, well I can't be one hundred percent sure but it seems like this is exactly what it looks like to live with ‘em."

Sputtering, what could Dion do but press his fingers to his temples and shake his head, because there was no way of arguing against it when here he was, living with his baby sister for however long it took for him to find his own place, and lord knows he was picky.

"Remotes in the left end table drawer, in case you haven't found it yet," Angel called out as he clumsily scurried the room with a little smirk. "I'm just gonna go change. These jeans are comfy but not nearly enough to…oof!"

He caught the edge of the doorframe, half spinning himself around before flipping it off.

Chuckling, Dion found himself wondering how comfortable crimson jeans so tight they looked like they were made of cellophane could actually be. In his head, he pictured Angel bending over and those seams cracking like sunflower seeds to reveal the pert little ass Dion had admired since the first time Angel had strutted across his sister's video feed. Over the years they'd gotten to know each other through face time and speaker phone, Angel having become a huge part of Bella's life, and thus Dion's, despite this being the first time they'd met in person. The last time he'd been home had been too brief and Angel had been all tied up with things that involved one of his roomies. Working out of the country had plenty of perks, but there were drawbacks too, including years of missed holidays and events witnessed strictly through screens. Hell, there was a time or two when Dion had been certain Angel was flirting with him and he'd damn sure been flirting back, but again, the drawback of distance had made it impossible to do anything about it.

Dion hurried to finally take a piss before his bladder exploded and left his shorts soaked for all the wrong reasons. God damn. Angel was even more adorable in person, and that bubbly personality of his held more appeal to Dion than the flirty-fuckboys he'd toyed with at the club he'd left behind in Toronto. Fuck that noise, the man whistling Two Pina Coladas was one of the three major reasons he'd jumped on the chance to come home for good. Every photobombed video chat, every amusing bit of snark, every unusual and slightly difficult to believe story Angel had shared about his roomies, they'd woven a picture in his mind that Dion had never wanted to shove away. Now here he was, with the opportunity to finally get to know the man in person.

Dion found the remote where Angel said it would be and retrieved the pillows he'd tossed on the chair when he'd climbed into bed alone. The Golden Girls were easy enough to find, whoever had slept in here last, probably Angel, had left it on the right channel. When the man returned, he was in shark covered boy shorts and a Jaws tank top, what looked to be a stuffed otter clutched beneath his arm.

"Don't judge!" Angel said, pointing the stuffie at him.

Yup, it was an otter and an adorable one at that. When Dion looked at it closer, he realized it was clutching a smaller otter tight to its chest much the same way Angel was clutching it. Otter and child then. Positively adorable.

"No judgement here," Dion said as he patted the empty side of the bed next to where he'd stretched out. "Get cozy, this is the one where Stan and Dorothy have to live in the apartment building they own together after Sophia's brother did an interview with Rose that made them look like slumlords."

"Oh, I love this one."

Angel slid beneath the sheets with a bounce and a wiggle that caused him to brush against a very sensitive and highly aware piece of Dion's anatomy. It didn't mind the contact at all. The little shit giggled too, as he laid his head on a pillow. Dion stretched his arm over top of it as they settled in.

"Just so you know, I'm appointing you Lord of the Lattes," Angel declared minutes later, completely out of the blue.

"And exactly how does that work?"

"By you getting up in about three…hmmmmm….errrr….make that five hours to go get them, two each please, along with whatever sugary, sticky treats you can find to go with them," Angel declared. "Your sister will oversee lunch and dinner is all me tonight. We're got a Love and Hip-Hop marathon planned, and some serious brainstorming we need to do. At the bar tonight, she volunteered your brain to help, since you were going to be around for a while, thus you are the Lord of Lattes."

As convoluted as the whole thing was, not only was Dion able to follow the logic, but considering his former position, it made perfect sense that Bella would want to rope him into whatever project they were working on this time. When it came to their neighborhood, the pair had a vested interest in seeing it continue to grow and thrive as a welcoming cultural hub that embraced inclusivity. Unfortunately, improvements and programs took money and organizing fundraisers had become something Bella and Angel had grown proficient at. Well, it was more like they'd gotten amazing at sweeping others along in their excitement, to hear people tell it. As a special projects officer, Dion's literal job had been to draw up, organize, and execute one-of-a-kind events that showed his employers and their clients in their best light.

"Please tell me it's Atlanta and not Hollywood?" Dion said once he'd started to consider the logistics of the upcoming afternoon.

"Well, I mean, we were thinking about Atlanta at first, but Hollywood seemed like the better option, considering…" Angel hedged and dammit, Dion knew exactly what he was doing, too, the little shit.

"Considering what, exactly?" Dion asked, deciding to be as devious as Angel and play along with the ruse.

He did some minor adjusting of his position in the bed too, making certain to brush against Angel's backside as he did it.

When the only sound from Angel was a sharp intake of breath, Dion attempted to move in for the kill.

"We you referring to the terrible scripting, the exhaustingly repetitive drama, or the over-the-top relationship blow-ups?" Dion asked, keeping his tone light and mischievous. "It's the absolute weakest offshoot in the whole franchise and that includes some of the ridiculous bootcamps, and I dare you to prove otherwise."

When a low chuckled rumbled from Angel, Dion was left to wonder what the man had in store for him now.

"Uh-oh," Angel muttered, the chuckle growing louder. "You've done it now."

"Done what?"

"Made it so my new mission is to prove to you that the Waka one is way weaker than Hollywood," Angel said. "You were all good until you made it a dare. Now we've got to watch both and do a comparison, even if that means we miss out on watching the world burn around us."

The moment Dion opened his mouth to protest, Angel squirmed his backside against Dion's front and rendered him even speechless than the words he'd uttered. It took Dion a moment to gather his wits, then it was game on, so when a wiggling Angel tried to move away, Dion latched an arm across his midsection and hauled his backside flush against his groin, the cloth of his boxers and Angel's shorts the only thing between them, which didn't conceal much.

"Now," Dion growled in Angel's ear, prompting him to shudder and let out a little moan. "That little comparison of yours isn't going to happen and you and I know it. I'm willing to bet that if I pulled Hollywood up on the streaming service right now, you would tackle me to the bed and attempt to wrestle the remote from my grasp. You'd lose, but it would be amusing. Then I'd have to hit play and let the episode unfold until you conceded defeat and proved how sorry you were for trying to toy with me."

Angel's giggle turned into a low chuckle as he rolled his hips, grinding his backside against Dion's erection and proving that even trapped, he still had the upper hand.

"Exactly which version of toying with you would I be paying for?" Angel hissed, a long, shuddering moan escaping him. "The one about Love and Hip-Hop , or the one where I have you about to fuck me through the bed?"

Mischievous little minx!

"Is that where you wanna be, face down with my cock inside of you?" Dion growled as all of Angel's squirming just about pushed him to the breaking point.

The moment he tried to manhandle Angel where he wanted him, the lithe little menace hooked a heel behind his thigh and kept him pinned in place while continuing to roll his hips, grinding and damn near twerking while driving Dion batshit fuckin' crazy.

"That would eventually be the end goal," Angel admitted as he arched his back and used that heel he had braced against Dion's thigh as leverage to roll his hips in a long, languid motion that left Dion groaning with desire. "But it will be so much more fun if we take our time getting there."

"This doesn't feel like taking our time," Dion growled.

"It will," Angel said, as he slid away and patted Dion's arm. "'Cause I forgot to take a piss and now I gotta go!"

Dion turned him loose, laughing, then batting at the sheet Angel accidentally flipped over his head in his haste to scramble from the bed, ‘cause that had been him less than forty-five minutes ago. The slamming of the bathroom door prompted the slurred response of fuck quieter, from down the hall where Bella must not have been completely out of it yet because most times, she could sleep through anything. She'd been that way since she was a kid. Angel's little otter lay tangled up now, almost on the edge of the bed, so Dion retrieved it for him and propped it up on Angel's pillow, the little silver guitar pick tag catching his eyes, along with the inscription: The universe needs more joy. Out of curiosity, Dion flipped the tag over and sure enough there was a second inscription on the other side. Otters are joy + you're our otter.

Awe.

Dion let the tag fall from between his fingers at the sound of the bathroom door opening, and pure joy, because that's the only way he was going to be able to think of Angel from now on, came sliding back into bed with him to gather his stuffed otter in his arms and flop on his side, head on his pillow, but not before dropping what looked like a bar tab on Dion's hip.

"What's this?" Dion asked as he plucked it off the sheet, then squinted to try and read it in a mix of thin sunlight and the television's glow.

"Read it," Angel grumbled, a long sigh escaping him as he nudged the pillow a few times with his head, like he was trying to make the perfect imprint.

Like he hadn't thought of that.

Keeping his snark to himself, since it truly seemed like Angel was finally about to crash after the night he'd had, Dion fumbled around to find his cellphone, unable to recall where he'd shoved it for a moment, before he nudged it with the edge of his hand.

Oh yeah, beneath his pillow.

In the flashlight's glow, he could clearly read the single word scrawled there: Raincheck. Snickering, Dion turned off the light and placed the phone and the raincheck he fully intended to cash in, back beneath the pillow.

Yup, pure joy, that was Angel.

A sleepy voice mumbled, "Hey, Dion?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget the lattes."

"Go to sleep, dammit, I won't forget you're fuckin' lattes, with extra caramel, extra whipped cream, and extra, extra caramel syrup drizzled over top. I know how you like it; I've only heard you order it a million times. Might as well be ordering a sundae."

"Mmmmmm, I'd be all over that," Angel murmured. "But only if it's made with Coffee Toffy Crunch ice cream."

Dion knew he was going to dream of laughter the moment he closed his eyes, thanks to the beautiful gift bestowed upon him by Angel.

The Angel of Joy.