24 Turbo Nerd Mode

Bel

Everything ached.

Bel washed the grime off, then cranked the water up as hot as it would go, letting it pound his weary muscles as he closed his eyes and braced his hands against the wall. The scuffs on his wings stung under the spray. Minor, annoying injuries in the grand scheme of things, but with the weight of the new information from their patrol, they burned like an omen of what could come.

Hopefully, they’d done enough to prevent it.

He switched off the water, wringing out his hair and wrapping a towel around his waist, stepping out onto the black tile. His phone glowed by the sink, a stream of messages taking up most of the screen, and he reached for it with a sigh.

He was home; he was exhausted from ten increasingly difficult days, but his restless thoughts had him keyed up. The last thing he wanted was to dig into a pile of messages about logistics and reports, but he’d texted Lily before his shower and had an incentive to face the wall of messages. Thankfully, it seemed to be his family welcoming him home, a single middle-finger emoji from Greg, and finally…

Princess: Thank fuck you’re okay!

Princess: ARE you okay? Like, not physically?

Princess: Sharkie says hi, she’s been asking about you (she’s on an overnight nature walk/field trip to a park on R5, but I was supposed to say hi if you got back before she did)

Princess: Call if you want, I’d like to hear your voice.

His heart picked up speed as he stared at those last few words. She’d sent them only moments before he picked up his phone, and the time stamp for all the texts except that one were close, as if she’d typed them out one after the other but then paused. Maybe rewritten it a few times before sending.

He hit the call button, putting it on speaker as he headed for his room.

She answered on the second ring.

“Bel?”

Something in him eased. “Hey, princess. I wanted to hear you too.”

She exhaled, voice softening. “You sound ragged, big guy. Are you okay?”

Bel tugged a pair of sweatpants out of the dresser in his closet, debating how to answer. Yes, physically? Yes, but worried? No? No, come kiss it better?

He ran a hand over the back of his neck. He was usually better at keeping a lock on what he really wanted to say to her, even in his own head.

And he was supposed to keep a lock on it, wasn’t he?

Except the last time they’d been together, she’d looked at him like maybe they weren’t just friends anymore. They’d nearly kissed even. Unless…that had just been another moment of tension between them. They’d always had chemistry, but they also had always been careful to be friends. And only friends.

I’d like to hear your voice. That wasn’t something that friends said to each other, was it? Greg had certainly never said it—

“You there, big guy?” Lily said, sounding worried.

“Sorry, princess, didn’t mean to go silent on you. I’m… a little scuffed up, but it wasn’t bad.”

The other Universe hadn’t just vaguely tried to make contact this time. They’d sent scouts and spies through a rift. Bel and his patrol had had to round them up and forcefully send them back. Hopefully, the other Universe had gotten the message.

“Scuffed up?” Lily asked.

“Only a bit. Hopefully, we dissuaded the problem from growing, which is the important thing. What are you doing without Sharkie there?”

“I dropped her off not that long ago, and Luci volunteered to chaperone to keep an eye on her. So I just showered and was planning on doing a face mask and eating cinnamon rolls while watching Shark Week until I pass out. Really howling at the moon over here. Wanna join? Or do you need to rest? I’m sure you’re pretty worn out.”

A thrum of excitement temporarily wiped away the lingering weariness. “Is there a dress code for this wild night we’re having?”

“Sweatpants or jammies. If you show up looking formal, you’re sitting on the floor, and I’m giving you the weird face mask,” she said cheerfully.

“Define weird.”

“It’s yellow and has these lumps in it, I’m not a fan—” She was interrupted by the sound of timbers groaning. “It’s not personal , it’s just not for me, okay? I like the rest of them,” she said to someone—or something—away from the phone, exasperation dripping from her voice. “Sorry about that, the house likes to be opinionated.”

The house?

There was a whole row of semi-sentient showers in one of the bathhouses on the training fields, so he supposed that a quirky house wasn’t outside the realm of normal.

“No worries. Sweatpants it is. Need me to bring anything?”

“Just you. I’ll wait for you by the Paradise gate. Be warned, my jammies are pretty sexy, so control yourself upon your arrival or we’ll be getting a memo from Lev.”

“Damn.” Bel grinned, hunting for a specific shirt that he knew would make Lily smile. “There go my evil plans for the evening. I do love a good memo.” He threaded his horns through the neckline.

“Ha ha,” Lily said dryly before her voice softened in a way that made his breath catch. “I can hear how tired you are, big guy. You sure you’re okay? We can hang out another time.”

“Lily.” He quit fiddling with the closures around his wings, staring at the phone. “I want to see you. Tonight. And your fancy Paradise. In that order. I might crash on your couch at some point, but just stick a cinnamon roll under my nose and that’ll perk me right up.”

It was half true. He suspected that once he finally crashed, he’d be out for a while. Though he’d never turn down a good sniff of a cinnamon roll, conscious or not.

She chuckled. “Get here when you can, big guy.”

Bel rushed to rub a towel through his damp hair, hunt down a pair of extra-thick socks that he liked to wear at home, and shove his feet into some slippers that Angel had picked up for him in the mortal world as a joke.

He couldn’t get to Paradise fast enough.

Lily

Lily leaned against the stone of the archway, scanning for a pair of arcing horns and dark wings among the crowd of equally unique and interesting features. When she did spy Bel, she smiled…until she spotted his slippers. Then she laughed outright.

He held his arms out, spinning in a slow circle and strutting towards her like he was walking a runway, striking a pose.

The obviously well-worn black sweatpants nearly made her eyes skip over the fuzzy gray slippers with cutesy little bat faces and wings. Through giggles, she dragged her eyes up his powerful body to the faded gold lettering on his sleeveless black shirt listing hobbit mealtimes.

He made a show of covering his eyes with one hand. “The sex appeal is too much. I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself!”

Lily grinned as she mimed flipping a piece of hair over her shoulder, her own hair safely up in a messy bun.

“I warned you. It’s a deadly combination.” She gestured to her equally ridiculous attire. The purple shorts had little cartoon dinosaurs riding skateboards all over them, and the oversized shirt proclaimed “Lord of the Cats,” with the Fellowship of the Ring reimagined as cartoon cats playing around the central text. In a delightful accident, they’d ended up with coordinating shirts.

“It’s a wonder we both haven’t been nailed for public indecency.” Bel grinned, dropping his hand away from his eyes, revealing dark smudges beneath them. The smile slipped from her face as she studied him, concerned. He held himself in a weary, careful kind of way, each movement stilted in a manner completely at odds with his usual grace.

Protectiveness surging, she took his hand, tugging him forward. “Come on, big guy, let’s get you out of here before we have to flee a horde of your ravenous suitors.”

His fingers threaded through hers, sending a warm rush through her system. “Don’t sell yourself short. At least half would be yours.”

She scoffed, following the dirt path through the endless field of doors.

“This is beautiful, but I’m not gonna lie,” Bel said a moment later, “it’s also kinda creepy.”

“I’ve always thought that the only thing keeping it from looking like a horror movie for the ages is the lighting. Thankfully, the walk never takes too long.” She spied their target and shifted paths, towing Bel behind her.

“Wait,” Bel said when she reached for the handle. “I need a moment. I’m about to see not only a Paradise, but your Paradise, and I need to prepare so that I can appreciate it fully.” He closed his eyes, breathing deep.

Lily leaned against her door, amusement warring with the nerves twisting her stomach.

A pair of women walked down a nearby path behind him and one of them did a double take. She paled, grabbing her companion’s arm. Both women froze, eyes raking over him from horns to tail, then flicking between him and Lily.

Her blood iced over at the judgment and fear in their eyes.

Are you okay? the first woman mouthed at her.

Lily smothered her irritation so they wouldn’t misinterpret it as a cry for help. They obviously meant well, and normally, she’d appreciate the potential backup, but she knew their reaction was based purely on the fact that Bel was a demon. She smiled, throwing them a thumbs-up. They moved on, glancing back occasionally until they were out of sight.

Bel let out a long exhale and opened his eyes.

“Nerd mode activated?” she asked.

“Nerd mode is always activated. Turbo nerd mode is now engaged.”

She grinned, twisted the handle, and stepped through, standing aside for Bel and spending an inordinate amount of time making sure the door was latched behind him, then wiping at an imaginary speck of dust on the wood.

Would he be disappointed? Would he even fit through the door? Could demons be allergic to cats? Did he have allergies? What would he think about the picture? She should have covered it. Would he even notice?

She toyed with the hem of her shorts, calling herself six kinds of ridiculous and three kinds of coward before mustering the courage to turn and see his reaction.

He stood with his mouth open, arms slack at his sides. Even his wings and tail were limp.

Think brave, be brave, Lily.

Oh boy.