Chapter Text
Lute was panting.
She stood there, in the middle of Adam's former office, shaking from pure and utter rage, fiddling obsessively with her halo-bracelet. She tried to take deep breaths, sometimes go on walks, fuck, even counting to ten or shit like that, but nothing was working for her.
... Except for this.
Destroying Adam's office was liberating, though she couldn't say it was therapeutic. It didn't do much for her either, but it was the only thing that gave her an ounce of relief.
Tears streamed down her face as she let out a raw, visceral scream out her throat, it was powerful and it conveyed all of her grieving.
She couldn't take it. Adam was gone, really gone, and he wouldn't come back, no matter how hard she wished for it.
"FUCK!" she screamed, storming across the room to flip the desk. It fell with a terrible thud that echoed in her ears, shards of glass from the window she'd shattered before flew over and reflected the sunset light.
She hated this, she hated everything.
From outside the office, the shouting, the screaming, the breaking noises and the chaos in general were very audible. No one dared walk over that area, everyone was afraid of having the bad luck to cross paths with the feral lieutenant on her way in -or out- the room.
Abel was one of the people who had been avoiding that wing of the building for weeks now, scared as well. However, he was growing tired of Lute's tantrums. It was enough already, because not only was she scaring everyone out, but she was also hurting herself at it.
Lute wasn't Abel's favorite person at all, but they were going through the same, they had lost the same person, and as her commander, he couldn't let her keep going with such an unhealthy and aggressive coping mechanism, and as much as he wasn't a big fan of admitting it (out of fear more than anything)... He was worried about her.
He stood there, right in front of the door, hearing every scream, every curse, every shattering noise, and every thud. He took a deep breath to muster up enough courage, opened the door and stepped in the room quite slowly.
The first thing he saw was Lute aggressively throwing one of Adam's lasts vinyls on the ground, shattering instantly.
The only thing keeping Abel from running away was what little confidence had gave him the fact that he stood up to her back in hell. He thought maybe he could do it again.
He gave another step.
"Lute, can we ta--?"
"Out" Lute interrupted, voice dripping with pent up rage. She didn't even bother to look at him.
Abel took a deep breath.
"Lute, I know you're going through a hard time, I'm grieving too, but I don't think this is actually help--"
"I SAID OUT!" Lute lunged at him, aiming for his face, but Abel managed to catch her wrist mid-swing and stop her.
"I don't think this is really helping you" he said with a worried look on his face "Look, I know how you feel, but--"
"What do YOU know about how I fucking feel?! Adam is dead and you're just there! Always standing with that shitty grin of yours, all relaxed like nothing happened! Like you legitimately don't care! You have NO IDEA!" She broke free from Abel's grip.
Abel looks at her with a sad look in his eyes, almost like he was pitying her....which, she didn't like, at all.
"DON'T look at me like that! I don't want you fucking pity!" she exclaimed.
"Woah, chill Lute, I wasn't--"
"Don't tell me to chill!"
"Okay, you know what? Do you really wanna know how I stay so 'relaxed'?" he asked suddenly "How I keep myself together?"
Lute glared at him, suspicious, skeptical and exhausted, but curious despite herself.
"...whatever" she muttered "Show me your dumb-ass secret"
Abel just nodded once.
"Follow me"
He turned and flew straight out the shattered window, glass crunching under his wings.
Lute stared at him for a second.
Then sighed -long, reluctant, pissed off- and followed, not believing the fact that she was actually listening to that wimp.
They flew for a few seconds and landed on the rooftop of Adam's office, the night sky stretched endless above them, golden clouds drifting slow.
Abel sat on the ledge, legs dangling over the drop, wings folded loose as he stared at the stars like they owed him something.
As for Lute, she stayed standing a few feet back with her arms crossed, looking anywhere but at him, breeze tugging at her feathers.
Sure, it was pretty out here, she had seen that landscape over a million times, the city from above? Beautiful, the clouds? They were relaxing to look at, and the breeze was liberating...
But that was all there was to it.
A few seconds passed, and then she turned, irritation flaring.
"Is this the shit you wanted to show me-- ?"
She stopped in her tracks, words dying in her throat.
Abel had pulled something small from his pocket, familiar in a way that made her stomach drop.
He put it between his lips, and then flicked a lighter.
Lute's mouth actually fell open.
"But what the actual fuck?!"
Abel paused, looking at her calmly as the flame in the lighter danced with the breeze.
"What?" he said.
He lit it, took a slow drag, held it, and exhaled toward the stars "you said you wanted to know my secret".
Lute stared, mouth agape.
"Is that--?"
"Yeah"
He held it out to her, not pushing, just offering.
"You want some?"
Lute kept staring in shock.
... Abel? The weak-ass wimp, the ultimate pussy, Mr. Loves Santa Claus and taffies?! He, was a pothead?! Of all people?!
Well color her stoked.
She stood still, her gaze switching between Abel's face and the joint in his hand.
She didn't say yes.
But she didn't say no either.
Abel took another slow drag, letting the silence sit.
"It's not just this" he said finally, voice low and casual, but explicative "I mean, smoking helps, but most times? I eat cookies, brownies, stuff like that."
Lute blinked, still processing.
"...Eat it?"
"Yeah" he said, shrugging, as chill as he could be "No smell, hits harder, lasts longer and it's way tastier... That's why you never catch me reeking in meetings with Sera, or, like, ever".
Lute tilted her head, as if confused.
"I keep a couple on me for bad nights."
He patted his pocket lightly "In case you don't wanna smoke?"
Lute stared at him for a long second and then scoffed, defensive.
"Go fuck yourself" she muttered.
Abel just nodded, taking another drag, not pushing.
Lute looked away, wings shifting. Her rage had dissipated by now, mostly because of the shock that came with seeing that crybaby light up a joint and actually smoke it... And having the nerve to offer it to her... And then having THE NERVE to offer her something else because he thought she was too much of a pussy to smoke it.
She shouldn't.
She really shouldn't.
Not because she was an angel and she had to be pure or any of that bullshit, but because the one offering it was fucking Abel.
If Adam had done it though...
No-- she had to stop! Everytime she thought of Adam her head went noisy and she totally lost it.
One second.
She asked for just one second without that storm in her head, one second away from the thought that Adam was dead, gone for good.
"...I don't need your stupid gay-ass cookies"
She stepped forward, reached out, and snatched the joint from his fingers.
"I can smoke"
Abel let her take it without a word. Sure, he was surprised that Lute actually took his offer, but he just watched as she put the joint to her lips and took her first drag.
He knew what was going to happen right away. Lute dragged for way too long, too quick, too aggressive, and too sudden. He tried to brace himself, to not laugh when the inevitable happened... But he failed.
He couldn't help but laugh when Lute went into a coughing fit, a very ugly one at that. She started hitting her chest with her prosthetic hand to try and stop it.
"W-whAt--!" Cough "wHaT's sO fUnNy--!" Another cough "fucKinG wImP--!!"
Lute doubled over, coughing hard enough that her wings flared for balance. Tears (from the smoke, definitely from the smoke) streamed down her cheeks.
Abel tried to stop laughing but he failed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Sorry-- sorry--" he gasped "First time's always rough if you hit it like you're trying to kill it"
Lute straightened, still coughing, face flushed gold and murderous gaze in her eyes that said it all.
"Oh FUCK!" she exclaimed, panting.
"You should sit... Y'know, only if you want, no pressure-- just... Thought it might help".
Lute squinted her eyes and glared at Abel "... Sit? Next to you?"
"I mean, i can move to the side, but we're on a ledge, there's not much of an option"
"... Yeah, do that".
Abel made space for Lute and tried to sit as far from her as he could, after all, the one who needed to chill was her, not him, and a coughing fit was 0% chill.
Lute sat down, tense, mad, joint still in her hand. She took another puff and this time she didn't cough, but the smoke burned her throat and lungs. She frowned as she tried to hold it for a few seconds, but she failed, exhaling quite desperately.
"Tastes like shit" she muttered, eyes going glassy.
"At first, yeah" Abel said in response, fiddling with his fingers and looking down at them "but you get used to it... Like an acquired taste".
There was an awkward silence, none of them knew what to say, or it was more like Abel was doing his best to try and talk to Lute, but Lute didn't really want to talk to Abel. She was just lost in her thoughts, in her mental noise.
"This is stupid" she said to herself.
And it was, the situation itself was very surreal. She never thought she'd be sitting besides that wimp, much less smoking a joint with him, but it might help her... Right? If she just ignored him.
She took another drag, slowly. The burning sensation invaded her again but she could control it better this time.
She held it for a few seconds and then let it all go.
"Looks like you're getting the gist of it" Abel gave her a chill smile and a thumbs up.
"Hm..." Was all that she said, avoiding his gaze.
"I've always liked it up here, it's a nice place to just... Take a break and clear your head".
Lute rolled her eyes. She knew, she'd gone up here too.
"Sure..."
"It's refreshing"
Lute's eye twitched.
"So is this ever gonna do anything?"
Abel blinked a few times, then answered "It depends on the person. Sometimes it hits right away, sometimes it takes time... It's been a while now, give it 15 minutes or so".
... Lute passed the joint back without looking at him.
Abel took it.
And they sat like that, passing it back and forth, slow drags, no words.
But then Abel broke the silence.
"Don't you think--?"
"For fuck's sake, shut up Abe--!" Lute stopped in her tracks.
She blinked once, twice, thrice, and then she felt it.
A wave of... Something... Truly undescribable, just... Something... that washed over her.
Everything went slow-mo for a few seconds as she could literally feel how the joint she was holding progressively stopped radiating heat... Or maybe she stopped feeling it.
The cool breeze from the rooftop wasn't cold anymore, it was just... Breeze.
She took another puff, tentative. The smoke didn't burn her throat this time... But it had burnt the last time.
She frowned and stared at her hand intently, wings twitching as if testing the air. They didn't sense the breeze the same as a while ago... Everything was... Or felt... Just a tad bit numb, maybe.
Lute heard Abel chuckle, the sound a little muffled, and then turned her head to look at him with that same, confused frown.
"It hit, didn't it?" He asked, amused at the sight.
Lute didn't answer right away, she just drifted her gaze toward her hand again and started waggling it slowly. She felt like her movements were delayed, like she ordered her hand to be at one spot at one specific time, but the hand wouldn't listen right away.
"May...beee" she finally said, skeptical.
Abel laughs wholeheartedly "lucky you! A lot of people just don't feel the exact moment it hits them, they realize they're high when they're too far into it"
"Huh..." Lute passes the joint to Abel so he can take another puff. He -of course- gladly accepts.
"It feels... I don't know" she fiddles with her halo-bracelet, not feeling the warmth that usually irradiates from its light "I actually feel... Less, if that makes sense"
Abel takes another drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs for a few seconds, and then letting it go slowly.
"Yeah, that happens, crazy right?"
"It's like..." Lute raised her hand to the sky, still contemplating it like it was the most interesting thing in the world "I could pierce my hand with my sword and I wouldn't feel anything"
"Okaaaaay, yeah, let's not do that" Abel says, gently pushing her hand down. Even Lute is surprised that she let the little wimp touch her.
"Everything is... Slower. My balance is off too... Is this why you're so ass in combat?" Lute's words struck Abel like a punch in the gut. She'd said them so calmly, lacking the usual venom she spat when talking to him... It was... Weird, but he was used to it by now so it didn't really matter.
"Maybe, yeah... I don't do it everyday though... Just when the pain is a little too much to bear, so I might as well just suck at combat with or without pot".
Lute, to her and Abel's surprise, chuckled.
"Yeah... You're a fucking wimp" she moved her hand toward Abel as a subtle way to ask for the joint, not looking at him. Abel complied and gave it to her so she could take another drag, since she seemed to need it more than him.
Lute stared at the night sky for a while, admiring the stars, and then took a long, slow drag, held it in her lungs a little longer, and exhaled, almost peacefully. Her demeanor changed, she looked nostalgic now.
"He was everything to me y'know?"
Abel's eyes widened just a tad bit. He wasn't really expecting Lute to open up to him about her mourning. He panicked, just a little, not knowing how to handle the situation.
Lute had talked with a smile on her face, but he knew better, he could see that her eyes were conveying pure sadness and grief.
He let the words linger for a few seconds and decided he'd just listen.
"I don't think I'll ever meet someone who... Matches me the way he did. He... Completed me... And now he's gone by the hands of some filthy sinner"
For Abel, hearing Lute talking about how she practically was in love with his father was kind of awkward, sure, but he knew she needed it. It was way healthier than just going on another rampage. Now, he didn't dare interrupt her.
"He gave me one last smile. I saw it all, the life draining out of his eyes, the color leaving his skin, his face too... I hadn't seen his face many times before, since he was always wearing that damn mask"
Lute took yet another drag.
"I was his lieutenant, I should've been there, should've stopped that demon scum, or at the very least... It should've been me".
"Okay, let me stop you right there" Abel said, mustering up enough courage to intervene. Lute looked at him with a confused frown.
"Don't talk like my dad's life was worth more than yours" Abel scratched the back of his head awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say "I mean... your life matters too! It was an intense battle down there and you survived it, that should count for something, right?"
"... What does it matter if he didn't make it?"
"Oh, Lute..." Abel looked at her with sad eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but Lute interrupted him before he could speak.
"Don't" she raised her hand to Abel's face, still holding the joint, to signal him in a 'talk to the hand' fashion "I don't want your pity".
"I... Wasn't going to say anything like that" Abel hesitated, then reached his hand toward Lute's slowly, almost touching it, but not quite "Can I take it?" He asked, referring to the joint.
"... Take it"
Abel took the joint carefully, like it was something fragile instead of half-burned paper. He didn't light it again, just held it between his fingers and stared at it for a long second.
"I wasn't pitying you" he said finally, voice low "I just... hate hearing you talk like you're disposable, he made me feel that way my whole life, and I don't want you to feel it too."
Lute let her hand fall back to her lap.
She didn't look at him.
"Too late" she muttered "I was disposable to him, probably. Useful, yeah, loyal, the best fucking soldier he ever had, but never..." Her throat worked. "Never more than that, never the one he'd choose if it came down to it. I really... want to think I was special to him, the same way he was to me, but there's no way of knowing now"
She laughed once, short, ugly, wet.
"And still I'd trade places with him in a heartbeat, how fucked up is that?"
Abel's grip tightened on the dead joint
"Pretty fucked up" he admitted. "But I get it, i'd do the same, even after everything he didn't give me... even knowing he'd probably laugh at me for it."
Lute finally turned her head, her eyes were dry again, but red and raw.
"I keep forgetting you actually are his kid" she said, and for once it didn't sound like an insult, more like wonder or resignation.
Abel shrugged, small and tired "Yeah, worst parts and none of the good ones, probably."
Silence stretched again. Lute leaned her head back.
"I keep thinking..." she said after a long minute "if I'd been better, faster, smarter... Maybe he'd have looked at me different, maybe he'd have..." She stopped, then swallowed "Doesn't matter now."
Abel crushed the remains of the joint in his palm, slow and deliberate.
"I keep thinking if I'd been harder..." he said "maybe he'd have looked at me at all"
They didn't say anything more for a while.
The breeze moved over them, the city lights of Heaven glittered below.
"I think... He did us dirty" Abel said, shrugging.
"What do you know?" Lute answered quite aggressively "He didn't treat me bad, he was just... Tough. I'm sure he at least respected me"
"Lute... C'mon"
"What!"
"Even if that was true, he treated you badly. He called you a stupid bitch at least twice a day and he probably meant it... What do you exactly miss about him?"
"Well--!" Lute took a while to formulate an answer, the world was kind of spinning after all, and her head was foggy "Slicing sinners in half with him, of course"
"Uh-huh, keep going" Abel looked at her with a -sorta- smug grin when he saw her thinking more than she should and fiddling with her halo-bracelet, almost nervous. In another context, he would've never done that, but since they were both chill, maybe he could allow himself that.
"Stop looking at me like that, wimp! I'm thinking!"
"Okay, okay! I'll just wait here for your answer, patiently" for the first time in his life, Abel was having a fun moment with Lute. No screaming, no venom, no slander, just... Playful mockery. It was refreshing.
Lute growled at him, but then she sighed and drifted her gaze. As if to shelter herself form the vulnerability that came with talking about Adam, she hugged her knees and rested her head against them.
"I also miss... Our dynamic. He was the fierce leader and I was his lieutenant, I always had his back and I'm pretty sure he had mine. I think my point is... I miss... Having someone there..."
Abel just nodded, watching Lute's every little move like it was the only thing he could focus on, which, it actually was.
"Now that he's gone, I have no one. Nothing... I've destroyed every possession he had, his office is a... A mess" Lute said, slurring her words a little because, of course, she was high. She looked at her prosthetic arm, specifically her wrist, where her halo-bracelet rested "the only thing left is this... Constant reminder that he's not here anymore"
Abel looked at it too, and caught the exact moment Lute slipped Adam's halo off her wrist in one wobbly movement and threw it off the ledge as she growled in frustration, too fast for Abel to stop her.
"Lute what the--?! Shit--!!" Abel shot off the ledge, wings flaring as he dove after it as fast as he could.
... Lute was left alone for a hot minute. She looked at the night sky once again, her hands, her legs... She felt like she was drifting away from everything, slowly. She couldn't even grasp the magnitude of what she'd just done, couldn't comprehend it, the only thing she knew was that she didn't have her bracelet anymore and she didn't care right away.
Her head was so foggy... She looked down the ledge.
Maybe she could...
Abel interrupted her train of thought by appearing right in front of her, beating his wings forcefully. She frog blinked, observing him.
He was panting and sweating, his right hand clutching his chest as it rose and fell with each breath, struggling to draw air back into his lungs. He looked at her seriously, red eyes fixed on her beneath a deep frown, though she couldn't decipher what kind of frown it was.
Lute squinted her eyes and frowned as well. She was about to ask Abel to fly out of her sight, but the words caught in her throat when he extended his left hand at her.
He was holding Adam's halo.
"You..! Were going to regret that" He said, like a reprimand.
Lute looked at the halo, wide-eyed, then at her wrist.
She really did throw it on impulse... Just like all of the times she'd been destroying Adam's office... Out of rage, out of frustration...
Out of pain.
"I... Didn't really mean to..."
"I know, that's why I have it right here" Abel said, still frowning "are you gonna put it back on or should I hold on to it until you're back to your senses?"
"Give it back" she said, snatching the halo from Abel's hand. She tried to put it on again, but her hand was shaking too much, and suddenly, her body was so limp that she felt like she had no control over her prosthetic arm.
"What the fuck..?"
Abel stopped frowning and gave her a rather worried look. Seeing her struggle hurt him a little for some reason. It wasn't pity, it was something else... Maybe empathy from the times that same thing had happened to him.
"Hey... it's okay," he said softly, voice low and steadyn"It's just the crash, your body's coming down. Happens sometimes."
Lute tried again to slide the halo over her wrist, but her fingers fumbled, the ring slipping twice. A frustrated growl escaped her throat.
"Fucking... useless arm..." she muttered, glaring at her prosthetic like it had betrayed her.
Abel hesitated, then reached out carefully "Let me?"
Lute's head snapped up. Her first instinct was to snarl, to slap his hand away, but the fight drained out of her as fast as it came. She was too tired, too heavy, too everything.
She didn't say yes, just looked away and extended the hand that was holding the halo toward him.
Abel took that as permission.
He gently took the halo from her shaking fingers. His hands were steady now, though still warm from the dive.
He held her prosthetic hand carefully, like it was something fragile and precious, even though Lute had no sensitivity there, and then, he slid the ring over her wrist, slow, not tightening it like a cuff, just letting it rest there, loose.
Lute watched his hands the whole time, didn't pull away.
When he was done, he didn't let go immediately, he held her wrist lightly, like he was checking she was still there.
"There you go" Abel said softly. Lute looked at him in the eyes as he said it.
They shared a look. None of them could decipher what it meant, maybe it was just shared suffering, or maybe it was an understanding look, like they completely knew what the other was going through.
Or just maybe, it was something else... For Abel at least. Holding her gaze while still holding her hand sure made a jolt of shame and hyper awareness rush over him, and a faint blush spread across his cheeks.
Seeing Lute just being herself, letting someone see her in a vulnerable state, guard -at least partially- down, just maybe sorta-kinda woke up something in him in the middle of his high... a little bit.
But for the sake of both of them, he would push that aside.
"You're shaking," he said quietly, ignoring the feeling "All over."
Lute huffed a bitter laugh "No shit, I feel like I'm made of fucking lead."
"That'll pass too" Abel said "Just... breathe, in and out, you're still here."
She closed her eyes for a long second. When she opened them, they were glassy again.
Abel flew back to his sitting spot on the ledge next to Lute, just to clear her view... And also because he was tired of flying in one spot. Maybe he sat a little closer to her... Just maybe.
There was silence for a few seconds, just the two of them, alone together, looking at the city from above, sharing a moment none of them ever thought possible.
"... What the fuck" she said suddenly, then started laughing softly, almost like she couldn't believe herself "why am I telling YOU all of this?"
"Maybe because... We're both fucked up? And grieving the same person" Abel smiled softly, relaxed "I see it as... Trauma bonding" he said, extending his arms like he was making a rainbow with them.
Lute just started laughing louder "Me? Trauma bonding? Venting to a wimp like you? To anyone? Adam would say I'm a total pussy for talking about it and not sucking it up".
She kept laughing, reaching almost a manic state. She would clutch her stomach if she could, but that just wasn't posible yet.
"Why the fuck am I laughing?!" She asked, frustrated, voice cracking between laughs.
Her own question only made it worse. Another wave of giggles bubbled up, completely involuntary.
She pressed her good hand over her mouth, but the laughter leaked through her fingers anyway, shoulders shaking.
Everything suddenly felt absurd: the rooftop, the halo, the fact that she was sitting here, half-numb, spilling her guts to Abel of all people, Adam's son. The wimp, the one she'd spent months terrorizing.
And he'd just dove headfirst off a building to catch a stupid ring for her.
The thought hit her brain like a spark, and she snorted, loud, unladylike, nothing like the lieutenant of the exorcists' army.
Abel watched her with wide eyes at first, then a helpless smile tugged at his lips. He tried to hold it back, but a soft chuckle escaped him too.
"It's the weed" he said, voice warm with understanding "Everything's funny when it hits the giggle spot, even when it shouldn't be."
Lute dropped her hand from her mouth, still laughing, eyes watering now.
"It's not funny," she gasped between breaths. "None of this is fucking funny"
"I know," Abel said, smile fading into something gentler "But your brain's trying to let go of something for five seconds... let it."
The laughter slowed gradually, turning into shaky exhales. Her stomach muscles ached and her cheeks hurt.
When it finally tapered off, she was left breathing hard, forehead resting on her knees again.
"Fucking hate this" she muttered, voice thick "Hate feeling like I can't control my own damn head."
Abel didn't touch her, he just sat close enough that she could feel his presence.
"You don't have to control it right now" he said quietly "Not up here... not with me"
Lute didn't respond, just breathed, trying to ignore the intimacy of the moment... Trying to ignore the fact that she was tolerating Abel and it wasn't half bad.
... They were actually bonding.
"Don't push it" she barked.
"Not pushing-- not pushing at all!" He answered.
"Good".
Lute let the word hang there, flat and final, then she leaned back against the ledge again, wings spreading lazily behind her for balance.
The silence returned, not heavy nor awkward this time, just... there, the kind neither of them was used to.
Abel glanced at her sideways. She was staring out at the horizon, eyes half-lidded, the last traces of laughter still softening the edges of her face.
Heaven's clouds drifted below them, fluffy and golden in the fake dawn light.
"Hey..." Lute said suddenly, voice slow and distant, like the thought had floated up from nowhere "Don't you think... the clouds look like cotton candy?"
Abel blinked and then snorted, a short, surprised sound that turned into a soft laugh.
"You got the munchies?"
"The what?"
He grinned, small and genuine "The hunger. Weed does that, makes everything look edible, or makes you want to eat everything"
Lute frowned, squinting at the clouds again as if reevaluating them.
"...That's stupid" she said, but there was no heat in it. Her stomach gave a quiet, traitorous rumble, Abel heard it and his grin widened just a fraction.
"But hey, it happens".
"Huh" Lute said, wondering about a few things "Is that why you're so..?" She left the question hanging when she caught Abel's curious, attentive look at her, like she was about to say something -totally not offensive- to him.
"Nevermind".
"Maybe... We can go get cotton candy? There must be something open at this time" Abel squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for Lute's inevitable -and probably snarky- negative response. Some of her usual banter.
But instead, Lute looked at him with tired, red eyes, frowning not in disgust, but something else entirely different.
"I don't like candy" she said.
Abel opened one eye, then the other. No snarl, no insult, just... that tired look.
He let out a soft breath, half relief, half laugh.
"Okay," he said, nodding slowly. "No candy, got it"
Lute kept staring at the clouds, frown softening a tad bit.
Silence again, comfortable this time, the kind that didn't demand anything.
Her stomach rumbled once more, louder this time, impossible to ignore.
She huffed, annoyed at her own body.
"...But I'm hungry" she admitted, voice low, almost embarrassed, like she was showing weakness.
Abel didn't tease this time, he didn't grin wider, he just nodded again, carefully "There's that kitchen in the east wing" he said quietly "Always has stuff that's not sweet, nobody around this hour... Can you... Move properly now?"
Lute raised her prosthetic hand and wiggled her fingers "seems like it".
"How about we..." he started, but the words caught in his throat for a moment, like he physically couldn't speak "...I bring you something from there?" he corrected himself.
She didn't answer right away, just looked at him, really looked.
Abel held her gaze, but his wings twitched nervously behind him, waiting for the snap.
Finally, she let out a long, tired breath.
"...Yeah" she muttered, barely audible. "Something... Greasy-- I don't know-- whatever"
Abel saw a faint flush of shame in Lute's cheeks and then blinked, genuinely surprised she hadn't said a flat "no", or worse.
"... Fries?"
"Fries"
"Yapperoni! Won't be long. Five minutes."
Lute didn't nod, didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes, but the moment Abel was about to fly off to get her food, she called out to him.
"Hey, Abel" she said.
"What?" Abel answered, already flying in his spot.
"I don't want you talking to me after this. Don't even look at me" she started, calm, almost fully collected, like the high was passing "tomorrow, you're back to being the wimp you've always been, and I'm back to -forcefully- being your lieutenant. Nothing more than that, today never happened".
Abel blinked a few times, but then he smiled softly at Lute, even though she couldn't see it, and said "No, it didn't".
But the day after, he noticed Lute's halo-bracelet stayed loose on her wrist, just the way he'd adjusted it for her.
He was glad that at least something stuck up with her.
Maybe it meant something.