Diego’s Dance with Death - 16. Two Brothers Go on a Double Date

After the picnic Theo stayed away from CC for a couple of days. But based on some consulting with Sablo, Diego, and Azrael, he decided to take the bull, AKA Ayil, by the horns. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong; he’d just done his damn job.

This early in the morning, Cupid Central was still deserted. Inhaling deeply, he pressed down the handle and opened the door to Ayil’s office. Relieved his commander wasn’t in yet, he contemplated what to do next. While he looked around the room, his barely suppressed inner rant started again. How could Ayil, commander of the Cupids, be angry with him for following fucking protocol? Theo stomped over to Ayil’s desk, leaving mud clumps on the pristine, light gray carpet everywhere he went. As if he’d take off his shoes today. No one really cared for proper conduct, right? Even the boss. He threw himself on Ayil’s chair, put his feet on the desk in front him, crossed them at the ankles, and waited for his commander.

Fifteen minutes later, Theo heard Ayil scolding Diniel outside. It seemed he was in a bad mood. Good!

“Theliel! Get out of my chair ASAP!”

In slow motion, Theo did what he was told, drawling, “Mornin’, boss.”

“You are on nestling duty for the foreseeable future!”

“Why?”

Staring at his Cupid incredulously, Ayil sputtered, “Be-because you shot me! Us!”

“I get punished for doing my job properly? Your and Ariel’s auras match perfectly. Multiple tests leave no doubt of this. THEY summoned me to test you and gave me two gold-tipped silver arrows. Instead of being happy for getting a chance of finding true love you punish me? Don’t you have better things to do? For example, helping a certain Roman to mend his heart?”

“Uh—”

“That’s what I thought.” After swiping dried mud from the desktop to the floor, Theliel left the room. He had another appointment this morning.

***

Theo hurried through the park, balancing two reusable to-go mugs and a small paper bag in his hands. He stopped at the entrance to the rose garden and looked around until he spotted the lone figure sitting on one of the benches facing the angel fountain. While several people occupied the other ones, his friend had the bench to himself.

“Hey.” Azrael looked up and smiled when he heard Theo. The cupid passed him one of the mugs. “Tea?”

Azrael nodded, took the mug, and opened the lid. After sniffing the steaming beverage, he hummed appreciatively. “Your own Chai recipe?”

“Yes.” Theliel waved the paper bag around. “A.I. cookie?”

Azrael eyed the bag warily, and Theo grinned. ”Freshly baked, lint-free A.I. cookie?”

“With chocolate?”

“Of course.” Theo sipped his coffee. “How’s silvered life so far?”

Azrael’s immediate smile seemed to light up the entire park. “Perfect.”

Theliel grinned like the cat who got the cream. “What did you want to talk about?”

Azrael played with the hem of his shirt. “What do you think about doing a double date?”

“Great idea!”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. What do you have in mind?”

Azrael ducked his head. “Diego suggested sightseeing when he heard I haven’t seen much of Earth. He’s been taking me to some wonderful places in North America and Europe. I want to do something for him in return. I thought I’d surprise him with planning a trip too, and I’ve looked up nice places to visit. I could use help, though. Sablo and Diego are pretty close, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“So how about we take our men on a nice trip?”

Theo glared at his friend. “Somewhere comfortable and warm. Not fucking Iceland, hot pools or not.”

“Somewhere exotic then?”

“No boats either, otherwise you’ll watch Sablo puke his guts out.”

“No thanks, not again.” Azrael tapped his lips rhythmically with a finger. “What about Mauritius? Tamarind Falls?”

“Um...That wasn’t a spontaneous idea.”

“I found this place in my research. It’s gorgeous there, and Diego loves my garden and unspoiled nature. We could hike down along the falls or something and maybe enjoy the beach later.”

“I should warn you, I’m not exactly an organized planner either, not like our boys, ex-military, ex-police and stuff.” After a short pause, Theliel nodded. “Let’s gather more information and meet here again tomorrow the same time.”

The next day they decided Mauritius was the perfect choice. They would aim for nine am to avoid other visitors. Azrael assured Theo it would be OK to jump ten to twelve hours ahead, depending on local departure time.

“Can we make it a surprise trip? I know Sablo. If I tell him beforehand, he’ll want to check everything and probably go over every detail with his brother.”

“Yes, I’ve also noticed Diego’s meticulous attention to detail. He prepares every mission very carefully.”

“Let’s avoid excessive discussions and planning. If we simply ‘port them to a viewpoint at the falls, the guys will have to cope.”

“Very well, I’ll check with Commander Ariel when our partners have a day off.”

“Very brave of you. I prefer to keep a low profile for a while yet.” Theo shuddered. Confronting Ayil is one thing, but the angry Roman gives me the willies.

***

Three days later, they were ready to carry out the plan. Azrael had insisted they needed rucksacks, saying it was the only way to do a trip. Theliel forced himself not to roll his eyes at his friend’s conditions. He made four big sandwiches and added a bag of chips, another one of Az’ stipulations. Two bottles of water, two towels, swimming trunks, and sunglasses as well as Sablo’s hiking shorts and shoes. Rucksack by his feet, he waited for his partner to come home.

The Angel of Death hid in the master bathroom of his new house, nervously wriggling his toes, testing the feel of the heavy hiking boots and thick socks. He and Theo had chosen almost identical outfits, except for the color of the shirts. His was white, Theo’s bright purple.

Azrael couldn’t wait to see Diego’s expression when he first saw where he’d ‘ported them. Compulsively opening and closing one of the many pockets of his pants, he tried not to talk himself out of the double date surprise.

“Azrael? Are you here?” Diego was home and in their bedroom by the sound of it.

Azrael felt like his throat had closed up. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything, but managed to send off the agreed sign to Theo. At last, he took a deep breath, grabbed the rucksack, stormed into the bedroom, and tapped his lover on the shoulder.

Just when his partner entered the living room, Theo felt a mental nudge. Perfect timing. He quickly got up from the sofa and hoisted his rucksack onto his shoulder.

Sablo frowned at him. “Hey, are you going out? I thought we were having a movie night.”

Instead of replying, he kissed his lover hello, and ‘ported them to a viewpoint that overlooked a lush green canyon with several waterfalls and a beautiful lake. Nice. And it’s warm too.

Sablo stared around and raised his eyebrows at him, probably ready to ask a million questions, when they heard a familiar ‘pop’. They turned around, and their mouths dropped open on seeing Azrael standing beside Diego, who was only wearing pajama bottoms.

Sablo recovered first. “I’m glad to see you’re even less prepared for this trip than me. Or perhaps you were expecting another kind of exercise?”

Theo collapsed against his partner in helpless giggles as Azrael turned red, and Diego told his brother to ‘shut the fuck up’.

Both Guardians looked around to make sure they were alone before changing into the shorts, socks and boots their lovers had brought for them. When Theo whistled appreciatively at the sight of the black jock that outlined Diego’s muscular butt very flatteringly, his three companions all gave him unamused looks.

“What? I’m faithful in love, not blind. Sablo’s butt is still the most handsome one I’ve ever seen – and it’s all mine.”

His lover tried to smack his ass, but Theo dodged away and laughed at him. “You can’t deny it, ‘cause I have that in writing.”

“Whatever. Can we get on with this? I assume we’re meant to hike down to the lake?”

Azrael nodded and looked beseechingly at his partner, who was standing with his arms crossed.

“I wanted to take you somewhere beautiful and relaxing, and I thought you might like to share the experience with your brother. After all, you haven’t had much time to do things together, either, after being drafted as Guardians.”

Diego immediately smiled at his lover. “It was a good idea, and you’ve found a fantastic spot. Let’s enjoy the view for a bit, before we start walking down.”

He took Azrael’s hand and led him off to one side of the cliff edge, where they stood close together, talking in low voices, pointing at the waterfalls and sharing a few kisses.

Sablo didn’t quite roll his eyes, but he did sigh and shake his head. “At least we weren’t this silly and infatuated right after we got arrowed.”

“I think it’s sweet and romantic.” Theo crossed his arms and turned to look at the view. It really was stunning.

Two strong arms encircled him from behind. “I’m sorry, Theo. You know I love you, but I’m useless at the romantic stuff. Diego is the same, so it’s a little strange to see him like this.”

“Like what? Reassuring his lover when he’s feeling insecure? Showing affection to someone who has been starved of intimacy for centuries? Or simply admitting he enjoys other things in life apart from Guardian duty and sex?”

“Hey, that’s unfair. I like doing things with you out of bed.”

“Oh yeah? Making out on the couch? Blowjobs in the kitchen?”

“I like those too, but I love watching you cook and trying the result when you find a new recipe. Watching a movie together, laughing about the funny scenes, and comforting you when you cry over the sad parts.”

“Go on.”

“I enjoyed choosing our kittens together, playing with them at the animal shelter, and deciding which ones we liked. Seeing you laugh at their antics and cuddle with them on the floor.”

“Choosing Amor and Atlas together was a wonderful day. Thank you for making it possible.”

“I like being here together, feeling your body against mine, and sharing the awesome view. I’m grateful you arranged a double date with Diego, because I want to see more of him and get to know his partner. I love you for always knowing what I need and for making me the happiest angel in the universe.”

Theo turned around and smothered Sablo with the hottest kiss he could manage, considering they were dressed and standing up. The rest of the reward for his declaration of love would have to wait till later.

“When you’re done sticking your tongue down my brother’s throat, we should go down to the lake. Azrael says the first hikers will be here an hour from now.”

Theo waved his hand dismissively and ‘ported Sablo and himself to the viewing area at base of the main waterfall. His lover stumbled a bit on landing and let go to look around in surprise. Theo grinned at him.

“Why spend ages walking down and getting all hot and bothered when you can take a shortcut? This way we can get to the beach faster.”

“Diego and I like hiking. The descent looked quite challenging.”

“Feel free to ‘port back up there. You can tell Azrael to join me, and we’ll wait for you here.”

“You’re sure you won’t mind?”

“Of course not, and I bet Az will be pleased with the idea too.”

This proved to be the case, and the two friends relaxed and chatted while their guys did all the hard work. At one point the Angel of Death had to disappear on official duty, but he was back before Diego arrived and none of them told him. No need to spoil their double date with work matters.

They ate their lunch at the beach, and Theo tried to persuade everyone to skinny dip, since Azrael could make sure they’d be invisible. But his companions refused, and Azrael opted to stay in the shade under the parasol and let the other three go swimming. Later, he took a walk along the beach with Diego, padding barefoot in the low water and admitting he enjoyed the feeling. Theo and Sablo took a nap in the shade after making out for a bit.

Their double date ended with a surprise. Azrael and Diego had a quick conversation when the topic of dinner came up. Diego left, and Azrael took Sablo and Theo’s hands and ‘ported them to his place, making the latter gasp in surprise.

“Ooh! We’re in your garden! I didn’t know you had a house too. Are you sure it’s OK for us to be here?”

Sablo stared at him in surprise. “Haven’t you been here before? Why wouldn’t it be OK?”

“Azrael’s garden is outside time and normal space. No one has been here before, well, except Diego, I guess. Do you live here together now?”

“Yes, and it’s not outside time any longer, but still restricted access. Diego moved in here the day you shot us, and that’s when the house came into existence too. Until then, I slept in the garden.”

Before they could ask more questions, Azrael got busy with showing them around, and they took advantage of the guest bathroom facilities. When they returned, he handed them plates, wine glasses, and napkins, and pointed towards the porch. At the same time his partner popped in with several boxes of delicious Italian pizza and two bottles of red wine.

“Let’s eat outside, and later we can go for a walk in the garden.”

“I met Achim at the pizza place and guess what he told me?” Diego said, while opening a pizza carton.

Theo frowned. “Who’s Achim?”

“A fellow Guardian. He had a mission that took him to Rome yesterday. He swears he saw Ayil and Ariel visiting the Colosseum. Ariel appeared to be explaining everything to him.”

“Ariel went back to Rome?” Azrael whispered.

“I thought he said he would never return there,” Sablo interjected.

“Maybe Ayil has his own methods of persuasion.” Theo smiled at the others. “I think getting to know where and how Ariel lived with his family is a great way to help Ariel accept his new life. Ayil shows him he is interested in his past, that he doesn’t want to erase it but add to it.”

“I’m guessing both Guardians and Cupids will be relieved if our commanders make up their differences. But it will be strange to see Ariel happy,” Sablo mused. “We’re so used to him scowling and snapping at us.”

“If the bosses get along, maybe cupids and guardians will mix more too. I might have a chance to shoot more silver arrows.”

“Rahmiel and Diniel looked like they were checking out the possibilities at Diego’s ceremony.” Sablo rolled his eyes when Theo giggled.

“Were they? I didn’t notice.”

“I’m not surprised, bro. All you had eyes and ears for was Azrael.”

“I…um…well, he’s much handsomer than Ariel.”

“I bet Ayil doesn’t agree. Not after being silver struck by Theo.”

“Well, you should know all about having your eyes opened to the perfect partner you were ignoring.”

Azrael and Theo rolled their eyes and smiled at each other as the amiable bickering of the brothers continued while the two couples enjoyed the hot pizza, the excellent red wine, and the beauty of the garden.

It was the perfect end to their first double date.