Regina sat on the
couch, a blanket over her shoulders and a steaming cup of tea in front of
her. Gus’s roommate, Nando, was watching
her with narrowed eyes.
“So,” he nudged the
tea towards her, “you’re a demon?”
“Yep.”
“Tell me something,”
Nando leaned forward, “are those wing nuts right? Am I going to hell because
I’m gay?”
Regina laughed. That
was one question she had never expected to hear.
“How could anything
to do with love send you to hell?” She picked up the tea and took a sip. “Intentionally spend your life trying to hurt
someone, yep. Do your best to make life
difficult for others just because they make you uncomfortable, sure. Falling in
love with someone, not a chance.”
“I knew it!” Nando
stood up.
“So,” Regina glanced
around the small apartment. “Where am I
supposed to sleep?”
“Huh?”
“Well, I’m kind of
connected to Gus, so…” Regina giggled at the look of horror spreading across
Nando’s face. “I’m just kidding. I have
my own place up in Old Town. Came with
the body.”
She didn’t like
humans, actually she hated them, but Nando was someone she found herself hating
just a little less then the rest of humanity.
Of course, she still had to taint his best friend’s soul enough to send
him spiraling into the pits of hell, and if Nando was collateral damage, then
so be it, but it wasn’t personal. It was
just business.
***
Missy found herself
on the roof of Gus’s building, her legs dangling over the edge. She watched the city around her, at the
people rushing about, laughing, talking.
Even at night the city seemed so full of life. A life that she would never get to
experience. Not as a human, at least.
She shook her
head. Her sour mood was carrying over
from confrontation with early. She
didn’t like hearing that she had to share Gus, but when she had consulted with
the Angelic Council, in that weird, dream like way that they preferred doing
this, she was told that it was required.
“For balance”, they
had told her.
Again, that was
something she had wished they had informed her of earlier.
“You haven’t changed
back into your street clothes.” Gus was climbing up the fire escape towards
her.
“Guess I needed a
little comfort.” Missy hugged her arms around herself, feeling the warmth of
her cheerleading sweater. It did bring
her comfort. It reminded her of a life
she could barely remember.
Gus sat down next to
her. “So, I should apologize. I didn’t trust you earlier, and…”
“Don’t worry about
it.” Missy waved way his comment.
“You’re new to all of this. Hell,
I’m new to all of this. It’ll take some getting used to. You going to trust me from now on?”
“Yep.” Gus nodded.
“Good.”
They sat there in
silence for a little while longer, watching the flickering lights of a city so
big it seemed to vanish over the horizon.
“Somewhere, out in
that big sea of lights is the person I’m going to fall in love with.” Gus didn’t
look at her as he spoke. “You being here is proof of that.”
“And starting tomorrow,
we will start our search for real.” Missy patted him on his shoulder. “We’ll
find her, and you both will help bring a little more light into a world that
has been losing love.”
She smiled. She believed it. She really did.
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