Weapon of Choice

Chapter 6

3rd Person POV

With a scoff, Hazu spun around in a rush and cupped Meer's face with his rough hands. "Are you okay?" He asked, his tongue laced with panic and uneasiness. His eyes scanned Meer's face, searching for bruises or cuts. "Did he touch you? What did Bael say to you?" Meer winced when Hazu's fingertips grazed the wound on the back of his head. He pulled away from the warm liquid, gazing at his fingers. There was blood on them. "Meer... did he do this to you?" Hazu's breathing became heavy, his eyes glowing once more. There was rage boiling his blood and driving him off the deep end. He couldn't stop staring at his fingers.

"Hazu, I'm fine. It's just a cut that'll turn into a bump on the back of my head." Meer grabbed Hazu's shoulders in hopes that it would ground him. After that didn't help, he shook him a little. "Zu. I'm okay." Hazu's eyes flashed up to Meer's, finally coming back to reality. "Yeah, just look at me and take deep breaths."

They both gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, breathing in sync; Meer getting lost in Hazu's sparkling gold ones, and Hazu forgetting everything in Meer's clouds. Hazu eased his grip on Meer's face, gently dragging his thumb across his cheek. Meer's breath caught in his throat as he relaxed his shoulders a bit.

"You've called me that twice today," Hazu mumbled and dropped his hands down to his waist, turning away. "Zu."

"I can stop if you don't like it." Meer squeaked, taking a deep breath. His ears had begun heating up for a moment there. Looking into that man's eyes really caused the butterflies in his stomach to stir and his heart to race. It was a daunting yet exciting feeling. Like adrenaline was being pumped through his veins.

"No, don't stop." Hazu sighed, turning back around with a weak smile. "Did Bael say anything to you?"

Meer thought for a moment. Hazu had been there for more than half of his and Bael's interaction. "He, uh, just said he wanted to be friends."

Before he could get angry again, Hazu inhaled slowly and closed his eyes. "He does not," he whispered sharply, holding up his pointer finger. "Under any circumstances, want to be friends with you. Bael's an evil demon who would wish nothing more than to ruin me and everyone I care about." He ran his fingers through his hair, stress oozing out of him. "Don't listen to anything he says. He's bad news."

"I know, Hazu." A quiet giggle left Meer's lips, not in a way that made fun of Hazu, but in a way that made him feel like Meer wasn't bothered by Bael at all. It was comforting yet intimidating. When Hazu first met Bael there was sexual tension and fear wrapped up in a tiny little bow. The fact that Meer could laugh at the statement 'he's bad news' when referring to Bael was bewildering. "That's why I mentioned you to him, so he knew exactly where I stood." He gave Hazu a bright smile that took his breath away. "We should probably go back to Ex's, right? After all that?"

For a moment, Hazu's feet carried him behind Meer who had begun strolling happily down the sidewalk. No words would come to his tongue, he didn't even blink. A lump sat at the back of his throat as his mind raced. Meer trusted him implicitly. Trusted him with his own life, so much so that in the face of someone he knew to be a threat he mentioned Hazu. Little did Meer know, the minute Hazu's name left his lips when Bael had him backed up against a wall, he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He knew that Meer was in danger. He wasn't sure how he had known, but he did.

After the clouds parted in Hazu's head, he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Uh, Meer, hold on a sec." He reached out and tugged the back of Meer's shirt gently. "I know a faster way."

"Really?" Meer turned back, tilting his head. He could tell something was bothering Hazu, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"If you trust me."

"Of course I do." This caught Hazu off guard. He'd expected Meer to go along with whatever he was thinking, but not without hesitation. Zu rolled his eyes in exasperation at Meer's confidence in him, smirking as his demonic form took over until he was nothing but smokey shadows and a set of claws. He grabbed Meer by the hand and dragged him into his chest, cloaking him in darkness.

A few of Meer's senses were stolen from him as he was drawn into Hazu's shadows; sight and sound. All of his former surroundings; the city, Ring B, the broken down light post... had all ceased to exist. Meer had found himself in a neverending night with no stars and no way out. And he liked it.

In replacement of sight and hearing, Meer gained a sense of peace. The thoughts of finding out who he used to be, of fighting, were gone. "Hazu?" He realized he'd lost his companion along the way. Unless this was him.

A whispery hiss met Meer's left ear, the faint feeling of breath disturbing the curly hairs on the back of his neck sent goosebumps down his neck. "It's a shortcut, I'm still here." He could picture the smirk on Hazu's face. It brought on a smug look of his own.

"Oh, good." Meer breathed. A gasp left his mouth as he stumbled forward, planting his hands and knees in dead grass. They'd made it to Exodus' backyard in record time. He whipped his head around, standing up and finding Hazu looking much less demonic than before. "Is that part of your power?!" It's not that the dark scared Meer, it amazed him.

Hazu blushed awkwardly, staring at the ground before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, um... I'm sorry I used it. I know it's really dark in there, and I didn't warn you first. I should've warned you first. I'm... I'm sorry if I scared you. That wasn't my intention at all." He became paralyzed in place, unmoving for anything.

This was a side of Hazu that Meer hadn't experienced before. Full of regret and guilt, like he'd done something wrong.

"Huh?" With a tilt of his head, Meer ambled to Hazu's side, bumping his shoulder gently with his own. "You didn't scare me at all. I like your dark." Hazu still refused to move, so Meer smiled softly. "I love how peaceful it is, and that it can just be you and I. I'd stay in there forever if I could, I love it."

He likes my dark. Hazu peered at Meer out of the corner of his eye for an instant before relaxing his stiff stature and turning his body to fully face him. A smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. Meer saw the change in his mood and lead him to the center of the yard. "Are you sure you're not the sunshine demon?"

Meer chuckled with a roll of his eyes. "I'm almost positive that doesn't exist."

"I wouldn't be so sure." The both of them chuckled calmly before Hazu spoke up again. "Hey, we can spare, but I've gotta grab something from the house first if that's alright with you." He jabbed his thumb toward the back door.

"I don't mind!" Meer smiled brightly, watching as Hazu made his way toward the house with haste.