holy

epilogue.

they say that winters are long, but none was as long as that one.

it was cold—the wind paid no mind to the fear-stricken angel inside, nor the disgruntled demon.

snow piled up around the house in thick layers. if brett could have somehow made it outside, he wouldn't have been able to get past the front door.

sometimes the clouds would cover the icy winter sky and snow would pack up against the windows and shroud the house in complete darkness.

it was at these times that brett got sicker.

winter was certainly no place for an angel, and it didn't seem to help that his time in hell had left a scar on the deepest parts of his mind.

trusting in eddy took long, too. every time the angel saw his lover's face he was brought back to the hot, dry cell, the red glint of the fire, eddy's limp body before him.

those memories didn't just go away.

but he was getting better. lucifer was gone, he knew that. and so was eddy's father. of course, that meant that eddy was the official ruler of hell now, but he didn't seem to bothered by that fact. how could he, when the king of hell held him so tightly in his arms every night?

brett no longer shied away from eddy's long arms pulling him close, or his fingers curling around the back of his neck for a kiss. in some ways, it was just like before. the same wintry bliss he felt on that day with the snowball fight came back to him when they kissed next to the cold window and for a short instance he loved the winter.

but of course, this was not reality. the winter was unforgiving, especially to the angel, and it didn't matter how many vials of holy water michael sent down, brett was still sick.

no poison, this time, thankfully. it just seemed that angels weren't meant for earth winters. but that didn't mean brett was going to leave—he wouldn't even let michael bring up the option.

so he endured, finding solace in eddy's warmth every day and every night, pushing through the heavy sickness with his lover by his side.

and as for eddy, he wasn't quite fond of the long winter months either. but, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't avoid the outdoors. ever since succeeding to the throne, his murderous tendencies had only gotten stronger, and the amount of nights he had to leave the house to "work" had consequently increased.

he wasn't too happy about the outcome, as sending humans to hell in below freezing temperatures was not at all ideal.

what was ideal, though, was coming back to see his angel curled up on the couch with one of his thick, black blankets he had brought from hell, sound asleep. the angel looked so beautiful in the winter moonlight, dark eyelashes resting on rosy cheeks, strands of soft black hair strewn across his skin.

sure, the winter was not as great as the human movies had made it seem. but having each other made it all worth it.

•

when the first sign of spring arrived, the angel was up on his feet and out the door before the demon even had the chance to hold him back.

the sun shone with a comfortable warmth and left small puddles of melted snow on the ground, exposing vibrant green grass that had been hidden away for months. the doves had returned in place of winter's crows, and were perched quietly on a tree, watching from a distance.

a small gust of winter wind pushed by, and brett was once again back inside, but spring was soon on its way.

when the trees grew leaves again and when the white wildflowers began to bloom in the front yard, and when cherry blossom petals floated in the wind, the angel's sickness had faded and he was happier than ever. and of course, the demon was happy to see his angel alive like this again.

still early in the spring, one morning, eddy woke up to the angel leaning over his face, hair wild and golden eyes glowing with excitement.

"eddy?" the angel asked mischievously.

"no," eddy responded, slinging a tired arm over his eyes. he'd been up late, watching brett toss and turn through a bad dream.

"eddy!"

"what?" the demon asked, exasperated.

"it's sunny outside," brett said, his voice tinged with hope.

"good."

"eddy! get up, or we'll miss out," brett tugged at eddy's arm, dragging the disgruntled demon out of bed.

the demon didn't let himself get pushed around too much, though, and he tugged the angel back into his embrace and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

for a moment, brett forgot all about his plan and leaned into the kiss eagerly. each one was like the first.

he pulled away, breathless, before regathering his thoughts.

he peered up at eddy with round, pleading eyes.

"what do you want?" eddy sighed, knowing the look on the angel's face all too well.

"we should go out today," brett suggested slyly.

"for a walk?"

"...no."

"no."

"eddy, please?" brett asked. he hadn't unfurled his wings since lucifer had come to take him. needless to say, it had been far too long.

"no," eddy repeated firmly.

it wasn't that he didn't want to go, no, he loved to see the joy on the angel's face up in the clouds. he was afraid, though. afraid that it would be too cold for the angel or that he was too weak after the long winter, or that his wings wouldn't work the same after what had happened.

but there was no way he could resist brett's face. not now, not ever.

"fine," eddy sighed in defeat and dragged his heavy limbs out of bed, blindly grabbing at clothes while brett watched eagerly from the doorway.

by the time the two lovers made it out the door, the sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a trace of winter to be felt in the warm air.

•

they say that spring is a time of rebirth, growth, renewal.

it certainly felt as such for the angel and the demon.

with the snow melting away and failing to return, the two lovers no longer confined themselves to the house.

trips to heaven and hell were infrequent— neither of the two were particularly popular amongst their immortal counterparts. despite fulfillment of the honored prophecy, fraternizing with the other was highly looked down upon.

so earth it was. not really their favorite place, but it was where they could be together— without judgement, without fear. it was where they could kiss, love, play the violin for one another; the sound heavenly in the earth-bound air.

most importantly, though, it was where they belonged.

together, in each other's holy embrace.

•••

hello all,

sorry for the long, long wait. school took up my time (amongst other things), but i finally felt like i could wrap up holy. i hope you enjoyed the ending. though, if i ever feel like it, i may add bonus chapters here.

goodbye for now, though, and thank you so much for reading holy.