A new day came with ease. Tom was up, showered, and dressed before Ezra could even blink himself awake. "I slept well," he said to the demon lounging under the duvet. I feel good today, so I'm going into the village to get us breakfast.
Ezra checked his watch. "It's almost midday," he mumbled with the weight of sleep all over his tired body.
"A late breakfast then," Tom smiled, leaning in to kiss Ezra's forehead, feeling his warmth beneath his lips.
"You're going to talk to the angel, aren't you?"
"Maybe . . . if I see her."
"You're going to look for her, aren't you?"
Tom didn't say anything, he only made a face that revealed all.
Ezra sighed softly, knowing he was still too injured to go with him. "At least take Cal with you."
"I will, to give you peace of mind." Tom stretched his arms above his head, noting how Ezra stared at the way his t-shirt lifted above his waistband. "I'll be quick."
"Be as long as you need to. And be careful," Ezra warned.
"I'll tell Cal that."
"I'm telling you that!" Ezra yelled as Tom left the room and headed for the stairs. His sister lingered by the kitchen door, watching him go.
"How is he?" she asked.
Tom turned, knowing that Cal was already waiting outside for him. "Go and ask him," he said gently. "I'm sure he'd appreciate you making an effort." He left to the sound of his sister's footsteps shuffling towards his bedroom.
Cal was leaning against the wall of the pub with his hair washed and up in a bun. He wore a white t-shirt and dark green shorts with black flipflops, eager for the sunshine to warm the day. He looked better than he had in a while, and Tom pulled him into a friendly embrace.
"Good morning," he said with a light beat to his tone.
"Someone's happy. Does this mean Ezra is back then?" Cal asked, strongly patting his back and swaying them a little.
"Yeah."
"What did he go and do?" Cal asked as they left the pub grounds and ventured down the country road. Sheep called in the distance, and the fresh air tussled their hair.
Tom explained everything, especially the state Ezra arrived home in. He made sure to tell Cal about the angel who visited them last night, and what she had almost said.
"Odd," Cal murmured. "I wonder what she had wanted to say."
"That's what we're going to find out, hopefully."
"Surely, she won't tell you in the library. That's basically the angel's headquarters for this village."
"What else can I do?"
They looked at each other, as they lingered on the library steps. Cal shrugged, so Tom grabbed his shoulder, and they entered without a plan.
"She might not even be here," Tom mumbled, looking around.
Haisley was stacking books on the daily recommended shelf. She glanced at them above her glasses and guiltily turned away. Tom knew she felt bad from banning him from the library, and he hoped she would feel bad for a while. Her judgement of demons had hurt him more.
"There," he whispered, spotting the angel by the window, talking to an old woman about crochet patterns.
They sat on a table and stared at her. Tom soon realised that they would draw attention to themselves and grabbed two books off a nearby shelf.
"Geography," Cal said, frowning at the thick hardback book. He glanced to Tom's fiction one with a matt black dragon against a red shiny background. "Why do you get a cool one?"
"We're not here too read," Tom hissed, side-eyeing the angel who was still deep in conversation.
Cal still swapped the books and started flicking through the pages.
Tom didn't know what he was going to say to the angel, and his nerves grew when she noticed him, and double glanced. He cleared his throat, sat up straight, and fiddled with his hands under the table. She knew he was there to see her, and there was no point in pretending otherwise.
The old woman soon moved on, and the angel stalled by the window. Tom knew she would try to leave and got up when she marched towards the door. But Cal had been paying attention and already moved to block her exit.
"Good afternoon," he said with a smile, which grew when Tom stood by his side.
"Excuse me," she said politely, struggling to meet Tom's gaze. "I must go and-"
"Sit with us," Tom whispered. "We need to talk with you."
She shook her head. Her curls swarmed her face. "Not here. A later date, perhaps?"
"Tonight," Tom demanded. "Or I will look for you again."
She finally met his gaze, and her worry ached his heart. "Tonight. Ezra will know when I have arrived." She gave him a wobbly smile and moved around them.
As Tom watched her go, he noticed Othrowan staring at them from the door to the angel's choir practice. His face was twisted with interest and confusion.
"Let's go," Cal said, but he wasn't watching Othrowan, he was watching another angel who had the same expression. They left with thumping hearts. "I think we made that far too obvious."
"They're all up to something, I just know it," Tom grumbled, making sure to stop off at a café for breakfast. He enjoyed things returning to normal. He enjoyed being treated like an average human again. But Tom couldn't relish it when his thoughts were so deep into theories of what the angels were up to.
On their way back to the country road, Harper was turning the corner on her way to the Gym. She worked there, and looked tired and underprepared as she scraped hair up into a short ponytail. Cal paused so abruptly that Tom walked into the back of him.
Cal watched her glance in their direction before speeding away towards her work. "She's being a twat, so why does it hurt so much," he whined.
"Come on," Tom said sadly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leading him away, so Cal wouldn't watch her until she was out of his sight.
"Do you think once everything is sorted, and the angels stop doing whatever they're doing, then she'll go back to the woman I fell in love with?"
Tom smiled. "I hope so. I really, really hope so."
Back at the pub, Tom was surprised to see Ezra sitting in the living room with Neasa and his mother. He plopped himself down with a smile, handing him a few pastries and some coffee. He told him what had happened at the library, and they waited for the rest of the day, anxiously checking out the windows, pacing the pub, and trying to distract themselves from both.
Once the sun had set, and the pub was ripe with locals, they sat in the beer garden, each with a pint and wandering thoughts. Cal sat with them too, thought he was working and had to keep checking to make sure nobody was causing a fuss.
Tom rested his head on Ezra's shoulder. The night wasn't cold, but Ezra's warmth was appreciated. He felt the demon shift closer to him, and then his breath on his forehead. "Tired?" Ezra asked.
"No, just bored of waiting."
"Me too." He had been holding his ribs all day and pretending like he was fine. Tom had always known they could give each other a run for their money with stubbornness, so he stopped fussing. Though he still made sure to softly rub his back or talk to him when the pain was clear in his expressive eyes.
"Your sister was very kind to me earlier. She was very concerned about my injuries and wouldn't rest until she could have a look herself."
"She would've made a great nurse," Tom said, smiling. "Now that Gerry's out of the picture, she can dream again."
"She certainly can. That man is more of a soul sucker than I am," Ezra mumbled. "Is that what she wanted to do before she married him?"
Tom nodded against his shoulder. "He convinced her that all she was good for was being his wife. She did make a great wife, but to the wrong man. He wanted to keep her in a cage."
"But her wings stretch beyond the metal," Ezra said.
His voice was distant, and when Tom looked up, so were his eyes. He ran a hand through Ezra's hair, and he blinked back into the present.
"I'd never do that to you," Ezra said. "I hope you know that."
"I do. And I hope you know that I-"
"Of course I do," Ezra interrupted, leaning close to kiss his lips. "You're capable of great things. I want you to go way beyond your means. Dream, make mistakes, reach goals, do the impossible, Tom. Your life is yours. I just want to be a part of it."
There it was again, the reminder that Tom was a blink in Ezra's life. There was a past, and there would be a future without him. He pushed those thoughts away and focused on the moment. "I'm excited for our future together," he whispered.
Ezra hesitated, holding him tightly, and barely moving as if he had read Tom's sad thoughts. "Me too," he eventually whispered.