Never Means Forever

Alexander's hands are shaking like crazy as he opens his front door to let us in. I wonder what's making him so jumpy and nervous. I place my hand over his on the knob and smile soothingly when he looks up at me in bewilderment. 

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Alexander." I murmur. 

He smiles at me and leans into my shoulder slightly before taking hold of my arm and leading me into his home. 

"Dad? We're here." He calls, looking up at me once again.

I squeeze his hand before shoving both of mine into my pockets and following him through the house. He leads me into the kitchen where his dad is leaning over the stove, preparing an impressive looking meal. 

"Dad?" Alexander says, catching his attention. The man turns and smiles at the pair of us, wiping his hands on a dish towel and extending one to me.

"I'm Lucian. It is nice to meet you, Mr. Price." I say, bowing my head slightly.

He beams at me and shows of both rows of teeth. "You too. I hope you like chicken." 

"I love chicken, sir." I reply politely.

"Great! Alexander, why don't you set the table? Dinner will be ready soon." 

The pink haired boy nods and grabs three plates from a cabinet on our right. I take the plates from him and just smile when he looks up at me in confusion. A blush breaks out across his cheeks and he turns to gather some cutlery, which I also take. He leads me to the table and we set everything up side by side. Mr. Price places all the food on the table and orders us to sit. He murmurs a quick blessing before we dig in.

"So, Lucian, how'd you meet Alex?" Mr. Price begins. 

I blink and try to think of a way to tell the truth without actually telling him that I was once here to pass his son's soul into the afterlife. Alexander clears his throat and saves me. "He helped me when I ran into a few bullies from school." 

"So, you two go to the same school?" 

"Actually, I'm out of school." I say slowly. "I graduated a while ago." 

In all actuality, the only schooling I had ever really had was while I was still in the promise land. My leaders guided us to knowledge of the world, of humans, and, most importantly, the way of reapers.

"So how old are you?" He asks abruptly. I glance at Alexander who's looking at me curiously as well. 

In terms of angels, I'm nearly a hundred. In terms of reapers, I'm approaching my seventy-fifth year. As a reaper, my body looks much younger than it actually is, as is customary so the humans we reap aren't startled. Once a reaper finds their mate their body is permitted to grow older. Of course, I can't tell him all that. Perhaps I'll explain it to Alexander one day, but for now, I go with the safe answer.

"I'm almost twenty-one." I answer cautiously.

Mr. Prices eyebrows shoot up. "That's quite an age gap."

"It's only four years." Alexander pipes up.

"I guess." He grumbles. "What about college? What do you want to do as a career?" 

"I, uh, I've been... helping people. I was sort of.... created to do so." 

"Ah, so you have those kinds of parents." He sighs, appreciatively. "So, what? A doctor? Lawyer?"

Alexander pushes his finished plate away from him noticeably and sighs, catching both of our attentions. "Dad, please." 

"What? I'm just curious." He shrugs, placing his fork back on his own empty plate. Alexander stands and holds his hand out for my finished plate as well and begins clearing the table.

"You're being too curious." He smiles softly.

As soon as he's out of the dining room, Mr. Price turns to me with piercing grey blue eyes that match Alexander's perfectly. "Look, I love my son very much. I would do anything for him and if you hurt him in any way-"

"Sir." I interrupt him, not able to even stand the mere thought of hurting Alexander. "His well being is quite literally the only thing that matters to me. You might not understand it and neither does he, for that matter, but I assure you that I would put my life on the line for that boy."

Mr. Price leans back in his chair, startled, at first, by the passion held in my words but his surprise melts into a satisfied smile. "I believe you but the threat still stands." 

"Threat?" Alexander asks, walking back into the room. "Dad, please, don't threaten my friends."

"I like him." He announces proudly. "I approve."

"Thank you, sir." I smile, standing and moving to Alexander's side.

He looks up and smiles at me happily. "Dad, can we go up to my room? Watch a movie or something?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I've got the dishes. Lucian, you're welcome to spend the night, if you'd like." He answers, dismissing us with a wave of his hand.

Alexander grabs onto my hand happily and pulls me up the stairs into the familiar hallway and ultimately, his room. He let's go of my hand almost immediately and jumps onto his bed, patting the space next to him apprehensively.

"Is it- do you mind if I just stretch my wings out? It's just that they've been folded in all day." I ask cautiously. I've never truly fully revealed myself to a human. It's part of the angel code to never reveal yourself to a human who hasn't been chosen. But Alexander has been chosen. 

It's just that I've never had anyone to guard before. I've never been a guardian. I don't know how it's supposed to work but this seems like the right thing to do, especially if I want Alexander to truly trust me. 

Alexander looks at me with wide eyes and swallows, nodding slowly. "That w-would be o-okay, I-I g-guess."

"Are you sure?" I ask, noticing the stutter that's popped up once again.

He nods and I smile once again before sliding my shirt off over my head and stretching the white feathered flesh out fully. Alexander gasps slightly and his blue eyes widen. "They're.... breathtaking. Absolutely gorgeous."

Alexander blushes once he realizes what he just said and I just smile, sitting next to him on his bed. "Thank you." 

"C-can I, I-I mean, Can I t-t-touch th-them?" He asks.

"Absolutely." I smile and bring one around my shoulder, caressing the pristine feathers myself.

Alexander extends a shaky hand and barely touches it before yanking it back right away. I smile as I watch him and take his hand in mine, pulling it to pet the feathers. 

"You do not have anything to worry about." I assure.

"They're very soft." He comments, blushing slightly. I smile at the small complement. I can't help it. Everything about this boy makes me want to smile.