Endlessly

Saturday.

Minus bathroom breaks, neither Jack nor Alex feels the need to leave their bed for the rest of the day, not that Jack's parents would let them in the first place. Alex's parents returned to their home after Peter was sure the recovering couple was stable - because unlike their son, Peter and Isobel become weakened from spending so long in a household of hell - leaving Joyce and Bassam to tend to their needs. The demon's parents are uncharacteristically nice, going out of their way to provide everything they can to keep the boys comfortable. Jack can only guess what they're getting out of this from both God and Satan.

Words exchanged are few and far between, Alex far too engrossed in his own mind for speaking, and Jack unwilling to approach him while he's like this. Jack knows if his world were turned upside down like the angel's was, all of his life's rules being thrown out the window within a matter of hours, he would want some alone time to compartmentalize. However, since apparently they're confined to the same room, the same bed, the least Jack can do is give him some silence and peace of mind for a while.

Soon, Jack finds his mind wandering. His thoughts are going nowhere in particular until a distinctive voice unlike his own whispers into every crevice of his mind. "Jack." Their voice is a singsong, as if they're taunting Jack.

Satan. Jack replies in his mind. He bets Alex would freak out if he knew Jack was communicating with the devil while he laid in bed with Alex. The thought almost makes him laugh.

"I see you finally got your wings." A shiver runs down his back even though no one touches it.

Yeah, thanks for the fucking warning. Jack grumbles.

"It wouldn't have been as fun for me to watch if you had known to prepare yourself."

Did you want something other than to poke fun at my injuries? If Jack could push Satan out of his head without serious repercussions, he would be doing so now.

The devil sighs. "Yes, a few things. First, good job on getting him to crack so easily. I would have thought he would wait until at least the third date."

Angels are easy to manipulate. Second? Jack brushes it off. Something about speaking with Satan about Alex feels uncomfortable.

Satan knows what the young demon is doing, and because he's done so much lately, just this once, they let it slide. "Second, you are to stay with Alex in bed until tomorrow evening. Alex won't be going to church because you're still recovering, but you both should be doing much better by Sunday night. You two being close helps you heal faster."

Okay, and then what? Is he supposed to leave?

Satan's mischievous laugh worries Jack. "I think you'll figure it out by then."

"Jack?" Fingers waving in front of his glazed over eyes shock him out of his mental state of hypnosis. Alex is watching him, and Jack can't tell is his eyes are worried or suspicious. "Is everything okay? You've been staring at me for like twenty minutes."

He shakes his head, trying to focus more. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. I'm just tired."

"Maybe you should try sleeping. You know, with your eyes closed." Alex suggests, trying to hide a smile.

"Watch it, smartass." Jack nudges Alex's shoulder.

"Seriously, though. It's like nine o'clock. That's late enough to go to bed, right?" Alex asks over a yawn.

Jack pretends to think about it. "Well, considering we've done nothing but lay in bed and snooze all day, I'd say no. However, considering getting our wings nearly killed the both of us, I'll let it slide. I think we'll be better by tomorrow evening, don't you? I mean, I feel hundreds of times better now than I did this morning."

Alex nods sleepily, moving his head closer to Jack. "For a demon, you're really comfortable." He sighs into Jack's chest while one of his arms goes around Jack's torso, hand resting just below where Jack's wings start.

Jack mirrors the action, pulling Alex closer to him by the hips. The thought briefly runs through his mind that if he has morning wood tomorrow, there will be no hiding it from Alex, but with the angel already falling asleep in him, he doesn't have the energy or the willpower to move him. "You're not too bad yourself, Angel."

***

Alex's eyes open to a clear lake, perfectly still. He's sitting on a pale rock, feet dangling less than an inch over the water. A cool breeze makes his back feel heavy, and one glance behind him reveals his wings blowing slightly to the left. Soft, downy hairs tickle his back. Instantly he knows where he is. He's been here thousands of times over the years, when he's stressed or worried. The only new addition is his wings. This is his retreat. It's a place that technically doesn't exist; It's on no map in neither Earth nor heaven. It's a corner of his brain that only one being can unlock. This is the place he meets with God.

"Lord?" Alex calls, and the breeze strengthens. It seems to weave through his feathers, combing them in comfort as if to say I'm here, my child. "Oh, Lord." Alex cries. "What are you doing with me?"

Now the tendrils of wind slide down the sides of his face. I have plans for you, Alex. You must trust me.

"I do trust you!" He exclaims.

How much? How much do you trust me?

"With everything I have, Lord. Why are you even asking?"

What you must do requires all of the trust you have in me. The world depends on it, my son. So again, I ask you: do you trust me?

"The world? What, you want me to save the world somehow? I-I can't, I'll mess it up, surely you can give this mission to someone else."

It can only be you, Alexander. You know you won't mess up because you have me. Don't you trust me enough?

"Yes, yes! I trust you! Just tell me what I need to do!" He jumps off the rock, submerging his legs in the shallow pool in front of him.

You must get binded. In three months' time, you will be binded.

"What? I-I thought I couldn't get binded! To who? In three months I can't get to know someone well enough to do the equivalent of marriage!" This sanctuary of his usually calms him down, brings peace of mind, but all Alex can feel now is alarm and disbelief. "And how does that save the world?"

The breeze gets stronger against his face, hair blowing out of place. Trust and patience are what you need, Alex. I promise everything will fall into place with time. All you need to know right now is that in three months, you and Jack will be binded.

"Jack?" Alex squeaks. "But he's a demon! That's never happened before, has it? I didn't think it was allowed!"

You know you and Jack aren't regular angels and demons. You are one of a kind, the both of you. You have never happened before, and new things require new rules. You trust me, Alexander, I know you do. Trust, and you will be okay. You must give it a chance.

Alex's energy falls visibly. Even if he wants to argue - and boy, does he want to argue - he can't. He knows he'll give in eventually anyway. "Okay." He whispers.

I know this isn't want you want right now, son, but everything will make sense soon. I promise.

"I know, Lord. I know."

I love you, Alexander.

"I love you too."

Go talk to Jack. Tell him. I know it will come better from you than me. Go wake up.

Alex's retreat is fading away before he can even say goodbye.

***

Sunday.

"No!" A scream and cold sweat on his right arm is what wakes Jack. It takes him a moment to remember it's Alex beside him and not a fling. He groans, still too asleep for an adequate answer, but even that small noise stops Alex's cry, quieting it to whimpers. Jack wants to tell himself he's done enough, that he can go back to sleep and avoid whatever nightmare Alex had, but a prodding in his head that definitely isn't coming from him tells him to check on Alex more thoroughly. Fuck off, Satan, he yells in his head, to which the devil simply laughs.

He moves his hand in small circles on Alex's lower back. This seems to calm him further. "Are you okay?" Jack asks, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Don't touch me." Alex hisses coldly. It's so rude and sudden and harsh that Jack wouldn't be able to place it as Alex's voice if he hadn't seen the words come from the angel's mouth. He flinches back immediately. He could probably take Alex in a fight when it came down to it - scratch that, he could definitely take Alex - but he didn't want this to turn into one. The both still needed to rest and heal and Jack was not about to fuck up his wings. Occasionally, he'd seen demons who flew too soon or didn't recover correctly, and he never wanted to see such deformity on his own body. He took pride in his appearance, and even if no one could see them, he couldn't live knowing what they looked like just under his shirt.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Jack really couldn't care less at the moment, but it's almost like he's speaking without his brain's permission.

"You are what's wrong. I can't get binded to you! You're a demon! You're a disgrace! Our kinds are never supposed to mingle like this!" Alex jumps out of bed, landing on shaky feet, tears still rushing down his face. "I don't want to be binded to you." He cries brokenly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down a second. I thought we talked about this. I told you about this after your surgery, remember?" Jack stands up, just as unstable as Alex, and tries to soothe him. Jack thinks back, remembering how long it had been and how his voice slurred like he was drunk. Of course he didn't remember. He was probably in too much pain to hear half of what Jack said.

"God told me! He-He came to me in a dream and said in three months we'll be binded! How, though? I don't even know you, and you're a demon! I'm an angel! What the hell?" He rants on like he didn't hear a word Jack said. "We can't do this Jack. It's an abomination!"

And somehow, that stops Jack. Words have never gotten to him before like they are now. Disgrace and abomination circle his head like a merry-go-round, making him even more off-balanced and nauseous. He's never minded being hated because it's never gotten to him like this. It hurts worse than getting his wings did, somehow, even through there's no blood and no physical evidence of anything being wrong. Actually, maybe that's exactly why it hurts so much worse. He knows there's an end in sight there because he can see the visible progress. Yet now, it could last forever. He's read the love stories and even heard firsthand accounts. He can't turn into them. He can't. So, Jack decides to do what he does best: avoid the problem.

He lets the words harden his heart instead of hurting it, and musters up the most fearing glare he can find. The pain took away his wit before he could stop it, so he settles on a simple "fuck you" as he goes to his closet.

It only takes a few minutes to find a pair of (mostly) clean jeans. The shirt is a little harder. He's seen his parents fold their wings before, but when he tries it the pain nearly sends him to the floor. He knows he isn't healed yet and he'll probably end up with fucked up wings, but at the moment he can't seem to care. He tries his best and eventually is able to shove on a sweater that kind of hides the worst of it. He decides he'll just make a joke about hunchbacks if anyone asks.

He slams the door to his closet as he walks out. "I'm leaving."

"Whatever, Jack." Alex doesn't even sound angry anymore. He just sounds upset. "We'll work this out when you get back."

Jack scoffs. "Yeah, right. How about you'll be sorry if I come back and you're still here. Have a nice life, Alex." Jack grabs his favorite leather Jacket where he left it on the floor before Alex's surgery and rushes out the door faster than he thought possible, hoping that his parents aren't awake.