Heaven's Storm 

By

Sorrells-Novels

Aarin tilted the box filled with miscellaneous items, he didn't remember what exactly he packed in it, he had thrown all of his belongings into random containers; however, he would find out whenever he decided to unpack the rest of his luggage.

It had been a hasty move, his previous landlady had told him that his brother had visited and said he would stop by, which meant a hurriedly terminated contract and a swift move.

It had been ten years since he had fallen, Heaven no longer tolerated his mischievous pranks that reminded the archangels so much of Lucifer, it wasn't Aarin's fault that his dear older brother went against Heaven's code, but they decided that Aarin was far too similar to Lucifer to let him live among the saints.

Each end of the year he had spent just staring at whatever was in front of him, each year he fled from his brother's search, and each year he grew more and more tired. The last time his brother found him so quickly, Aarin knew it was because he stopped hiding every trace of his existence.

He let out a rueful sigh as he looked back toward the second-hand television that he had gotten during a sale, the screen was decorated with simple flowers and stars, as the seconds ticked by. Humans loved to celebrate, even if it could only be in the most simple of ways.

In Heaven, during the new year celebration, many angels gathered around with instruments and worked together in harmony to create the most beautiful of sounds. Aarin had always loved the celebration, fluttering and dancing around the other angels with his flute. It was the one day of the year that no one looked at him with veiled suspicion.

How laughable, now that he sat alone in a rundown apartment that was barely even considered livable. It was a temporary establishment, at least until his brother once again found him.

His golden eyes, a symbol of being a holy being, glared at the countdown. There was only a minute left until midnight dawned upon them, Aarin's memories of his only companion surfacing more as it became closer to the new year.

There was only one angel that actually enjoyed Aarin's pranks and shared in his joy, Leon. They had grown together, fought together, and even loved each other at the risk of being persecuted for going against the conduct of angels, but that hadn't stopped Leon from betraying him.

A simple prank of filling a trumpet with water during a new year's celebration had angered one of the archangels greatly, and it came to no one's surprise when they came looking for Aarin with accusation. The soaked, rageful image of the angel had sent great fear into his heart.

Truthfully, it hadn't been Aarin's fault, he didn't even know that such a thing had been done, but it mattered not to the others. Aarin had the reputation of a prankster and even the stigma of being Lucifer's younger brother, so the event had naturally fallen onto his shoulders. It had apparently been the last straw to the council.

He pleaded his case, he had always taken credit for his mischievous actions and had never messed with the celebration before, but his guilt had already been decided. Leon's guilty eyes as Aarin was cast down from Heaven still haunted his dreams from time to time.

Aarin stood from his couch as the countdown finally ended, fireworks were set off at once, filling the sky with their loud explosions. The new year had descended and he was feeling quite tired from the day.

Tik!

Aarin paused his steps as he heard the rain start to hit his window, usually, he would've ignored it, but he could smell Heaven's scent carried against each splash of a drop. An angel had graced their presence outside his window.

He hesitated, the scene of their hateful eyes as they tried to tear his wings still etched into his memory. He could simply ignore it, go to bed and just pretend to be a normal human, but... it could be his brother, and he was quite tired of running away. His fingers trailed against the cold glass, contemplating as he pushed open the window.

A melody tickled Aarin's ears, the sound of a violin carried across the drops of rain, surrounding Aarin with the emotions of the player. Leon hovered outside Aarin's window, his figure presenting a sad sight as he became soaked with the rain. His dark hair stuck to his face as he kept his eyes closed, just playing the violin for Aarin. It was his favorite, the song of morning, a melody composed by Lucifer for Aarin when they were just fledglings. It was meant to be a lullaby for when Aarin couldn't sleep.

A multitude of emotions rose from within Aarin, many of which he didn't even know the names of, but the most prominent of them was anger. He didn't want to hear something so precious to himself be played by someone who had shredded his trust into tiny tendrils of betrayal.

Still, Aarin stood there and waited as the song was played out. Ten years ago, he would've fallen to his knees in happiness as soon as he saw Leon. Now, all he could do was look at him with tired eyes.

"Aarin," Leon whispered as he played the last note, "I..."

He... what? What was it that was so important that he showed up in Aarin's life ten years later? Aarin could admit he wasn't doing great, he could admit that there was a tiny spark inside of him that hoped he would show up when Aarin first fell, but that was then.

Aarin no longer looked to the sky every night in hopes that the council would realize that he wasn't a threat to their peace, he no longer prayed to his fellow angels that he was innocent of the crime they accused him of, and he no longer wished to return to the bright sanctuary that cast him aside.

"Aarin," Leon pleaded, his eyes begging for Aarin to look into them, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Aarin looked up from the ground, his eyes finally locking with Leon's, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." His pale fingers grabbed at the window and moved to close it. That chapter of his life was over with, he was done seeking the attention of Heaven, and so, he would close off the holy beings from his past.

Rough hands stopped his movement, "Aarin, please, I'll leave and never appear in front of you again, so please..." He begged. Leon had begged him, Leon, who was a proud warrior of Heaven and had never asked anyone for anything, had actually begged him.

Golden eyes clashed together, one pair pleading and the other cold as Aarin looked at Leon. The angel looked haggard, dark circles under his eyes and his skin pale of color. An angel wasn't supposed to look anything but perfect, however, Leon looked as mortal as Aarin now was.

The cold rain splashed across Aarin's skin, he would get sick at the rate this was going, and he had work in the morning.

"I won't offer you anything to drink." Aarin gave in to Leon's gaze, allowing the holy being to enter his home, "Don't sit on the couch, you'll get it wet."

"Aarin..." Leon's eyes lit up with joy as he went to hug him, stopping as Aarin flinched away, "I'm sorry."

"Just hurry up and say what you came to say," Aarin hurriedly shut the window as the room started to become cold, "After this... keep your word and leave."

Leon sighed, his wings reaching out and Aarin from the chill as he rubbed at his arms, and he allowed it. The soft feeling was now foreign to Aarin, but the phantom whispers of love echoed with the touch, "That day, I told the council who actually interrupted the celebration. They said it was your influence that allowed another angel to fall from grace and ignored my confession."

Aarin's eyes shot toward Leon's, his disbelief evident within his irises, "Then..." Then it didn't matter what he did, he was always going to be cast out of Heaven. They were never going to look past his relationship with Lucifer, they were never going to admit that Aarin was innocent of their accusation.

"After you fell, I was ordered to eradicate any newly formed demons. They assumed you would immediately go to your older brother and join him, and my punishment was to kill you." An order from the council could never be ignored by an angel unless they fell from their holiness. Aarin quickly pushed aside Leon's arm to look at the base of his wings. They had started to blacken, a sign of becoming a fallen angel. "I... tried so hard to have the truth be revealed, but no one listened. They had forbidden the name Morningstar from being spoken, intent on purging every trace of you from Heaven. That was when they sentenced me to Hell.

Leon gripped Aarin within his arms as the Morningstar started to hit his chest, "Ten years, Leon! You had been in Hell's torturous grasp for ten years! What in God's name were you thinking, why wouldn't you come to me!?"

"It was my punishment, I should've protected you more! I didn't deserve to see you after that, but I finally couldn't take it anymore." Leon simply took Aarin's hits, they most likely felt like nothing considering Leon still had the strength of an angel, but he simply stood there and let Aarin's balled-up fists beat against his chest, "I had to see you. I had to, even if you hated me for not being strong enough, even if I knew I didn't have the right after hurting you."

Aarin gripped Leon's robe, his eyes filled with tears. The feeling of his anger having been misplaced tugged at his heart, but now it felt like he had been too quick to believe what he saw.

"I was hurt because I thought you betrayed me! I had nothing, no idea that you came forward, no insight into the hidden workings of the council, all I knew was that you had messed with the celebration and I was blamed for it!" Aarin felt like the last ten years had meant nothing, he had worked hard to move past the feeling of betrayal, to live on from the broken heart of his love not standing beside him, "Do you know how much it hurts to think the worst of your partner only to find out that they were by your side from the start!?"

Ten years he had spent haunted by every single nightmare or bad thought that taunted his mind, and only after his sentence was over was he able to follow Aarin to the human realm. Aarin's heart clenched with pain and anger.

"But I did betray you, I wasn't strong enough to protect you. I was the protector of the two of us," Leon folded his wings around them, sheltering them from unknown threats, "I was naive to believe that they would leave you alone. I felt so angry when I saw them cast you out."

"You... stupid fool! Do you really think you could've done anything? We were barely out of our fledgling age, we couldn't go against the council with our power. They would've silenced you, Leon, they were looking for any reason to cast me away," Aarin felt lost, he was used to the idea of hating Leon, used to the betrayal, but now it felt as if he was the one who had betrayed Leon. He so easily believed that the other had cast him aside to save himself, and hadn't even thought that the council would be that cruel. "You should've said something to me. I would've understood, Heavens, I understand it now!"

"I'm sorry..." Leon whispered into Aarin's ear, his wings wrapping tighter around them, "I'm so sorry, Airin. I was a fool."

They sat like that, holding each other, there was still anger that had yet to be resolved and emotions they had to sort through, but... it was a new year, and at least this one was going to be spent with his love.