It was probably silly, but Kushiel would rather remain with the hope of Cassreallybeing his forever as opposed to finding out the truth of what Cass had meant. Maybe that made him foolish, but he would hold onto his hope and enjoy it while he could.
“...anything to add, Kushiel?” Cass asked.
Everyone was staring at him, but he only shook his head. He’d been daydreaming about soulmates while they had lost souls to find. This was why he didn’t deserve a soulmate. He was an outcast amongst angels, and he wasn’t a demon, but if he were, he wouldn’t be the best of them either. He was just… himself.
“So the message makes me think we’re looking for a demon of greed and envy,” Michael said, looking at Ari for confirmation.
“Yeah, little dude, except those are different departments. But at least we have it narrowed down to two departments. I’m sure Luce was giving us a hint, but he probably can’t make it too easy,” Ari responded.
“It’s also a high level demon, so that should narrow things down even more,” Cass added.
“My guess is they’re also topside, or they have been recently, at least. Could you find out who would fit that?” Michael asked Ari, looking at him.
Kushiel squashed his own envy—the two of them really were made for each other, and it was impossible to miss the adoring looks they gave one another.
“My s’more is so smart,” Ari bragged. “I can totally check that. I’ll be right back,” he said, then he stood up and walked back to the bathrooms.
“Mirrors,” Michael explained. “They let him talk to his minions.”
Kushiel knew that, and he thought that Cass probably did too. His Cass was so smart too, and Kushiel realized he probably hadn’t let Cass know exactly how much he appreciated all the help. He would need to make sure to remedy that.
“So, you two are…” Michael started, staring pointedly at Kushiel, who was still scrunched up next to Cass. Kushiel realized he was leaning into Cass quite a bit. Heavens, he was practically sitting in the man’s lap.
Kushiel started to shift away a bit, but Cass just hauled him in closer with his arm, which was still resting along the back of Kushiel’s chair. The whole thing made Kushiel blush, but Cass just smiled when he looked at Kushiel.
“A ghost whisperer and a fallen angel—” Michael started, but Cass cut him off.
“Don’t call him that,” Cass corrected.
Michael leaned back, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry—” he started, but Kushiel interrupted him this time.
“It’s okay, Cass, Michael didn’t mean anything harmful by it. He has been a friend, and he only states what he knows to be true,” Kushiel said.
Cass turned to Kushiel then, grabbing his hand and staring into his eyes. “You arenota fallen angel. By heaven, Kushiel,you shine brighter than any angelever, and you arenotfallen or less than or anything else, and I will not sit by and listen while anyone, and I meananyone, even you, says that. You are perfect, and you are exactly the angel you were meant to be. You are a fucking supernova of angelhood,” Cass finished.
“Damn straight!” Ari chimed in, plopping back down next to Michael and pulling him in close. Michael nodded in agreement.
Kushiel blushed again. He wasn’t used to such compliments, and Cass gave them so freely. He was used to being ignored by angels, if not spoken of in whispers. The demons treated him kindly and like a brother, but he was always conscious of the fact that he wasn’t quite one of them. He really did appreciate them, though. Without Ari and the others… Well, they had gotten him through the last few millennia.
Kushiel cleared his throat and decided to change the subject, because he didn’t know how to reply to Cass’s statement. He asked Ari, “What did you find out?”
“Ah, so we got two high level dudes who are currently topside. Levi, Prince of Envy, who is usually topside, and Mammy, Prince of Greed and Avarice, who does come topside but not as often. I haven’t seen either one in a few centuries at least, so I couldn’t even tell you if they’ve changed or gotten any weird ideas in their noggins. Levi used to be more of a loner dude, but who knows if that could have changed,” Ari shrugged.
"What kind of name is Mammy?” Michael asked. “It sounds like you're talking about someone’s mother."
"Bruh, he's no one's Momma, but he sure acts like a Momma's boy, always trying to please the higher ups,” Ari joked. “Mammon's such a suck up. Dude thinks he's all that, but I don't know how he would've come up with a plan like this on his own. But he does have a large legion. Some lesser demons have no taste in leadership."
“So you think he’s more likely to have the following that Lucifer spoke of?” Michael asked. “We should probably start with him, then, if he’s our most likely suspect.”
“Yeah, my s’more, the only problem is no one was exactly sure where he was,” Ari replied.
“Do we know where Levi is?” Cass asked.
“Yup,” Ari answered.
They all waited, including Michael, who was staring at him expectantly. Ari, however, took a bite of the chocolate croissant on the table.
“Dudes, this is delish!” he mumbled around a mouthful.
