(Not a real warning, but this chapter is 4,297 words long. It's twice as long as the other chapters, better be ready to either sit and read for a while or to take some break between paragraphs. )
Thursday, 8:57 pm 1994, the 3rd of March. Earth
"Since you don't want me on your roof, how about we head inside?"
That is a very dangerous thing to ask, though even as dangerous of a question it was, it still needed either a yes or no. But it caused another question; Why allow him in?
Angel let her eyes wander over to the dark sky while she thought, stars beginning to glitter up the dark sky alongside the bright shining moon, a small note on it being such a beautiful sight. That question, her own question, it was a good one. Why should she let him in? She wasn't going to be brief considering this, she wanted to think about this for a while and go over every little detail. Firstly, he had broken into her home, strike one. He had tried to kill her and left her with a wounded hand that had to be kept bandaged, strike two. Lastly, he had kept her in bed against her will this morning, almost making her late to work and officially disrupted the routine she's finally got into in hopes of getting settled into her home and earth itself, strike three and four, I believe he's out. Letting him in was truly a dangerous idea, even after he had shown to be calm and, dare she admit, interesting man who only had a bad day when they met, she didn't really need his dangerous self avalanching the huge snow pile of a life she was trying to gently settle into. All her thoughts should have already given a direct answer, a simple no would have worked but she kept thinking. She looked over at the awaiting male, he was patient and she was going to make him wait. "Hmm.." She hummed, really trying to prolong this disappointing answer she was about to give him or seeing if she could find a good angle to look at this so her answer didn't have to be no. After a minute or two, a voice scattered Angel's thoughts, making them run in fear, the almost monotone voice was no doubt from the short patience Alpha, who had ordered in a somewhat strict voice. 'Let him in.' The Alpha had said. Oh, now you talk? Angel furrowed her eyebrows, a frown tugging at her lips as she threw that thought fast to the back of her head, not wanting to risk the Alpha hearing it. Angel's tired eyes looked over at the guy more patient than the voice in her head and ended his wait for an answer. "I don't know...Are you going to break anything else if I let you in there?" She asked, leaning toward Roy as she raised an eyebrow, her expression itself explaining that if he answers wrong, he's not allowed in. Roy didn't seem affected, keeping his own smile up. "I'll try not to." He answered. He's lucky he gave that answer or Angel would have told him no despite the Alpha saying otherwise. She smiled again, scooting away from him and the edge of the roof to stand up. Pain struck through her feet and up her spine causing her wings to ruffle and her to wince but she didn't let her expression change, just muttering an ow under her breath. "Alright then, let's go inside." She coughed, covering up the feeling of her spin cracking to pieces. Roy nodded and moved closer to the edge, letting gravity slide him down off the roof. Angel watched, wincing when he landed on the ground and crouched, her own body aching in pain at the sight. She didn't follow his route and instead used her wings to get to the ground.
Roy stood up, following Angel after she landed and had folded her wings before she walked to the front door. She now fought with everything possible in her pocket till she got her keys out, sighing in relief as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. Angel looked at Roy, stepping aside to let him in but to her surprise, he stayed still and put his arms out toward the door. "Ladies first." He said. Angel stood there with suspicious eyes looking over him. Manners like that always made her suspicious, especially after a few mishaps of trusting people that showed to be kind but really were the opposite. 'You can trust him, just go into the house.' The Alpha once again interrupted her thoughts, clearly tired of how Angel was treating Roy. She wanted to tell the Alpha to let her decide what she wanted but instead, she just smiled at Roy and held her thoughts back. "Thank you." She said, walking into the house with Roy following in after her. He shut the door and looked around, stepping out into the living room as Angel turned back around to lock the deadbolt on the door. She left the keylock unlocked in case Roy wanted to leave on his own. Though that thought made her frown, her ears twitching down as she wondered if he would leave without telling her. Just unlock the door and leave her on her own even though he's the one that wanted to come in with her. What if he wanted in just to find something interesting but all that's in here is boring? She bit her bottom lip, the thoughts attacking every inch of her head. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? 'Calm down. He won't leave or find anything boring.' The Alpha said, making Angel sigh under her breath and shake her head to knock the nervous thoughts out before turning toward Roy. "Alright, make yourself at home. I'm gonna go get comfortable clothes on." She said, already on her way to the stairs. "Alright," Roy said, making his own way to the couch and sitting down on it, relaxing there. Angel paused, keeping an eye on him just a bit to make sure he'll stay there and when she was sure, she finally went up the stairs.
On the way upstairs, Angel's thoughts crowded together and jumped over each other to be heard. 'What if he leaves?', 'What if he steals something?', 'What if he's just here to hurt you, finish you off now that no one can stop him?' Angel groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples before shaking her head, throwing the thoughts around till they left her alone. Roy wouldn't do any of that..would he? Angel paused on her way up, internally cursing at herself for letting the thoughts get the best of her but she had to see. She silently took a step down and looked out to see the mess of orange and black that was Roy's hair over the back of the blue couch, such a weird contrast but Angel could see he hadn't moved from where he had sat down. Angel studied the sight for a second, taking the time to throw the bad thoughts into the back of her mind where they'll hopefully stay quiet. 'Why does your mind think so badly of him, little one?' The Alpha spoke up. The she-wolf processed the question before sighing and making her way back up the rest of the stairs. 'I don't know why.' She thought back, making it up to the hallway that led to the bedrooms and taking the first door on the right into her room. 'I try to think good most of the time but it doesn't always work..' She thought as she made her way to her dresser. The colors of her room that normally calmed her did nothing this time cause even after throwing the bad thoughts away, they found their way back in and made her nervous. 'I see..' The Alpha trailed off, surprisingly going silent afterward. Angel went through her dresser, picking out a tank top, and sweatpants, and laying them on the bed. Her thoughts continue to jumble up together again, the she-wolf sighing as she tried her hardest to force them out. Everything was fine, Roy wouldn't do anything and if he did, she was sure she could just tell him to leave, right? 'What if you're wrong?' Angel gulped, that one thought made her stomach twist up and feel nauseous. What if she was wrong? And he did something? What if she couldn't stop-'You're going to make yourself sick, stop it.' The Alpha spoke up in a loud voice, talking over her nerve-wracking thoughts. The thoughts shook away from the front of her mind with the Alpha's voice pushing them, Angel felt relieved at the sound of silence in her mind. She continued changing clothes, taking her work uniform off and throwing it to the hamper off in a corner to be washed later, and then put the tank top and sweat pants on. She thanked the Alpha in the back of her head as she closed her dresser and finished getting the clothes on, taking a ponytail holder from the top of the dresser and putting her brown hair up in a messy bun as she headed back downstairs, knowing she kept Roy waiting longer than she should have.
To her bad thoughts' dismay, Roy was still sat in the same spot he was in when she had gone upstairs, a small smile unknowingly making itself present on her face when she saw him. She walked next to the couch and put her arm up on the back of it, looking at the man that just stared forward and patiently waited. "Hey." She said, seeming to startle the male as he looked toward her with his eyes wide for a second before he relaxed. "Hey." He said back. Angel smiled more, taking her arm off the couch and walking behind it with Roy following her with his eyes. "Are you hungry?" She asked, stopping at the other end of the couch and looking at him again. The question prompting Roy's gaze to drift over her in thought. "A little. What are you gonna make?" He asked. Glad food was the obvious thing she was asking, she chewed the inside of her cheek, looking away for a small second. He couldn't expect her to cook, could he..? Cause, she couldn't cook, even if she was starving and cooking was the only way to eat, she couldn't risk the fire she somehow always made when she turned the stove on. "Hm...I don't know what I have to make." She lied. She knew what she had, she had leftovers that Tina sent home with her for lunch or dinner. "I'll have to go see.." She mumbled, feeling the dread of disappointing Roy. Internally, she had to kick herself for it as she turned to go into the kitchen, wondering why the heck she would hate to disappoint him when she had never worried about it with anyone else.
The kitchen, as she forgot to think about yesterday coming home and forgot again when Roy was attacking her, was small. Wooden cabinets, fake marble on top, a fridge against the end near the backdoor, a dishwasher within the cabinet next to the fridge, the sink over to the next counter and then next to the sink, an oven, and stovetop. There was about two and a half cabinets after the stove till it reached the wall where the living room's kitchen doorway was. As she went in, her ears twitched at the sound of Roy getting up from the couch and his footsteps following her into the kitchen. A different type of dread struck, her nerves starting small fires throughout her body as the scene from yesterday replayed in her head. It was like last night, him following her into the kitchen, only this time he wasn't an intruder but a guest, one she allowed in her home. Angel swallowed her nerves down, taking a slow deep breath in to calm down as she made it to the fridge and opened it, Roy right behind her and looking in as well. Nothing much was kept in the fridge besides leftover containers, a half carton of eggs, and a pack of turkey bacon. "Hmm..there's chicken tenders in here," Angel mumbled, reaching out for the box that held said food. The male behind her was silent, studying his options of food before he came to his decision. "You can have those, I can make some bacon and eggs and probably toss in the tenders." He said. Angel nodded, grabbing her food in one hand and picking up the egg carton and pack of bacon in the other, just hoping Roy doesn't make all of it. She stood up, Roy quickly stepping back so she didn't bump into him and letting her close the fridge. She then went and set the food down on the counter, Roy going over to the food he wanted while Angel went to her microwave, opened the container of chicken, and set it in. While the microwave did its thing, Angel took a glance at Roy and saw he figured out where a frying pan was, having already started to fry the bacon. The air filled with the scent of bacon, a smell Angel really enjoyed, and the sound of it popping and sizzling as it cooked. The she-wolf had to hand it to the male that he knew how to cook, at least better than her. Though, that doesn't say much when Angel burns everything she tries to make and either has to throw it out or put out a fire. Her ears went down, her tail wrapping around her legs as she looked down, she really needed to work on her cooking skills. Soon a beep filled the air, Roy glancing over at the microwave and then at Angel. "Think your food is done." He said. Angel nodded and opened the microwave, taking the food out, her tired body screaming at the heat on her hands from grabbing the very hot plate. She hissed but dealt with it, letting her skin burn as she shut the microwave and set the plate down on a potholder. "Ow.." She mumbled, putting the palm of her hand to her mouth in an attempt to soothe the burn. Roy looked over again with a bit of concern. "You okay?" He asked to which Angel quickly nodded, smiling in possibly another failed attempt to seem like she wasn't in pain. "Mhm! Just fine! The plate is a little hot is all." She immediately said, taking her hand away from her mouth and taking a look at the red skin where it had burnt. Great..now both of her hands were wounded...
Roy somewhat believed her, keeping a questioning eye on her for a little bit before returning his focus to the sizzling bacon. Angel sighed within her mind, thankful that his attention didn't last yet it also made her disappointed that he wasn't more concerned. Her ears went down when a sick feeling twisted her stomach, what was this..? She couldn't comprehend the feeling. She frowned, turning her attention away from the person causing her to feel weird, and sliding the plate with her food to the side before hopping up onto the counter. She sat there, taking a deep breath to get her body relaxed, or at least not have her stomach twisted up like it was, before allowing her attention to once again be on Roy. He had gotten his bacon done and was now cooking two eggs in the same pan meaning he'll have bacon-flavored eggs, that thought made Angel's stomach growl wantingly. She glanced at his food before looking at her own, deciding it's best not to waste and she should eat what she wanted. Just because she could be counted as one, she wasn't gonna beg like a dog for his food, no matter how good it looked. She picked up one of the chicken tenders, something Tina made special just for her one night when the restaurant had closed, before taking a bite. Her stomach growled in annoyance as her tongue tasted the baked breaded chicken, both parts of her saying that this wasn't a good meal. The once cold chicken had a bad taste when re-heated but Angel forced it down. Yet again, an annoyed growl came from her stomach because it knew better food was nearby. Speaking of better food, Roy had finished cooking the eggs and added them to a plate he no doubt found in the dishwasher next to him. Angel put her food down, subconsciously licking her lips when her nose picked up the bacon's smell. A chuckle sounded after and made Angel blush as she looked up and saw Roy looking at her. Oh no, he saw her do that, didn't he? Her eyes widened and she averted her eyes to her food again. "Hey." He said. Angel glancing up before her eyes widened more when seeing he had stepped closer, holding his plate of food in one hand and a fork out to her with the other. "Can you try this?" He asked, moving the forkful of tasty smelling stuff to her. A taste of better food, don't mind if I do- Angel thought, humming agreement to Roy before eating the bite he offered. Tasty bacon..definitely good. Her tail found this time to show happiness by thumping against the counter while Angel smiled. "That's really good." She hummed once she finished savoring the only bite she was probably gonna get. "Nice, I'm glad it goes." Roy returned her smile, setting his plate down probably too close to Angel cause she felt the urge to steal his food. Her ears twitched up though when she heard the click of the stove knob, looking up from the plate and at Roy. "What are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head a bit in confusion. He glanced over, smiling more. "I'm making you a plate, you clearly want some." He answered, reaching to grab the bacon and eggs again to start making her food. "Oh...That's nice of you, thank you." She said a bit embarrassed that he could tell she wanted his food...Was she really being that obvious?
Roy was fast to make more bacon and eggs, soon setting the food on another plate before offering it to the she-wolf. She took the plate, silently cursing at the burn she felt through the plate on her already hurt hands yet she kept a smile up. "Enjoy," Roy said, picking his plate back up and leaning against the counter next to her to start eating. Angel let her smile fade, moving the plate to be held in her less burnable hand that was in bandages before placing the even more burnt hand to her mouth to soothe it again. She really needed to stop getting hurt. After getting the pain to dull down, she carefully set the plate on her lap in a way it wouldn't burn her thighs, as that was definitely not a place she wanted to burn, before joining Roy in eating the very tasty food. Burnt hands were worth the food, Angel was quite happy that Roy was able to tell she wanted it. If he had just asked her, she doesn't think she would have been able to say yes. Weird as it sounds, her nerves didn't know about any of this, her body and emotions were reacting strangely to Roy, and trying to talk to him made her nervous, something she's never had happen before. She remembers that everyone else she's talked to she was either happy to talk or chose to keep silent out of not trusting the person. Roy was different in this case, she felt this abnormal want to be near him but at the same time being near him made her shy and the last time she remembers being shy was when she met her father's wife...Angel paused, her ears going down at the sudden thought of her father intruding, she didn't want to think of him. 'Look at Roy, little one.' Thankfully the Alpha spoke up and Angel didn't hesitate to listen, her eyes drifting to Roy. Instantly, all bad thoughts drained, a feeling of near peace washed over her and she was able to relax a bit. Right...She was at home with Roy, eating some very tasty food and for once feeling happy, she should just let this moment sink in instead of thinking about things she doesn't want to remember. No need to dwell on the past.
Angel closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath, her legs swinging to distract her mind from the bad thoughts. More distraction came when more weight was suddenly against her, she opened her eyes to see Roy had got onto the counter and was leaning on her, showing to be comfortable around her. She allowed it, the warmth and feeling of comfort coming off him wasn't something she felt too much and she'd cherish this while she could. The two ate in comfortable silence for the longest time before Roy ruined it at his last bite. "I should head home pretty soon if you're okay with that." He said. Angel felt the comfort disappear with an unknown feeling replacing it along with the disappointment of him leaving, she wanted him to stay. She frowned, finishing her own last bite of food before nodding and sliding off the counter to set her plate in the sink. "Yeah, of course, I'm okay with that." She forced her voice to come out, hating the feelings she had right then. She knew if he left she'd be alone and for once, she didn't want to be. "Though, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay here if your home is really far." She added, giving him a choice but hoping like hell he picked the staying option. He didn't look up from his plate but Angel could sense he was hesitating on something. "It's not too too far...But I wouldn't mind staying, it really just the decision of either going out to find something to do or staying here and relaxing." He said, finishing his food afterward and setting his plate in the sink. Angel perked up at this, happy that there could be a chance he'll stay. "Well, whatever you decide is your choice." She smiled. He still wasn't looking at her but at the floor instead, seemingly in thought. "I don't really know what we'd be doing if I choose to stay. I don't want to keep you up since you had a long day at work." He finally looked up at her, not returning her smile but giving her a small frown instead. Angel was a little happy that he was considerate but that defeated the happiness of him staying. She kept her smile up and shook her head. "Don't worry bout that, I don't have to get up in the morning so I can stay up." She said, which caused Roy to have a brief look of worry. "Yeah, but don't you want to rest?" He asked slowly, she shook her head in response. "I don't need much sleep, I'm used to maybe getting..hmm, four hours of sleep? Possibly less." She said, Roy's worried look increasing. "Jeez, you need to sleep more." He chuckled, his worry shining bright in his eyes and making Angel look away, brushing her tail out with her fingers. "Probably do but I'm okay with not doing so." She sighed. He frowned again, looking away as well when a tense silence clouded over them. Angel hoped she didn't just scare him off, though why a messed up sleep routine would scare him, she wouldn't know. She felt better when Roy spoke up again. "Hmm, you got any ideas of what to do?" He asked. She thought for a bit before an idea about the tv popped up. "We could go watch tv?" She suggested, tilting her head. Roy pondered her idea before nodding and getting off the counter. "That works." He said. Angel nodded as well, happy that was a good idea for him. "Alright." She smiled, trailing into the living room behind Roy when he went off to the couch. She grabbed the tv remote off the coffee table before sitting down next to Roy and clicking the tv on to a random movie. Angel's focus didn't really stay on the movie at all, she hugged her legs and brushed her tail subconsciously while Roy leaned back into the couch and watched the movie in silence, playing with his hoodie strings. At some point within an hour into the movie, Angel thought to look over at Roy and was surprised to find him with his eyes closed, a peaceful expression and such soft breathing that it was clear he was asleep. She smiled a bit, feeling happy that he felt safe enough to let himself sleep like this. She got up, going to get a blanket before coming back and gently putting it over him. She sat back down afterward and watched the tv for another hour, only glancing at Roy again when he snuggled into the blanket and moved into a more comfortable pose. When another movie had passed, she decided it was time to try and go to bed. She got up and headed upstairs, going into her room and shutting the door when a voice startled her.
'We need to talk.'