To his surprise, the moment Levi unbuckles Haraeya’s seatbelt, the boy practically pings from the vehicle and up the path to the front door. Snorting to himself, Levi locks the car before following the angel to the house. Once they step inside, Haraeya darts into the living room. The hospital gown he still adorns billows in the breeze as he runs, and Levi cringes when he catches sight of the angel’s bare ass. Retracting a stick of nicotine gum from the packet on the table, the man pops it into his mouth and enters the living room after Haraeya, only to find the boy jumping on the sofa erratically.

“I am staying with Lee!” he exclaims, arms raised in the air. As he jumps, his gown flies up.

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Levi peeks at Haraeya through his fingers, “You need to change, kid.”

“Angels do not have morphing abilities, Lee!” Haraeya giggles, springing from the sofa onto the carpet, right next to the patch of tea he had spilled earlier.

“What? I – no, change your clothes, you walnut.”

Nose scrunching in distaste, Haraeya frowns sourly. “Humans are weird. You hide body as if it is sinful. The Lord created us all in Their own image and humans just hide it.”

Levi blows a bubble with his gum. “It’s just what we do, init. C’mon, you can borrow some of my clothes for the time being.”

Beaming with excitement, Haraeya’s fingers instinctively latch onto Levi's thumb.

The man laughs uncomfortably. “You know that’s not how you hold hands, right?” he asks, quirking a brow.

Haraeya’s blank stare confirms that no, he doesn’t.

The man sighs. “Look, wrap your fingers around mine, like this.” Levi helps guide Haraeya’s hand into his, unsure throughout the entire ordeal why exactly.

Haraeya grips his hand tightly and grins. “I like this holding hand, Lee!” he chirps, eyes gleaming. Levi tries and fails to hold back his smile. The boy’s enthusiasm is contagious.

They both re-enter Levi's bedroom and approach his wardrobe. After a minute or so of digging through his clothes, Levi unearths a simple white shirt, black joggers and a lilac knit sweater, along with socks and underwear. He throws them over to Haraeya, who startles and lets them drop to the floor in front of him.

“Put these on and call me back when you’re done,” Levi explains. Haraeya nods slowly in understanding, leaving Levi to jog downstairs to clean up the mess Haraeya had caused.

Levi has just finished scrubbing the spilled tea from the cream carpet when Haraeya calls from the landing.

“I am done, Lee!”

“Come down!” the tattooed man replies.

The stairs thump gradually as Haraeya clearly struggles to get down them. He creeps timidly into the room and Levi has to bite his tongue to hold back his laughter.

The lilac sweater adorning his petite figure completely drowns him, draping to his mid thighs. The sleeves reach past his hands and hang lazily over his fingertips. It’s cute, Levi concludes.

“Think they’re a bit big for you, aren’t they?” he smirks lopsidedly, rolling the boy’s sleeves up to his elbows to make the sweater look a little less ridiculous. “There, much better.”

“The clothes smells of Lee,” Haraeya grins in delight, “You are so kind to me, Lee.”

“Yeah, I’m the best, init,” Levi says, heading over to the pair of wings sitting inoffensively on a chair and lifting them by their base.

Gasping, the boy’s smile drops. “Please be careful with them, Lee!” he begs, holding his hand to his mouth with worry.

“I will, calm down,” Levi assures, extending his fingers to carefully ghost over one of the feathers. He half expects it to crumble to ash like it had done with Haraeya, however it does not, much to both of their relief. Plucking a single ivory feather from the bundle, Levi holds it up into the light and studies it. It doesn’t take him long to see that it is, in fact, a real feather. He flips the wings around to present the area that was torn from Haraeya’s back. Ribbons of skin hang limply from the hard, bone-like structure. But it can’t be bone, Levi attempts to convince himself, these aren’t real. They can’t be real.

The realisation of what he’s gotten himself into is still sinking in. So many questions are whirring through Levi's head that he doesn’t even know where to start.

Settling onto the sofa, the man exhales a long, slow breath. “If I hadn’t promised my mum I’d quit smoking, Haraeya, I swear to God…” he mutters.

“Do not swear to God, Lee, They wouldn’t like that.”

“I just…don’t understand how this happened. Angels are real, God is real, Heaven – is Hell real?” At Haraeya’s enthusiastic nod, Levi groans and sinks lower into the cushions. “I think you’ve ruined my life, kid.”

Haraeya looks to the floor and fiddles with the sleeves engulfing his arms. Observing them, Levi wonders if he can successfully coerce this frightened little angel into his car a second time around.

He sits up and swings his legs onto the coffee table. “Hey, kid. I think we should get you some new clothes, don’t you? These are way too big for you.”

“But they will not smell of Lee!” Haraeya protests.

“Once they’re in the house for a while, they will,” Levi says. How long does he expect Haraeya to stay with him for? Swatting the thought from his mind, the man decides that he will cross that bridge when he comes to it.

Once again, the man and angel head down the path towards the car. The first time the boy timidly crawled into the vehicle versus now are like night and day. He bounds onto the seat and unsuccessfully attempts to buckle his seatbelt himself. For the first time, he properly studies the car. His fingers trace the material and he analyses the inside of the vehicle with interest. “I like it in here, Lee!”

The man chuckles as he falls into the driver’s seat beside him. “Great. Now it’s gonna make a rumbling noise but that’s normal, okay?”

A smile graces Haraeya’s lips; he watches Levi with complete and utter fondness. It is as if every word that stems from the tattooed man’s lips is liquefied gold.

Revving the engine, Levi begins to slowly back out of his parking space and descend the road ahead of them.

Throughout the entire journey, Haraeya has his face pressed against the window as he observes the world with fascination.

Laughing lowly to himself, Levi hits the button to roll down Haraeya’s window. The angel gasps, wind whipping through his wild hair. Much to Levi's amusement, the boy proceeds to lean forward in his seat and stick his head out of the car like a dog.

“It feels like I am flying again, Lee!” he proclaims, holding out his arm and letting the wind whip up his sleeve, “I feel like I have my wings again!”

Slipping shades up the bridge of his nose, Levi tries to disguise the fact that, even behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, he can’t help but steal more than occasional glances at Haraeya. There’s something so positive, so rejuvenating and pure about him that Levi can’t seem to get enough of. Humans are usually poison wrapped in flesh, but Haraeya is different. Despite the ridiculously short amount of time he has known the boy, he can tell he’s already beginning to become undeniably fond of him.

The car rolls to a stop and Levi parks it at the side of the road in the middle of town. Removing his sunglasses, he clambers out and jogs round to Haraeya’s side to assist him. The vehicle is locked, and they progress into the busy town centre. Haraeya relentlessly tries to grasp Levi's hand, but after shaking him off, the angel eventually settles for gripping onto the hem of the man’s shirt. He observes his surroundings curiously, flinching at the most seemingly inoffensive sounds – be it a dog barking or van honking, he jumps and squeezes so tightly onto Levi's shirt that he stretches the fabric.

They enter a local clothing shop – a cheap one since Levi is pretty low on cash. It’s hard to make money when your only talent circulates around a musical instrument. But he gets by.

They approach the men’s section and Haraeya gasps with palpable fascination. “It is like Lee’s clothes box but bigger!”

“You mean my wardrobe?”

“Yes, your clothes box!” He doesn’t hesitate to pull on Levi's tee, dragging him towards a rack of polo shirts. They continue to shop for a while but it becomes increasingly more difficult for Levi to hold on to the money spilling from his wallet since Haraeya seems to find every single item of clothing absolutely wonderful. Who needs a new car anyway? Haraeya certainly grabs the attention of the people around them, whether it be from his contagious excitement, his positive aura or his attractive features, Levi is unsure.

The tattooed man guides Haraeya through the store to the cash register, but Levi is surprised to find the angel hurry off in the direction of the women’s section. Sighing loudly, he races after him. Slowing to a jog once he finds him, Levi's brows scrunch together in confusion when he finds Haraeya gazing at a pink, glittery crop top with the word ‘SLUT’ stamped across the breast. The boy’s fingers are outstretched to gently ghost over the sequins.

“I like this, Lee,” he breathes, continuing to admire the garment.

“What?” Levi scoffs in amusement, “You can’t wear that!”

Haraeya frowns, retracting his hand. “Why?”

“It’s – it’s for girls! You can’t wear girl’s clothes, kid,” Levi laughs.

“Why can I not wear girl clothes? Will it make me ouch?” Haraeya’s vision alternates between Levi and the promiscuous shirt.

“No, of course it won’t hurt you, you walnut! It’s just…not what people do, init,” Levi explains, scratching the nape of his neck.

“Humans seem to have rules for everything,” Haraeya sighs sadly, “Who is making these rules?”

“What do you mean?” Levi questions.

“Boys are not allowed to wear girl clothes, girls are not allowed to wear boy clothes. Every human has to wear clothes. Who is making these rules?”

Levi stares at the boy for a moment and simply shrugs. “Society, I guess.”

“Society does not sound like a very nice human, Lee. Society should just let humans do clothes how they want,” Haraeya huffs, crossing his arms in annoyance.

The man keeps his eyes trained on the boy in front of him. He’d never really thought about it that way. It had taken this confused little angel to open his eyes to a world he had lived in his entire life. “You’re right, kid.”

Haraeya’s eyes glisten and his smile brightens with joy. “I am?”

“Yeah. You really want this top?”

The boy nods furiously. “Yes, Lee!”

Without breaking eye contact with the angel, Levi rips it from the rack and drops it into his basket. “Then it’s yours.”

They continue shopping in the women’s department and end up returning all of the men’s clothing. Haraeya discovers his favourite colour is pink and has a newfound adoration for bow tie hair accessories. Levi felt a bit uncomfortable at first when purchasing the pink shirts and sparkly chokers, but from the way Haraeya glows with delight when he slides a plastic ring onto his finger or clips a bow into his hair, the man knows he is making the right decision. It makes Haraeya happy, and for reasons unbeknownst to himself, that is his top priority as of now.

They exit the store and, upon Haraeya’s request, Levi clips a little pink bow into the boy’s hair. He giggles with excitement and grabs Levi's hand. It takes the man a few heartbeats to remember they are in public and he hurriedly rips his hand from the angel’s grip. Haraeya’s buzz quickly fades and he lowers his gaze to the concrete floor beneath them. Guilt washes over Levi, but he cannot bring himself to be seen in public holding hands with another man.

“Lee, my tummy feels odd. I think it is angry.” Haraeya frowns, tugging at Levi's sleeve. His stomach proceeds to let out a growl of hunger.

The man laughs, their earlier awkwardness quickly forgotten. “Sounds like you’re pretty hungry, kid. I could do with something too, init.”

Haraeya’s face lights up in understanding. “Oh, yes! I have heard of hunger! Humans need food.”

In only a matter of seconds, they are stepping into a café a few stores down from the previous shop they had entered.

“Wait, angels don’t eat?” Levi asks as they wait in line.

“Oh no, Lee, there is no need for us to eat, we are immortal. Or, at least, I was…” His stare falls to the floor sadly.

At this point they’ve reached the front of the line and Levi decides to order for Haraeya since he has no experience with food.

A girl stands behind the counter with a welcoming smile and warm eyes. “What can I get you?”

Observing the pastries before him, Levi orders two jam doughnuts, a latte for him and a chocolate milkshake for Haraeya. No way in hell – or Heaven – is he tainting the boy’s body with caffeine.

They are handed their order minutes later and Levi is quick to guide Haraeya to a nearby table. They sit down and Haraeya eyes his doughnut skeptically.

“So, you’re immortal,” Levi clarifies, stirring his coffee.

“Yes, Lee!” Haraeya chirps, imitating Levi by stirring his milkshake with his curly straw.

“So then like…how old are you exactly?”

The angel hesitates. “I do not know.”

“You don’t know?!” Levi repeats in surprise, “How can you not know how old you are? I mean you look…I don’t know, young. You have one of those faces – you could be sixteen or twenty-two.”

Haraeya finally dips his index finger cautiously into his drink and holds it up to his face. He sniffs it, hesitates, and pops it into his mouth. The shimmer in his eyes makes it clear that he likes it. “I am not sixteen or twenty-two, Lee. I think I am older. Angels age much slower than humans.”

“So what, you’re like a hundred?”

Haraeya giggles. “I am not one hundred, Lee, you are so funny! I am younger than that!”

Levi finds himself sighing with relief. He watches with fondness as the angel begins to grasp the concept of straws. It balances between his lips and he proceeds to suck on the plastic, allowing the milkshake to enter his mouth. Momentarily startled, he jolts back and Levi can see his tongue moving around in his mouth as he tastes it.

“I like this, Lee! I like the milkshake!”

The tattooed man smirks. “I can see. Try the doughnut.”

The boy complies, picking off a segment with his fingers. Levi watches on, intrigued, as he places it in his mouth and chews. His face lights up and he grabs for another piece.

“So tell me more about Heaven, kid. You have all the answers that humanity has only dreamt of knowing, init.”

Haraeya speaks through his mouthful of food. “What would you like to know, Lee?”

“Is there a God?”

Haraeya’s chews cease for a moment. “I think so, Lee.”

Levi frowns. “You think so?”

“Yes, I think so. Angels have faith in the Lord but we have never seen Them.”

“You’ve never seen him?” Levi questions in astoundment. But he’s an angel.

“Them, not Him, Lee. God is not a boy or a girl. But no, we have never seen Them. Only the Archangels are allowed to see Them.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Levi mutters sourly.

A crease forms above Haraeya’s brow when he frowns. “I do not understand, Lee. That is not great at all!”

“I know,” Levi sighs, “I was being sarcastic.”

“What is sarcastic, Lee?” Haraeya asks, leaning forward in his seat to gaze at the man opposite him.

By this point, Levi isn’t even surprised at Haraeya’s ignorance. “It’s like…saying something that ain’t true.”

“So lying?”

“No, not lying. Like saying the opposite of what something actually is.”

“So lying.”

“No, not lying, Haraeya! It’s more of a joke – like a form of humour.”

“So…joke lying?”

Levi sighs again in exasperation, massaging his temples with his fingers. “Yeah. Joke lying.”

The boy is silent for a few moments, brows scrunched together. “Humans are weird.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Yes, I am telling you.”

Mere seconds from replying with something snarky, Levi is unable to do so as they are approached by a leggy waitress with hazel eyes and caramel hair. Much to Levi's surprise, it is clear the girl is heavily pregnant.

“Hi, guys, can I get you a refill on your drinks?” she offers with a bright smile.

“You want another milkshake, Haraeya?” Levi turns to find the boy’s eyes fixed on the woman’s stomach. She notices too and laughs.

“Eight months,” she tells the angel, patting her enormous midriff.

“I do not understand.” The frown that Levi has already become more than familiar with surfaces onto Haraeya’s face.

“The baby,” she says amusedly, “I’m not just fat, you know.”

Seeing the confusion on Haraeya’s face fail to crack, Levi decides to step in. “She’s pregnant, Haraeya. She has a baby in her tummy.”

The angel’s eyes widen and he smacks his hands to his mouth in shock. “A human baby?!”

The girl laughs uncomfortably, grabbing Haraeya’s empty glass. “I’ll go…refill this for you.”

“Oh, thank you so much!” Haraeya gushes, “That is so very kind of you!”

She smiles awkwardly and retreats rather hastily.

“Wow,” Haraeya breathes, turning back to face Levi, “Humans are so very wonderful. And magical.”

“Magical?” Levi questions.

“Yes! You can grow human life in your tummy!”

“So, how are angels born then?” Levi asks in confusion, “You hatch out of an egg or some shit?”

The boy doesn’t realise Levi is joking. “No, we do not hatch out of an egg, Lee. We just…are.”

“Are?”

“Are. We are not born. We just exist. We are formed from the Lord’s creation.”

“That sounds so scientifically inaccurate.” Levi sighs, resting his elbows on the table between them. “So, you literally know jack about pregnancy and birth?”

“Who is Jack?”

“Forget it,” Levi waves him off, “Answer the question.”

“I have heard about it from my Eema and the Archangels but do not know anything about it. It truly is a miracle of the Lord.”

‘Eema?” Levi questions.

“I think humans call them mothers.”

“Hang on,” Levi takes a bite of his doughnut, “If angels don’t give birth then how do you have a mother?”

Haraeya watches him in perplexity as if he’s just asked him what colour the sky is. “Eema has raised me since I was a baby and loves me lots. Do tell me about pregnant, Lee!”

Levi hesitates. “It’s when a man and woman…you know.” The man is ridiculously uncomfortable talking about something so graphic to a boy so innocent.

“I am sorry, Lee, but I do not think I do know,” Haraeya says apologetically.

“When they, you know, have sex.”

“I do not know. What is a sex, Lee?”

The tattooed man smiles to himself. He leans forward to ruffle the angel’s hair. “You’ll find out when you’re older, kid.”

“But I am immor–!”

“Here’s your milkshake, sir,” the waitress smiles, dropping the glass in front of Haraeya.

His mouth clamps shut and he smiles at her. “Thank you very much! I like your human baby.”

The girl sends him an uneasy smile. “Uh…thanks…”

“Sorry,” Levi steps in, reading her name tag, “Chloe. He’s not from around here.”

She nods in understanding, tucking a loose strand of caramel hair behind her ear. “It’s okay. You wanna feel the bump?” She directs this question to Haraeya.

“Oh, yes please!” he exclaims, tentatively extending his hand to rest on her stomach. The moment his hand makes contact, both Haraeya and Chloe jerk back in surprise.

“Holy crap,” she mutters, “The baby sure likes you. It hasn’t ever kicked like that before.”

“It is because I am an angel!” he exclaims, causing Levi to cringe to himself.

Chloe smiles. “I’m sure you are, doll. An angel with kids, that’s for sure.”

At that moment, a man roars from behind the counter. “Chloe! We got an order ‘ere!”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” she smiles, retrieving Levi and Haraeya’s empty plates and stacking them on the palm of her hand. “Enjoy your refill.”

“Thank you very much, Chloe! Enjoy your human baby!” Haraeya calls, beaming.

The moment she is gone, Levi leans forward in his seat to whisper to Haraeya. “Kid, you can’t just go around telling everyone you’re an angel.”

Haraeya frowns in bewilderment. “But I am an angel.”

“Yeah, but people won’t believe you, they’ll chuck you in the loony bin!” Levi explains.

“But you believe me, don’t you, Lee?”

“No, not like I saw you heal a deer with your magical glowing hands or anything.” The man crosses his inked arms over his chest and rolls his eyes.

Haraeya hesitates. “Was that a sarcastic?”

“It’s called ‘sarcasm’. And of course it was, you walnut.”

The bell above the door jingles behind them. Levi turns to see an enormous man, towering above six foot, and it’s difficult to decipher whether his abdomen is full of beer or muscle. With a bald scalp, it’s as if his hair got frightened and migrated down to his arms. The thick, hairy arms are littered with faded tattoos that resemble something that would have been done in a prison. Instinctively, Levi spins around again swiftly to face Haraeya, terrified the meathead will see him glancing. When returning his gaze to the green-eyed angel, he is surprised to see him staring at the terrifying man.

“Kid, don’t stare,” Levi hisses, yet the boy’s gaze remains transfixed on him.

“He is beautiful, Lee.”

“What the hell are you–?”

“Hey!”

Levi spins around and gawks in horror when he realises the man was addressing them and is storming towards them. The table rattles as Levi leaps up and stands in front of Haraeya protectively.

“The fuck are you looking at?” the huge man sneers, glaring at Haraeya from behind Levi.

“Mate, we don’t want any trouble,” Levi interjects, holding up his palms defensively.

“Then tell your boyfriend here to stop staring at me like some fucking queer.”

“You are very beautiful!” Haraeya chirps, completely oblivious to the man’s aggression and Levi is tempted for a short heartbeat to smack the angel.

“The fuck did you just say to me, you little faggot?” the bald man growls, looking him up and down in disgust.

“I said you are very beau–”

“That’s enough, Haraeya,” Levi grits. “He’s not from around here, dude. Just let it go.”

The man points a fat finger in Levi's face. “You got off lucky, mate.” He turns sharply on his heel and returns to the line.

“It was lovely speaking with you!” Haraeya calls after him.

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Levi mutters, more so to himself, as he throws a five pound note onto the table and they bolt out the door.

“He was wonderful,” Haraeya smiles, and if it were anyone else, Levi would be sure they were joking.

They walk side by side down the concrete pavement, Haraeya gripping onto the man’s shirt as usual. The angel’s thumb skims the bare flesh of Levi's love handles that peek from beneath his jeans. The man is unsure whether the contact is deliberate or not, but he says nothing. Usually uncomfortable with physical contact from anyone – let alone men – Levi cannot understand why he is not entirely bothered by Haraeya’s complete lack of personal space. There’s something so undoubtedly lovable about him, perhaps it’s his childish ignorance or his ability to see beauty in even the ugliest of people. How can someone who looks so human be so…unhuman.

Shaken from his thoughts, Levi finds Haraeya’s grip on his shirt has loosened and he’s approaching a nearby tree. The man frowns, proceeding to follow after him.

Only as he gets nearer does Levi discover the angel is staring at a decrepit old pigeon with tattered feathers and a gunky left eye. Its scaly toes are curled around a tree branch and Levi is certain he can see hatred brewing in the bird’s eyes.

“What are you doing, kid?” Levi asks in bewilderment.

The boy says nothing, eyes remaining on the bird in front of him. When suddenly, he puckers his lips together and coos. The pigeon’s head snaps downwards to stare at the angel and, without hesitation, hops down from its branch and lands on his hand.

“Kid, don’t touch that thing! It’s riddled with diseases!”

Haraeya calmly raises his free hand to his lips and presses his forefinger against them. “Shh, Lee.”

“Haraeya, you need to–”

“Shh, Lee,” Haraeya repeats, running his fingertip across the bird’s spine. Levi watches on in astoundment as the patches of visible flesh littered across the pigeon begin to vanish, layers of healthy feathers accumulating in a matter of mere seconds. The bird coos, resembling the sound Haraeya had made earlier, before its wings begin to flap and it takes off in flight.

“That was…” Levi cannot even finish his sentence. A wide grin stretches across his face. “You’re amazing. You’re amazing, Haraeya.” His smile soon vanishes when he turns to the boy to see his eyes lowered to the ground, lips pulled downwards.

“Kid?” Levi's voice is soft as he places a tentative hand on Haraeya’s shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

“I wish I could still fly, Lee,” Haraeya sighs, “I miss my wings ever so much.”

Levi smiles wistfully and pauses for a moment in thought. “There must be a way to get them back. Isn’t God supposed to be all about forgiveness and shit?”

Haraeya’s viridian eyes spark momentarily with a flicker of hope. “Well, there is one way. But it is hopeless…”

“What is it?”

“Lee, I do not think it will work–”

“Tell me, Haraeya.”

Haraeya sighs a second time. “There is a Holy book for angels. It is called the Sequitur. There is a legend that if an angel is unjustly banished, there is a way to be granted access back into Heaven. It is written somewhere in the Sequitur. But every copy of the book is in Heaven!”

Levi gnaws at his fingernail in thought. “So, you know what we have to do, right?”

“No, what do we have to do, Lee?”

“We have to find that goddamn book.”