Vee paced back and forth in her room, repeatedly clenching her hands as she tried to steady her breathing. Thoughts raced through her head, each one trying to find meaning before another pushed it away. Having just woken up, her usually flawless blonde hair was now a tangled mess. It bounced around with each frantic turn before she finally crashed back to her bed.

“Vee, you idiot!”

Grabbing a nearby pillow, she used it to muffle a loud groan. Once she finished, she rolled onto her stomach before moving the pillow to the back of her head, burying her face in the covers to hide from her panicked thoughts.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening! How is this happening?!

Memories from last night flooded her thoughts. The uncertain leap of the quarry cliff, Amara diving after her, the two soaring up through the clouds as sunlight lit up Amara’s face. Dancing through rings of fire, skimming over the Great Lakes, holding Amara tight as they flew.

She had hoped that a good night’s rest would change things, give her a new perspective, but that hadn’t happened.

Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I mean, I masturbated to her in Purgatory, but that’s because she’s a succubus! That’s the whole point, right?

Right, yeah. It’s just a lust thing. Perfectly natural, nothing new.

Visions of Amara flying through the skies returned, her brilliant brown hair fluttering in the breeze. The sunlight glimmering off her dazzling amber eyes, her exhilarated smile as she rode the jetstream miles above the world.

Her warm tail wrapped around Vee’s waist, her powerful wings that held back gravity itself. When they’d embraced on the rooftop, nothing else had mattered. The two of them, alone together, softly swaying under Amara’s beautiful hellfire. Even the memory of her scent brought a smile to Vee’s face; faint hints of cinnamon and patchouli, along with several other notes than made Vee’s heart soar.

When had she stopped smelling of sulfur? How was that even possible?

Lust wouldn’t explain this. I don’t just want to take her to bed, I want to fall asleep in her arms. I want to play with her hair while we kiss, to wake up next to her and bring her breakfast in bed.

Face it, Vee.

You have feelings for Amara.

Vee jumped onto her knees before throwing her pillow at the wall.

“But why?!” she shouted. “We’re friends! We’ve always been friends!”

The pillow fell to the bed before tumbling down to the floor. It crumpled into itself, mirroring Vee’s own actions as her body deflated.

“I thought we’d figured everything out. Things finally made sense, in their own weird way. Yes, it’s weird to think of an angel and a demon being friends, but intimate? Partners?” She hesitated, lowering her voice as if someone might be listening in. “…Lovers?”

The word made her giddy. The idea made her heart soar, warmth radiating through her face. Some distant part of her wanted to scream out in protest, to say it was wrong to love a demon, but hadn’t she spent months slowly turning away from that voice?

Why was this so different?

This changes everything. I have no idea if she feels the same way, and with everything that’s been going on… Is now even the right time to say anything? Should I ever? She’s going through so much, it would be selfish to throw such a massive curve ball at her now.

No.

She needs time to heal, time to come to terms with everything she’s going through. Maybe once the coven has repaired the Gate…

A loud knock echoed through the apartment, causing Vee to jump in surprise. After making sure her pajamas were reasonably presentable, she quickly ran to the front door. Instead of opening it, however, she looked through the viewfinder just to be safe. On the other side, patiently chewing on her lip as she waited, was the most beautiful, perfect, immaculately gorgeous person Vee had ever seen.

No! I’m not ready for this!

Vee took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, even going so far as to utter a quick prayer, but it was little help. As the only other option was abandoning Amara in the hallway, Vee bit the bullet and opened the front door.

“Amara, hey! What brings you by at this hour?” Vee asked, trying desperately to appear casual.

“I’ve got all your stuff, silly. You left everything in your car, including your phone, so I wasn’t able to text you and ask when you wanted me to swing by. I know you’re an early bird, so I just made an educated guess.” Amara walked past Vee and, as the front door closed, manifested her true form. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“N-not at all!” Vee muttered. Her eyes wandered over Amara’s wings, her tail, her horns, and she caught herself sighing as she took in the beauty of it all. The unexpected silence then caused her to panic, worried that Amara might catch her looking. “After all that flying, I slept like a log. How about you?”

“Pretty good, honestly. Better than I have in a while, that’s for sure.” Amara’s words were awkwardly paced, and she seemed to be avoiding Vee’s eyes. “Look, about yesterday…”

Vee’s heart skipped a beat.

I feel it too, Amara! Please, just say it!

“Y-yeah? What’s up?”

“I just, um… look, I know I’ve been kind of a bitch recently. I realized last night that I’ve been so caught up in my own bullshit, and I never once asked how you were doing. I finally saw just how much you’ve been doing to hold me together. Sparring with me, taking me to the stadium, and then finally figuring out a way to trick me into flying… It means the world to me.”

“It’s nothing, really. That’s what friends are for, right?” Vee said, nearly tripping over her words as she called them friends.

Amara stepped closer, finally looking up at Vee. Her sparkling amber eyes betrayed an unusual vulnerability, one that was incredibly welcome after so many days of pain and anger. Vee only had a second to appreciate the view before Amara pulled her into a hug, her wings and tail wrapping tightly around Vee. “Dammit Vee, I’m trying to thank you.”

Vee returned the hug, sinking into Amara’s embrace without a moment’s hesitation. “You thanked me last night, Amara. No need to repeat yourself.”

She’s so warm. I just want to stay nestled in her arms forever.

“There’s absolutely a need to repeat myself!” Amara protested. “You jumped off a fucking cliff, Vee! For fuck’s sake, we were trying to kill each other a few months back, stop trying to pretend like this is some run-of-the-mill friendship.”

Despite every fiber of her being screaming in protest, Vee pulled away from their embrace. “We’re best friends, silly. I know you’d do the same for me, so don’t sweat it.”

Amara chuckled as she stepped back from Vee. “I swear, you’re too nice for your own good.”

Heat rushed to Vee’s face and she quickly averted her gaze, pretending like she needed to check her phone. “So, um, what are you doing today?”

“About that,” Amara started, casually leaning against the back of Vee’s loveseat. “I guess Tessa’s Coven is doing a thing with the quad? Like, in addition to fixing all the circles, one of them is going to clean up all the damage and shit. We’ve both been getting texts about it, but obviously you didn’t have your phone so I—ugh, look, you wanna go to that?”

Vee cocked an eyebrow. “You want to help out Tessa’s Coven? Seriously?”

“No! Well, not exactly.” Amara paused, biting her lip again. “Yesterday just put a lot of things into perspective, I guess. It made me think back to the week after you and I fought. I spent the whole time cooped up inside, turning everyone away, but of all people, Chloé managed to talk me out of it. She had just started up plans to fundraise for the fire relief, and the thought of fixing some of my fuckups made me feel a little better. I still hate the Coven’s guts, but I can’t deny that our interests overlap a little bit. Maybe… maybe it’s time for me to start chipping in a bit.”

Pride swelled in Vee’s chest as she listened to Amara. She’d already suspected that regaining her flight would be a huge step, but it was astonishing to see her so level-headed. “That sounds like a perfect way to kill some time. Gimme a few minutes to get dressed, then we can head out.”

Shortly thereafter, once Vee had ditched her pajamas for something far more resilient to the winter chill, she returned to the front door. As they walked outside, Vee playfully held out her elbow for Amara to take, unable to resist the urge to be closer to her.

Outside, the sky was beginning to peek through the clouds, which made the cold wind slightly more bearable. Vee shivered briefly and stepped closer to Amara before a pocket of warm air appeared around her. She looked over and smiled, unable to stop herself from appreciating the contour of Amara’s face. She’d demanifested her demonic features before they left, which meant her hair sat at a different angle.

“What?” Amara asked, returning the look. “Got something on my face?”

“N-no, I, uh…” Vee looked back to the ground, burying her blushing face in her scarf. “Just thinking, that, um, you’ll need to hide all your powers when we’re around the Coven. You might want to give yourself thicker clothing, too, just in case they get suspicious.”

“Shit, that’s a good idea.” Amara broke away from Vee for a moment, returning once her outfit had shifted to a puffy winter coat and matching boots.

C’mon, Vee, get a hold of yourself! She doesn’t need you gawking at her every time we hang out. She’s come so far, the last thing she needs is you fawning all over her like a lovesick schoolgirl. God, how does she make winter jackets look so good? She’s always had a fantastic eye for fashion, and now she can give herself anything she wants. That color suits her skin perfectly, and are her cheeks a rosier color than usual?

Ugh.

This is going to be a long day.