FicWad

"Claude." The angel smiled warmly, reaching out to embrace him. Claude glanced hurriedly over his shoulder - Joan was looking at him curiously.

"Okay, now is not the best time for this!" he hissed. "Grey, seriously, what were you thinking? If the Boss finds out -"

"I have permission." Grey looked hurt. "I finally get a chance to visit you . . . this is the first opening I've had in three centuries, you know. Three and a half, actually. But you don't even want to see me?"

"It's not that I don't want to, Grey, it's just -" He was interrupted when Joan shakily got out of the chair and made her way to the door, overcome with curiosity.

"Claude, who . . ." Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Grey's face, and she nearly dropped the ice pack. There are two of them?! she shrieked silently. Grey was just as beautiful as Claude - even more so, if that was even comprehensible - and their features were the same, even though Grey's hair was white-blonde and his eyes were an unbelievably pale green. Like Claude, his hair was long, and worn pulled into a ponytail; however, his hair was much neater and sleeker than Claude's.

"I told you to stay put," Claude muttered in a pained tone of voice. He glanced at Grey, who simply raised his eyebrows, and grudgingly stepped out of the doorway, allowing the angel to walk gracefully into his house.

"Your human form sucks," he whispered as Grey walked by. "I think she's gonna faint. You couldn't tone it down a bit?"

"This is only my third visit," Grey replied out of the corner of his mouth. "You've had much more practice."

"Don't remind me," Claude growled.

"Are . . . are you two twins?" Joan finally managed to choke out. She felt herself growing slightly dizzy under Grey's careful scrutiny.

"We are," Grey replied quietly, giving her a kind smile. "Claude is somewhat the 'black sheep' of the family." His smile flickered slightly, then became firmly glued in place. "I need to check on him every so often to make sure he's not breaking any rules."

He turned to stare directly at Claude for the last three words, his soft gaze turning icy. Claude shrugged and shook his head, mouthing what did I do?

"If you don't mind . . ." Grey smiled warmly at Joan and took his brother's arm. "I need to speak with Claude." Without another word, he dragged Claude into the next room, his cordial expression disappearing instantly.

"What's this about?" Claude demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The Authority is displeased," Grey replied, frowning more to himself than at Claude. "You've been using your . . . abilities. You know it's forbidden." He glanced out in the direction of the hallway. "And she's the latest of the violations."

Claude scratched the nape of his neck, glancing over his shoudler again as if expecting Joan to pop up any second. "Well, what was I supposed to do? Watch her get turned into roadkill?"

"I understand the choices you're faced with, Claude, but humans die. It's a fact of life . . . or rather, a fact of existence." Grey sighed and sat on his brother's bed, running his fingers through the strands of silvery-blonde hair that had escaped onto his forehead. "You had issues with letting them go when you were reassigned to my department, as well. You become unhealthily attached to humans -"

"I'm not attached!" Claude snapped, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice down. "And we don't need to bring the whole guardian angel thing in. That was . . . I mean, it's not what I was meant for."

"You certainly took to it with fervor," Grey pointed out, smiling in an attempt to lift the mood.

Claude either didn't notice the attempt or didn't care. "What would you do in my situation, Grey? Would you let all those people die if you could help it?"

Grey didn't reply for a moment, staring intently at the dingy carpeting as if it had just said something profound. Finally, he looked up at his twin and spoke quietly. "My job is to save people, Claude."

"It was my job, too."

"Your job was to avenge those who weren't saved."

"Yeah, well, look how that turned out!" Claude's hands balled into fists at his sides, and he took a deep breath, steadying himself.

Grey watched him for a few moments until his anger had visibly subsided. "You've become very human."

Claude opened his eyes and glared at his brother incredulously. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You're very . . . emotional." Grey leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice even further. "How involved have you become with humans?" His pale eyes roved over his brother's face appraisingly. "Do you have a lover?"

"What? No!" Claude sat by his brother, glaring at his clenched hands to avoid eye contact. "I may not be an angel anymore, Grey, but I'm sure as hell not human."

"You are an angel. You're just . . ." Grey sighed, then reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Claude's ear. His Fallen twin flinched away, scowling. "You're just out of favor, that's all."

"Out of favor? Grey, they booted my sorry ass right through the pearly gates and said if they ever saw even a glimpse of my pathetic hide again, they'd let the Black Dog of Lucifer have me," Claude reminded him, tapping the side of his brother's alabaster forehead.

Grey sighed. "That's a harsh way of putting it."

"I read between the lines, Grey."

"You know, I . . ." Grey paused for a moment, twisting his slender, almost feminine fingers together. "I've been trying to convince the Authority to repeal the ruling."

"For three and a half centuries, Grey?!" Claude hissed. "You idiot, I'm not worth that! you're gonna get in trouble -!"

"Time doesn't pass as slowly for . . . the rest of us," Grey murmured.

Claude sighed and punched his brother playfully in the shoulder, causing the exquisite angel to wince. "Lucky you."