The sky was a beautiful blue, with very few interruptions of puffs of white, and Domino loved the way Mr. Hughes always looked up at it so intently as he sang to her early each afternoon. She was laying on her bed, sideways, propped up on her right side so that she could see him as he serenaded her with his angelic, lusty voice. It still affected her as much, and as deeply, as it had that first day, and Domino felt like it helped keep her calmer, more relaxed. She was sure that was what it was supposed to do. She loved hearing his singular voice, she couldn't imagine how absolutely fascinating it would be to hear a whole choir, a whole choir of angels.
November had come and was now on the way out. The night before, there had been a large employee dinner, complete with turkey, stuffing, and a variety of pies. Domino had remained in her room, Alexandru had brought her a tray of food and lit the room with what had looked like thousands of little candles, and they had eaten together. She had had seconds of everything, hungrier and hungrier these days, and Alex had been the ever-attentive boyfriend. Then, when she'd finally given in and asked for that third piece of pumpkin pie, he had begrudgingly gotten up to fetch it for her.
When he'd put it on top of her rounded stomach, she'd looked down and gasped. The platinum ring with the enormous square-cut diamond solitaire that was sticking out of the top of the whipped cream on a little wooden stick had been completely unexpected, and she had started to cry as he had climbed onto her bed and put a hand around her from behind.
"I've only ever married one woman in my life. I never thought I could love someone as much as I loved her. When I met you, I realized how very wrong I was. I love you, and I want to spend forever with you, Domino. Will you be my wife?" He has said in his delicious deep rumble and she had wrapped her arms around him and sobbed, nodding, yes, she would be his wife, a million times yes.
"I should say no, we don't know what's going to happen with the baby, but yes. Yes, Alexandru. I love you so much." She'd nodded, burying her face in his naked chest and breathing him into her, wanting to keep against him like this forever.
They had spent the night beside one another, just running their hands over each other's bodies and talking a little about what the future could hold for them. He owned a house on several acres of land outside of Rochester, New York. He hadn't done much to decorate it and hoped that she would be willing to make it into their home. It was large enough, he had said, to fit the three of them, and it had already been outfitted with windows and shutters that completely shut out the light. She had told him that she knew the baby's sex, but he had said that he didn't want to know, he wanted to wait. It had been a very cozy, normal night of making plans and memories, it had been wonderful.
So now here she was the very next day getting to listen to an angel sing. Mr. Hughes was so much more than he had first seemed to her when they'd arrived, and she had a hard time thinking about how she'd at first not really liked him. Domino couldn't imagine not having him in her life, the thought of moving to New York and not getting to see him very often was actually a little disconcerting. At least he had a cell phone. They could FaceTime and text whenever they wanted, but it wouldn't be the same as getting to chastise him face to face.
Mr. Hughes' voice was strong, and fluid and it seemed to fill the room with that mysterious, melodious tone, and Domino could listen to it for hours, she knew, but he would only sing for a little while, stopping almost mid-word sometimes. She had asked him from time to time what the words meant, but he would just shake his head a little and tell her that the song itself was what she should focus on. The sound was the purpose, not the words he sang. She just figured it was some super secret angel thing, and scoffed every time.
She was yawning when he stopped singing this time, and had covered her mouth with one hand when Mr. Hughes suddenly took several steps back from the open window and there was suddenly a gust and something, someone, suddenly landed just inside of her room. Sweet Jesus, Domino widened her eyes and saw up on her bed, a hand on her rounded abdomen as she took in the sight before her. A man had entered, well, a male, at least. His skin was a few shades darker than Mr. Hughes, and she could see a lot of it. His groin area was covered in some sort of white clothe wrap-around thing that left his chest and long, muscular legs bare. He was tall, dark-haired, and had huge, white wings that had fluttered a bit as he landed before folding slowly against him back.
Mr. Hughes didn't say anything at first, he almost looked annoyed, she thought, and Domino wanted to ask a million questions just as much as she wanted to lose her shit on this angel and ask him why Mr. Hughes had been punished and the others had just went along with the shitty shitty plan to kill all those non-humans. When they did start to speak, it was the strange angel, and the words he voiced were unknown to her, similar in sound to the songs that Mr. Hughes sang.
Mr. Hughes responded in kind at first, but after Domino cleared her throat, he sent her a sidelong look before turning back to the intruder.
"Fezekial, this is my friend, Domino. Domino, this is Fezekial. I have known him for a very long time." Mr. Hughes told her, turning his body so that his back was to the wall of the bathroom, so that he could turn his head between the two of them easier, "Apparently, they have heard my singing."
"It's nice to meet you. I've never met someone like Arc before." Domino decided to attempt being cordial.
"You keep interesting company here, Archimendes." The man's voice was not as deep as Mr. Hughes', and his eyes were blue instead of her preferred gray.
"Why are you here, Fezekial?" Mr. Hughes frowned.
"You are being called back. If that is what you want." Fezekial said simply and Domino knew her mouth dropped open and she stared at Mr. Hughes, he was being given the chance to go home, to return to Heaven? Holy shit. Holy, indeed.
"Why?" Mr. Hughes should have looked elated, he had wanted this for so long, hadn't he? Why did he look like someone just shot his dog. In the face. Point blank. With a bazooka.
"You know as well as I that I am never told the reason when I am told to do something." Fezekial frowned, he must have expected Mr. Hughes to jump at the chance as well.
"If I were to return, what would my station be?" Mr. Hughes looked over towards Domino, he knew she had plenty of questions for him, but now was not the time to ask or answer them.
"We all serve Him, Archimendes."
"Serving him has never been an issue for me." Mr. Hughes sighed and walked over the window to look up at the clear sky.
"He has forgiven you." Fezekial said in a softer voice and Domino turned her head away as she almost snorted, forgiven, my ass, Mr. Hughes had earned that forgiveness from the very beginning of it all, there had been no reason to torture the angel in this way.
"I am grateful for that." Mr. Hughes still sounded irritated.
"He said if you choose to stay, there may not be another chance for you to ascend." Oh, an ultimatum, Domino furrowed her brow, she wondered what the purpose was, to entice him to go home? To leave Vorhees?
"Will there be a chance that I descend if I choose to stay?" Mr. Hughes asked and the other angel, the one who had not cut his wings off, widened his eyes a little bit.
"You would choose this life? Here, among all of these...people," Fezekial waved his hand at the floor in front of him, his eyes venturing to Domino more than once as she frowned at him, "You would stay here with your broken wings and your twisted heart instead of coming home?"
"I am needed here, you may not understand that, but He will." Mr. Hughes was choosing life on earth, he was choosing life on earth instead of Heaven. She was shocked, but also extremely proud of him for standing up for himself.
"Archimendes," The angel spoke her friend's name in such a different way than she had ever heard it said before, and it made her shiver a little bit every time, "why?"
"There's no need for me to explain. He can hear me. He has always been able to." Mr. Hughes tipped his head at the angel that looked rather agitated and walked over to stand beside Domino.
"Archimendes, we were all there, we know-." Fezekial shifted uneasily near the window, stopping when Domino finally coughed and sighed.
"You were all there, and ARC was the only one who stood up, the only one to say 'hey, this wasn't cool' and you wonder why he might be a little hesitant to return to the fold." She snorted, feeling Mr. Hughes wrap a hand around her arm and squeeze it a little bit.
