Haniel sat on the beach silently, rubbing a hand over his long healed arm wound. He cringed at the constant reminder of Dummah’s treachery. He knew he had to have been behind the accident. The angel resigned himself to sitting there, bored. He sighed while digging the sand out of his toes, sitting on a rock thinking about brighter things and better days. Before the gloom of his time under the deepest parts of the earth, working with Raziel and Salsa on God’s plan. He took a deep breath and decided to think about his main source of angst. 

Haniel could feel his emotions toward Dagiel begin to shift, like the earth as it slid against itself. He found himself thinking about Dagiel for longer than he knew he should. He knew once they’d resurfaced and the ten years were up, he would find any excuse to touch the other angel. He would even make up excuses for being on the rocks even when he didn’t need to be. The ten years were now passed however and he had every chance to look at the object of his hidden affections. Dagiel’s return after his own ten-year voyage would be a quiet one.

 As quiet as someone like Dag could be anyway. Haniel knew however, that Raziel walked this world alone, even though Salsa had rejected him in his last moments, shouting his love for Dag. Raziel didn’t speak much after that, spending most of his hours since their return sitting by himself on the beach. Haniel watched him walk into the surf to play with the penguins that Salsa loved to talk about. Haniel’s heart ached at the pain their brother, the best feather in his wing, was going through right now. 

Haniel for all his musings, truly didn’t notice Dagiel’s return. The merangel swam through the water, sea otter laying across his back. Setting the otter pup down Dagiel flipped out of the water, spreading his wings. He flew over Haniel in loops announcing his own return. Wingtips reaching down to graze the water with every elegant spin and twirl. His tail like a beautiful flag in the rising sun, the light shimmered through it with the effect of filtering through the treetops. 

Hani, once he had come out of his fantasies of watching Dagiel, his jaw dropped. He looked up and watched all this in awe. Once the show was over, Dagiel grinned at Haniel before swimming over to the rocks. 

Dag placed his arms on a flat one, head resting on them. The otter pups climbed up onto his tail as it lazily floated in the water. 

“So, Haniel, welcome back, a lot has changed I’m pretty sure but this is my first night back as well. Where’s Salsa?, Also what are you expecting to happen now that Lucifer has broken another law?” Dagiel said this in seriousness as he looked up at the younger angel.

 “I don’t know Dag. I really think Lucifer needs to do something about this and soon, if God finds out she is going to be furious and nothing will stop her wrath. But afterward I think we should be fine as long as Lucifer gets rid of the child and apologizes. I already made enough of a folly ten years ago, imagine what would happen if-” he was cut off by an angry shout. 

Dagiel glaring at him was the last thing he expected to see, but that was what he saw when he next looked at him. “You, I can’t believe you would say something like that, you who carries on about God’s laws all the time! Why would you think that Luci should give up his hatchling? Is it not enough he lost the one before it in the First Fall? Some of us want for that kind of thing but due to our work we can’t make the same commitment! And...and… folly?! Salsa saving my life was a mistake?! Why?! Because you couldn't come swooping in and taking all his glory?! You delusional, creepy fucking unfeeling bastard! I thought you were my friend! My best feather! I asked you ya know, where Salsa is? I can’t get a clear answer on that either, now can I?!” 

The seafoam green haired angel shouted this angrily as he sent a death stare at Haniel. The blond wanted to run and hide, but this was Dagiel, Hani would find no escape simply repeating the laws.

 “Dagiel, look, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that! but, Lucifer’s child was not created by God, you know the laws just as well as I do, God will forgive us surely, but it has to happen…-” He caught himself and veered away from that subject. Desperate, clinging to any hope that he could fix this before he broke it too. “I’m so happy to finally see you again Dag, it’s been years, we lost Salsa, he dead Dagiel, but, they say that once an angel has a mind of his own, comes into his own power, his hair changes color and grows longer, instead of the cropped, short uniform blond that we all are. That’s what happened to Lucifer, to Salsa and Raz, is that what happened to you? You seem so, cold, it’s been ten years, I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, but it was God’s will.”

 The sound of water hit his ears before he felt the violent splash. Hit in the face with a wave of ice water from the enraged Dagiel. “Cold!? Lost?! What do you mean lost?! How can you talk about Salsa as if he were some kind of afterthought Haniel?! Salsa was everything to me! IS everything! I LOVE HIM!” It was the final thing the merangel shouted before diving into the waves. His wail of despair and mourning slammed into the blonde’s skull like a ram’s horns hitting a boulder angel in the side off of a mountain pass. 

Haniel looked out into the now empty water in a panicked state. Dagiel was swimming away, otter pups hugged to his chest, the salt of his tears flowing into Haniel’s nostrils. He had not even welcomed Dagiel back. Guilt wracking him the shorter angel sighed in misery, why did he say that? Something obviously was going on with Dag and the blond had only made it worse.

 Why did he fuck up their first meeting in ten years?! “I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean that… my little starfish...please...forgive me...” he spoke softly to no one as the sun began to rise and Apollo opened his wings. Haniel quickly flew back into the protection of the jungle. As he flew he felt his heart shatter. 

It was a full year before Dagiel even looked at him again. That year was the most miserable time of Haniel’s life. At least during his ten-year working expedition, he knew he would return to Dagiel a changed man. But even with that conviction he still folded under his passionate love for nothing but God.

 The agony he felt at Dagiel's rejection of his apologies was heavy on his soul. He spent his days by the empty waves, watching the now grown otters play with each other. 

He’d sit on the beach in the middle of the night. His gaze shifted around, watching for any sign of Dagiel, when nothing happened, save the call of a stray flying beast, he would trudge back to his lonely hut and curl up under his animal furs. The screams of another angel abduction would hit his uncaring ears that night. He wouldn’t even move, without Dagiel he couldn’t bring himself to want to lift a finger for anyone. Not even to stare into the darkness as something feasted on yet another brother.