Cause I got issues but you got ‘em too

[Raphael Malai]

Birdy Bee Coffee Cafe—BBCC, as some (okay just Raphael) called it—was a quaint, cute, modern, trendy little place. It caught Raphael's eye immediately with its colorful decor and he couldn't help visiting it often. So often that one of the baristas got to chatting with him, and then let him behind the counter to try out the espresso machine, and then taught him how to make leaves with milky foam on the surface. With money not being much of an issue for them, he already tried out one of everything on the menu during his frequent visits, and of course—he had a lot of espresso.

So when he told Rhys that the coffee here was good, he knew what he was talking about!

But his chances at a date were initially dashed by his impetuous departure from the group. That... couldn't really be helped. Raphael wanted a date with Rhys but he needed freedom a sight more. It just happened that his conversation with Professor Jack took a turn in that direction, before he had a chance to hang out with Rhys and... Well... Here they were.

Or were they?

Were they here?

Where was here anyway, because Raphael was thoroughly confused. He thought Rhys was angry—which proved to be correct. And then he wrote that letter hoping to make everything better and he sent it off by private Seek-Me, not realizing that it tried to deliver the letter to the apartment first. But eventually the letter landed in Rhys' hands so he had no real reason to suspect that it had been intercepted. The glaringly obvious conclusion to be drawn about Raphael was that he wasn't exactly bright. He was not the brightest bulb in the package and he often failed to think his actions through. Unfortunately, not knowing that the letter had already been read meant that he was in danger but even so, he felt that his new friends would protect him.

Professor Jack promised and Brayden backed that up. Marge was even guarding him—he felt safe! And when Rhys finally responded to him, he was elated. He showed Marge the message with a bright grin and although abuse was slung by both parties—Margie didn't take well to being called an idiot or a pervert—Raphael was too happy to care. "A real date Margie!" He crowed as Marge patted him on the head approvingly, having alternately coached and yelled at him through the entire exchange. "And we're going to have espresso! And—ooh! Play footsies under the table!"

"Great." Marge drew out the word with a slight roll of the eyes. "But you remember what I told you, right? Get him to the park, into the little nature walk."

"Oh! Yes. Of course Margie! I'll get him there, and... um. Why did you want him there again?" Raphael distractedly fiddled with the clasp of his messenger bag, which held that precious gift he wanted to give to Rhys.

"To talk." Something about Marge's smile made him feel a little anxious. "Just to have a little chat, no big deal. Now off you go~ Have your little date~! Kiss and make up~!"

Then she all but pushed him out the door, where he stood in the courtyard sort of confused. Raphael glanced toward Professor Jack's apartment, wondering if he ought to let him know where he was going, but earlier Marge said they were busy... (And what would two lovers be doing when they were alone? Things that didn't bear interrupting! Raphael wasn't about to be That Guy either!)

With a smile that was very much un-Fallen-like, he set off across the courtyard and out of the building, into the street. The cafe wasn't terribly far away—just far away enough to help him settle his nerves. But then he caught sight of the back of a head with familiar dark curls and the nerves flared up worse than ever. Now, Raphael didn't think that Rhys would actually kill him, but he might... he might make good on that promise to throttle him. (And then kiss him? Maybe?)

As he approached, his heart rate kicked up to jackhammer going at full speed. If—If Rhys was going to throttle him, then he had to get his kiss in quick!

So Raphael sorta dove at Rhys—His Majesty the third Prince of the Kingdom of the Fallen—and planted one on him without much warning!

[Rhys McCabe]

This shouldn't take long. Honestly, Rhys didn't even know why he bothered agreeing to it. Or telling him to meet up or whatever. Rhys firmly believed none of this would be happening if it weren't for Raphael. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just keep his teacups or whatever to himself? I should have said no. There was no reason to actually humor him. In fact, if anything, this was probably the worst step to take.

Rhys didn't like the fact that there was a paper trail connected with this. Before, when it was just them... Actually, that was just as bad, was it not? It wasn't on paper but it was in text form. Words that could be tracked if somebody wanted to watch them. And Rhys had to admit, he felt especially watched right now. Ever since treason made its way into the conversation, he felt the prickly sensation of being watched. Maybe it was "guilt," which he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Whatever it was, he didn't like it. He left a paper trail just as much as Raphael had. Maybe they should run off before they were found. But he knew it was pointless. They were going to be found regardless. Even Rhys' attempt to give Raphael a "head start" was pointless.

None of this was going to go down happily.

So he didn't know why he bothered coming here, in this bright, cheery cafe with its overpriced menu and its too-smiley barista, and the cutesy little bees on the walls. Rhys didn't even say anything to the barista when he entered, nor did he order anything. He just found a table without other people nearby and slid into the chair to wait.

The distracting pop music over the speakers annoyed him and so did the couple nearby. The girl had an irritating giggle and the guy had a stupid grin on his face the entire time. Rhys turned away, bored. He was just about to rest his chin in his hand when out of nowhere he was accosted. Before he knew what he was doing, reflexes took over--Rhys swept up to his feet, grabbed the crazed kisser by the arm and twisted it behind his back before shoving the assailant facedown against the table.

Only to find that it was... Raphael.

"Oh for--" Rhys let go of Raphael and stepped back. "What the hell was that?! Are you trying to get killed?"

[Raphael Malai]

WHAM! THUD!

"OW!"

The side of Raphael's face thudded off the table so hard that the salt and pepper shakers rattled in their holders, and he swore his brain got jarred loose inside of his skull, too! On top of that, his arm was twisted hard behind his back, which didn't help matters in the least! To his credit, aside from the surprised and pained yelp, he didn't whine on. (Well that never helped anybody, did it?)

Raphael peeled himself off the table with a grievously injured Look at Rhys, who admittedly had every right to be indignant. He did sort of get kissed non-consensually... And he was a highly trained, skilled assassin of sorts, with lightning reflexes...

"You're jumpy," replied Raphael unhelpfully as he rubbed his sore shoulder, noting absently that everyone else in the cafe was now staring wide-eyed at them, wondering why Rhys had just attacked him. "And I wasn't trying to get killed, I was trying to get a kiss before you throttled me like you said you would." Gingerly he sat down, alternately rubbing the side of his face and his shoulder. The couple nearby whispered something to each other, promptly rose and left the cafe, casting fearful looks at Rhys as they passed.

Raphael thought he heard the girl whispering 'psycho' as she passed.

[Rhys McCabe]

Oh yes, he was jumpy. He glared at Raphael. What did he expect? For Rhys to kiss him back? He'd come at him from behind! And Rhys wasn't feeling good about any of this. He felt like his father just... knew. He couldn't help it; his father knew everything back home. But maybe his tentacles didn't reach this far. Hard to tell.

It disturbed Rhys that he felt so "jumpy" as Raphael put it. This wasn't like him. Boredom. Ennui. That was more like Rhys. Worrying that somebody might be watching him? Back home, Rhys never cared even if he was aware that he was being watched in some capacity or other. Everything he did was a test in his father's eyes. Rhys learned that very early on. He knew Satine did, too. Everything they did was scrutinized and examined. Their every strength... and weakness.

Rhys slid back into his seat.

He heard the girl's remark but chose to ignore it. He wasn't a psycho. But her opinion didn't matter and he didn't care if they were afraid of what they just witnessed. All the better, since they weren't there in his peripheral vision anymore and he didn't have to listen to her awful cackle anymore.

"You're an idiot."

[Raphael Malai]

In the face of Rhys' annoyance, Raphael smiled a new smile he learned here in this human world—the smile that hurt the side of his poor face that had gotten slammed into the table. He didn't know what it was to really smile until he came here, out into the sunshine and out from under the shadow of that ominous black castle with its tall, sharp spires and purple pennants waving to remind everyone of the Fallen King's omnipresent rule.

Raphael had always been a bit of an oddball within the Fallen kingdom, simply because of his disposition. He wouldn't have said that he was sunny, exactly, but he was more optimistic than most. Somehow he couldn't help but see the silver lining in every storm cloud, a fact that made him rather unpopular. After he came here, though, the sun broke through those storm clouds. He changed—oh, how he changed!

He was allowed such freedoms here! Enrolling in the local community college put him in touch with Professor Jack but it also put him in touch with other young people his age, ones who befriended him and genuinely appeared to like him. A few even tried asking him out! Raphael found himself being the center of attention in a positive way; he was wanted, he found, and his cheery attitude earned him only praise, never rebuke. Everything wrong with him suddenly became right. He felt as if he finally found home, not with his greedy mother or distant brothers, but here with the humans who were supposedly beneath them all.

Meanwhile, Rhys and Keith... They didn't seem to find much amusement in the human world, unless they were hunting. Raphael's hands weren't bloodless either but he never found joy in taking lives. It was necessary to his job but really... He was much happier collecting teacups and going to cafes to befriend baristas who made espresso art.

"So you've said," he laughed gently, "about a thousand times." Rhys probably meant it every time, but that was Rhys for you. He seemed to have changed too. Jumpy, irritable, secretive, begrudgingly acquiescing... None of those things were indicative of ennui. They were just the opposite, in fact, but it didn't take an 'idiot' like Raphael to point that out, did it? Under the table he nudged Rhys' ankle with his ankle. "This just makes it a thousand and one."

And... probably also the last time Rhys would ever call him an idiot to his face...

[Rhys McCabe]

And there was the ankle under the table. Rhys sighed and moved his foot back and away from Raphael. He hadn't come here to play footsie under the table or whatever else Raphael thought this was. He'd come here at his insistence, actually. Was that what he wanted to give him? A foot rub? Footsies? This wasn't a date. Was that what Raphael wanted it to be?

Of course it is. Raphael hadn't been secretive about that. He wanted a date with Rhys for who fucking knew what reason... For almost as long as Satine had been in his life, so too had Raphael been there. But they weren't really friends, even then. Rhys didn't play those imaginative games that he played with Satine, not with Raphael. But he was there at his studies with a handful of others around their age. They all tried to be his friend, all of them shoved toward him by families who wanted to be close to the royal family. Raphael was the only one that seemed genuinely interested.

Rhys still kept him at arm's length.

"Are you going to order your fancy drink or did you just want to meet here to kiss me and play footsies under the table?"

[Raphael Malai]

Rhys, as usual, was skittish like a little frightened colt. Okay not frightened, but he was skittish! Withdrawing his leg as though playing footsies was beneath him... But Raf was willing to bet that he'd never played it in his life! He didn't know how much fun it was to flirt and make eyes at someone over the table and—ahem. Raf was getting a little ahead of himself here, wasn't he?

He sighed and withdrew his leg too. Attempt number 1 foiled! But the smile persisted as he shrugged. "Maybe I did just come to kiss you and play footsies! What's wrong with that?" Nothing! If he liked someone—maybe even loved them—then it was only natural to want to kiss them and flirt with them and think dirty things about them. Even Rhys wasn't immune to the needs of the body, although Raf suspected that most of his 'consorts' were merely there to relieve that biological need, and not to offer emotional support.

But even as he waved, Luka was coming over, seemingly concerned. "Baby are you okay? Did this jerk hurt you?!" He reached out and cupped Raf's cheek, the one that had been smushed into the table. "Aww poor thing, that's going to leave a mark. My little unicorn, do you want me to call the cops?!" Luka glared at Rhys.

"No! Nono it was a misunderstanding!" Raf clutched his arm. "Don't get him in trouble, please! He's my—my best friend!" Raf side-eyed Rhys to see if he bristled at that. For Raf, it was true: he considered Rhys to be his best friend. But the reverse generally didn't hold true... Clearing his throat self-consciously, he turned back to Luka. "Can we get two espresso please? Really I'm okay, I swear!"

"...all right. But if I see him being shifty, I'm calling 911!"

[Rhys McCabe]

Rhys glared right back at the barista, not at all impressed with the fact that he touched Raphael like that. Yes, there was likely going to be a mark where Rhys struck Raphael's head against the table but that was Raphael's own fault for jumping him! (Although in Raf's defense, Rhys wasn't normally... that jumpy. He would have been aware of the movement and waited calmly to see who approached.)

So he was jumpy after all.

He still felt oddly... restless. Paranoid. And he didn't. Like. It. He didn't like any of it. He didn't like the fact that the boredom was starting to be overtaken by something else. On the one hand, it was different and that things less boring. But it scared him, worried him--and that in turn irritated him. Why? Why did it irritate him? Even he had no answers for that.

Rhys saw the side-eye and he avoided Raphael's gaze by looking off at the nearby wall, which was painted an annoyingly sunny yellow and white with the thinnest black stripes in between. Everything in this place was unbearably... cute. No wonder Raphael was attracted to it.

Not bothering to say anything at all to the disgusting human, Rhys continued to watch the wall until he left, then slid his gaze back toward Raphael.

"These people would never last an hour in the dark kingdom if they think that was violence."

[Raphael Malai]

"Well good thing we're not IN the dark kingdom, and these people don't have to know what we know..." Raphael laughed, but it was a subdued kind of laugh as he recalled the horrors of being a Fallen. None of it was fun and games. It was all grisly and terrifying and... Well, it was no way for anyone to live! Even Rhys didn't get off scot-free. If anything, more pressure was placed onto him because he was the one who was 'allowed' to stay by his father's side.

How he ever withstood the pressure, Raphael didn't know. He suspected that it was because Rhys came from strong stock—his father was mighty, even if he was evil. Those genes had to be in him somewhere, even if he acted nothing like his father even on a bad day. Rhys didn't do that whole... killing subordinates for no reason thing. Sometimes he had bad days and it showed, but Raphael didn't think Rhys was... evil. Misguided, perhaps, but not evil. Raphael could never fall in love with an evil man, after all!

Propping his elbow onto the table, Raphael rested his chin in his hand. He gazed at Rhys. This was going to be the last time he saw Rhys in person and he needed to memorize every aspect of him, from the downturned frown formed at the corners of his mouth to the unimpressed glare in his eyes, to the way his hair curled and wisped around his face. "I'm going to miss you, Rhys," he whispered wistfully, still staring at Rhys with adoring eyes and a little sad smile.

[Rhys McCabe]

A part of Rhys wished they did know what it was like there. These people had the luxury of living light, happy lives because they didn't know all the things they had seen. Even Raphael, who somehow managed to keep a hold of some part of his light. Rhys didn't know how he did it because he himself had obviously never been able to do so. But when he was young, he was a light, hyper, mischievous little thing. His mother loved him then. He remembered it... so well right now. For some reason.

He didn't remember it so well before but sitting here in this colorful, cute cafe with Raf sitting across from him, he suddenly had it there. The memory of his mother holding him, running her hand through his hair, murmuring to him how she loved him, her baby boy always.

It didn't help, really, to have Raphael staring back at him the way he was. Rhys stared back. What was he searching for? Did he... know? Did it show in Rhys' face that the memory had come to him, of his mother? She used to all him a little monkey, for getting into scrapes and messes. Always insisted on washing him up herself. Never wanted a nurse, never wanted a nanny. She was so protective of him. Rhys had forgotten that. He just assumed she only cared for her lost son. Now he was realizing that she'd lost two.

Rhys lowered his gaze, feeling a foreign sense of emotion overtaking him. Abruptly, he got up.

"I'm using the bathroom," he said, before Raphael got weird about it.

[Raphael Malai]

"Oh—okay. I'll be here!"

Obviously he wasn't going anywhere. Obviously. Raphael watched Rhys until the last moment, up until the bathroom door closed on him, and then he turned back with a sigh. Luka came over with the two cups of espresso, one with a fun sunflower design on it—for Raphael—and one with a... a... "What is that?" Raphael asked as he studied the spiky design.

"It's abstract." Luka plonked the other cup down in front of Rhys' spot, whereas he had gently slid Raphael's cup before him. "For the jerk who hurt my little baby!"

"But we're the same age!"

"Yeah well I've already adopted you, so. You know. Shut your little baby mouth and let me love you." Luka slid into Rhys' chair and again cupped Raphael's face, stroking the reddened spot with tender fingers. "Are you sure you're okay with him? He really went for it, it looked like he wanted to hurt you!"

"Oh no. Rhys would never hurt me." Raphael touched the back of Luka's hand gently. "He's always protected me. I snuck up on him, it was my fault."

"...yeah and you kissed him, I saw that!"

"Well. Yeah." Raphael grinned. "I did kiss him didn't I? And isn't he handsome? And tall?"

"Mmmhm." Luka sounded unconvinced but was forced to leave to tend to some new customers entering the cafe. Raphael picked up his cup and sipped it carefully, so as not to disrupt the pretty sunflower on top. He glanced over his shoulder. Was Rhys going to be there a while? Was he pooping? Fine time to do that now when this was their first AND last date!

[Rhys McCabe]

The bathroom was thankfully empty when Rhys entered. He stood in front of the mirror, wondering if it showed. Whatever was going on in his head. Then he turned on the tap and let the water run for a moment before he splashed his face with it. Cold water was a shock to the system but he needed it. He was losing grip on himself and he didn't know how to... fix it. And goddamn, his back itched like crazy.

After scooping some more water into his face, he looked up. Eyes widening, he held onto either side of the sink, heart leaping into his throat when he saw his father standing behind him in the mirror. Frozen in fear, he watched as he moved closer. The sink began to brown and rust and crackle beneath his hands.

"It was a mistake to let you go," he said in his low tone, hateful, glowing eyes piercing through Rhys' even through the mirror. Rhys could feel his mouth go dry. "You were perfect but something about the human world changes you."

Rhys turned around and found that his father was not there with him. Limbs shaking, he backed up against the sink. It crashed down, rusted and ruined and when Rhys turned back around, he could see his corruption had sunk into the sink and its components. And in the mirror, his father was still there.

"Keith will remove them," he said.

"What?"

"Those fucking wings. I knew you were too young to send. I should have listened to my instincts."

Rhys stared. What? Wings? The itchiness... He reached back to feel something startling protruding from his shoulder blade. Not a lot but... something. No.

"I'll get rid of them myself."

That changed his father's expression. He arched a brow and looked on with interest as Rhys reached back and grasped onto one of the wings with his hands. And he let out an agonized cry as the corruption poured from his hand to the pure magic trying to grow from his shoulder. Dropping to one knee in the mess of crushed metal and porcelain, he could feel it cutting into his knee and legs. The corruption spread down to the root of the wing and it throbbed painfully, like an infected tooth. He bit his lip to keep from making another sound.

"That's right..." His father encouraged him. "Remove the purity... it's a blight..."

The bathroom door squeaked open and somebody was asking what was happening, then calling out, "Luka! This customer is... I think he's trying to kill himself!"

[Raphael Malai]

What a pretty little sunflower Luka made for him! Raphael sat looking at the lovely design on the surface of his cup, waiting for Rhys to come out so that they could resume their date. This was something he only dreamed of, never dared to approach Rhys about because... Well, Rhys would have said no and even if Raphael might have shrugged it off and laughed about it, a part of him would have been hurt. That was the human world's influence on him—he had emotions that ran the gamut from delighted to... less so.

But for some reason, Rhys did say yes—twice. He had to remember that. Rhys agreed twice now and so there was hope for Raphael that maybe whatever changed in him was also changing Rhys, and both for the better. That was something he held on to in the days leading up to his... defection, he supposed was the word. He defected from his homeland, from his people, so that he could live and love and party with the humans.

Something clunked behind him, followed by a series of quite frightening sounds. Raphael shot to his feet at the sound of a familiar cry, but another cafe server got to the bathroom first. Hearing him calling to Luka and saying that a customer was trying to kill himself, Raphael bolted to his feet and dashed over, pushing aside random people who were clamoring to see what was happening.

"Rhys? Rhys?!" He pushed past the other employee too, and stared aghast at the crumbled bits of porcelain and wood and metal that Rhys' corruption had made short work of. What was he doing?! There was something on his back that he was pulling on and without knowing what it was or why it was important that Rhys not pull it out, Raphael grabbed onto his arm to try and get him to let go. "Stop! Rhys stop it! Stop! What're you doing?"

[Rhys McCabe]

Did it hurt this much when he was young? Or was it because he was doing it himself? It was like... honestly, the closest thing he could think of was that it felt like he was pulling a literal bone out of his body. It was like ripping out his own teeth or his nails. A part of him that was definitely meant to be there. The corruption made it so, so, so much worse, though. It was rotting the wing all the way through and down his back. He could feel its blackness crawling like cold sin down his back and it hurt like fuck.

So despite trying to fight the hand pulling at his arm, it was hard to when his energy was flagging. The pain made him weak. More so, he was already physically affected by seeing his father in the mirror. He tried to look up at the mirror but he couldn't see into it from this height. Besides that, he couldn't see past the tears of pain that blurred his vision--a physical reaction.

"Somebody call 911!" somebody was saying. Rhys could hardly even see them, hear them. Everything felt like it was covered in the flutters of hundreds of moths. His hearing went in and out. Something... had gone wrong in his attempt to tear his wing bodily from himself. Now it felt rotten.

And he finally realized that somebody familiar was there. Shit. Raphael. Rhys forced himself to get to his feet, even though his legs felt like a young horse's--unstable and unsteady.

"He's in the..." Mirror, he started to say but when he looked, it was just him, with an ashen face. And the worker, who looked worried and Raphael, who definitely looked worried.

[Raphael Malai]

"No no! Don't!" Raphael turned on the employee—and on Luka who was staring at him with wide eyes. "He's—I'll take him home. I'll look after him!"

The magic in the air was stifling. Hot. Dark. It was corruption at its finest and at its worst, its most powerful. Raphael felt His Majesty's presence too—Drake Nightshade. He had been here and that meant bad things were about to happen to all of these innocent people if he and Rhys didn't immediately leave. The first thing he thought of was Margie—she could help Rhys, he was sure! And if she couldn't, she knew a fixer, she said! Fixers were incredibly rare in their realm but out here maybe they weren't so hard to find!

Gently he slipped his arms around Rhys, to help him stay on his wobbly feet. There was a blight on his back that Raphael could see, where some kind of dark magic had seeped into him. It looked so awful, almost like an open wound, that he could hardly bear to look. The fixer. Marge! "Come on Rhys. Let's get you out of here. I know someone who can help."

What... was Drake Nightshade doing here? Did he know? About Raphael? Surely someone as unimportant as he was didn't warrant the King himself visiting the human realm...? He didn't realize he was shaking from adrenaline and fear until he looked down at his own hand, to see it trembling where it was grasping onto Rhys' shirt. "Come on," he said more softly. "Let's get you out into some fresh air."