Chapter 11

The next day was strange. Or at least the atmosphere between the pair – which of course affected the whole group on some levels. But Matt didn't care. He spent half the day avoiding everyone in the suite, needing some time for himself. He was still pissed at Corey, but at least he took the collar off him after their violent and frankly, very satisfying fuck before they both fainted into sleep.

But as morning came and Matt woke under the warm covers to Corey asking if he wanted to go down with them to have breakfast in the restaurant, he said no and put his walls up again. He really wasn't in the mood to pretend he was a good pet of the high demon. There was no ounce of will in him for that. Not when he was still pissed at Corey.

So the prince and the others left him alone all morning. Which was a good thing and Matt was glad he wasn't "forced" to leave the suite, because he knew he would've just snapped if he heard another of those ugly comments. Frankly, he was maybe overreacting and should just ignore those bastards, but he hated the idea of everyone thinking he was something he really wasn't. Especially because they were probably gossiping some shit about his absence from his royal majesty's side.

"He was probably punished for misbehaving..."

"Serves him right. He is just a cur. Undeserving to have His attention anyway..."

He groaned as such kind of conversations echoed in his mind. Of course, it was just his imagination. Overthinking again. Hindering becoming what he was supposed to be... Or at least that's something Corey would definitely tell him if he saw him like that, sulking under the covers.

But what was he exactly? His failed attempt to coax that truth out of Corey sat heavily in his stomach. Matt knew that he wouldn't be able to pull the truth out of Corey and it frustrated him even more. He wanted straight answers instead of this mysterious mumbo-jumbo about realizing it for himself... How could he know from that who the fuck his father was?!

Blinded by his irritation and insecurities he got out of the bed to soak in the bath tub for a while. He knew he had to come up with another plan, and as his mind wandered towards the thought that Paolo probably had to recharge Corey with his powers at some point if he ventured out of the suite so soon, a light bulb flashed in Matt's mind...

He'll approach Paolo, using every means necessary to get more information. After all, he had to be well-informed to be able to prepare for what might come to them...

Meanwhile in the restaurant at Corey's table the band was eating quietly. Everyone was playing their role well as the prince's servants. Well, aside Joe they all have been there before. But the human knew the most how he had to try to be invisible at such a demon place.

"What do you want to do with the... situation, my lord?" Paolo asked quietly. He could clearly feel his angel brother's disturbed thoughts from upstairs.

"Hmm... Nothing really. I have to meet up with some more people here. You all go up with an escort and I guess talk to Matt. I won't be back till the evening, so you all have plenty of time. I gave permission at the manager that you, Paolo can order anything for yourself by phone. Keep them safe, Goldie…" he added in an even lower voice and with a small smile to his guardian.

Meanwhile upstairs Matt finished bathing and put on some boxers. He was getting a bit hungry, but was too stubborn to ask for food from the guys or order for himself – he wasn't even sure if he was 'allowed' to do that. That thought too pissed him off a bit again, so he walked around the suite in search of some leftovers or something. Finding an unopened bag of chips he snorted.

"Well... this will do for now," he mumbled to himself then on his way back to the main bedroom spotted the bar. "This will do even more..." he finally smirked. He didn't care if he was acting childish, he was going to try and have some fun until the opportunity presents itself for him to circle Paolo.

In a few minutes the chips was gone and Matt was on his second shot of vodka when he hissed. Putting the empty glass down onto the nightstand, he looked down onto his other arm from where he could feel that by then familiar burning. "Oh great..." he grunted, seeing the new marks manifesting and crawling down on his unmarked skin. The pain came quickly after that, but he made sure to keep himself cut off from Corey. He didn't need his power or puppy eyes to help on him, so instead Matt grabbed the bottle and took long swigs, turning on the volume on the big flat screen on the wall opposite the bed he was lying on in his boxers to breathe through the making of his other sleeve.

"My lord…" Paolo picked his head up worried in the exact moment when the new marks started to appear and spread all over Matt's arm.

"I know. He’s trying to block me out but I feel it. You may all go back upstairs. Don't tell about me nothing," Corey said with a sigh and waved to one of the huge demon guards to escort his servants back to the suite. Of course as soon as they walked along with said guard and their master was nowhere around, the mean looks and comments started again.

Thick sweat drops were forming on Matt's face, neck and chest as he drank more and tried to breathe through the burning pain of his skin. This was definitely getting worse each time. He could've cried in frustration, but instead just grunted and hissed a few times, trying not to move that arm and just accept the pain, letting it wash through him like in the past whenever he was injured.

Still, he looked rather pale with dark circles under his glowing eyes by the time three quarters of the booze was gone from the bottle and he was getting a steady buzz, trying to focus on the gory video shown on the screen. That's when he felt Paolo's familiar energies getting closer. In a minute he could hear the others return into the suite but luckily – or maybe unluckily, he couldn't decide for himself – he didn't feel Corey among them.

"Oh crap... It's worse than before. I got you bro, just breathe with me..." Paolo hurried to the bed and wrapped the other angel in his golden healing light.

"The tattoo looks awesome, though..." Joe finally spoke. Getting closer and watching the half-breed in agony and the guardian healing him. "Sorry..." Joe added and lowered his head as Brent looked at him weird, even for his demon face weird...

Well yeah, the 'tattoo' that was spreading all over the arm of Matt indeed looked great. And it seemed it didn't want to stop...

"Just... fuck off..." Matt groaned to the other two as more lines started crawling towards his forearm. He didn't want the other two to see him like this. Though it was a little late for that now, he knew. Drinking the last of the vodka, he dropped the empty bottle somewhere onto the bed and without thinking turned into Paolo's warm healing powers and with that also into a hug, burying his face in the crook of the short angel's neck.

"Come on, Joe. He didn't mean it. He's in a lot of pain. Let's get back to our room and give them some privacy," Brent flapped his wings once and curled his demon tail around Joe's shoulders to turn him towards the door.

The second it closed behind them, Matt groaned into Paolo's neck and grabbed his arm with his good hand. "It still hurts... a bit less, but... why does it still hurt like this? Give me more..." he mumbled half-drunk, feeling as if his brain was being fried too from the constant pain.

"I’m trying... I'm sorry..." Paolo mumbled and watched as his powers rushed through Matt but it didn't seem he managed to ease the pain.

As a final attempt he channeled Matt's pain into his own head to give some more relief to his brother. "I can't do more... I don't understand…" he said through gritted teeth, just hugging Matt close to his warming up and glowing body and hoped the marking will end soon... Before they both pass out...

Matt practically half-crawled onto Paolo and sighed with some relief as the pain in his head seemed to ebb down to a bearable level as his wrist started to burn too now.

"No... I'm sorry. It's probably my fault. But what... do I know, right?" he chuckled with a bitter taste in his mouth. Then he took a few deep breaths and let Paolo go to slide his good arm around him as Matt could feel the pain starting to slowly subside on his own as the end of the marking process was coming nearer.

"I didn't want to hurt you... You're taking from my pain, aren't you?" he asked looking and reaching up to wipe a sweat drop off Paolo’s temple, his fingers trembling but gentle.

"Yes I'm sucking some of it from you. I'm sorry I can't do more... I don't know why either. The process seems to be escalating fast..." Paolo said panting from the pain stabbing into his brain now.

"You two have been fighting... Maybe... your... transformation is messed up somehow..." he said slowly and carefully. Like thinking over each word to not let anything slip he should not say...

Staying silent for a moment or two to let his mind clear up a bit as the pain kept retreating, he slid his fingers to the back of Paolo's neck to start caressing and lightly massaging his nape as if he wanted to ease his pain in return.

Matt noticed how the other angel was concentrating on his words, but now was the time to learn more. Now that he was finally alone with Paolo. "How could I put it back on track?" he asked a bit hoarsely. "Help me, Goldie... Help me out a bit here..." he leaned up a bit as the last lines finally etched themselves into his skin and he kissed into Paolo's neck. Slowly licking and biting the warm skin there.

Just as the strong pain left the golden angel's brain, it got suddenly full with the desire and lust he got from being still connected with Matt. Also the feeling how curious the black winged creature was, and even if the naughty thoughts were nice and alluring, Paolo knew he had to be careful...

"I don't know, honey... What's the matter between you two anyway? The king really cares for you so much... He let me close to him to help find you. If you have some anger towards him, please don't forget that he cares for you and do what he does for your benefit. Even if it's not all clear now… "

"Yeah... he cares for me, alright. He loves me as well, I know that... But he isn't making things easier for me either..." he snorted then rolled fully on top of Paolo, kicking his legs open with his own thigh so he could rub it against his crotch and Matt could straddle one leg to rub himself against it.

"No more pain for you anymore, right?" he asked and leaned down to kiss along the other angel's jaw-line then he also kissed the guardian sensually.

"No... No pain…" Paolo breathed and hugged Matt to him and kissed him back.

Boy, it was hard to keep in mind how Matt wanted to use... let's say the very sexual nature of the guardian angel to get information out of him. But deep under all the very nice buzz and arousing feelings it stung into Paolo hard.

"What do you want to know from me...?" he finally asked when he tore his lips from Matt's and panting looked into the narrow black eyes.

Although his desire for his brother wasn't faked at all, Matt should've known that Paolo would sense or at least figure out his true intentions. Stopping on top of him from that question, he just looked down at the flushed guardian, stroking the side of Paolo's face with the back of his slender fingers.

"I just want to know what kind of danger we are in and... who my father was. Please..." he said on his deep and quiet voice.

"Only that?" Paolo asked and laughed wholeheartedly while he caressed Matt's nape as he was holding his head, moving his fingers between the short black curls.

"You know how the world of humans is changing, right? Some say it's an 'apocalypse' or some 'doomsday' thing. But really they poisoned their own world with greed and called beings from other worlds to prove their own right for power and wealth and… just to show they are right, like how Brent was born…" he started slowly to buy some time for himself and decide how much he could tell to Matt.

"The danger comes from the gates between the dimensions. They got so ruined that they cannot be closed again. Even the supernatural beings, like us, picked sides. And although we would want to mind our own business... no matter if the Prince of Hell is with us... those who want power have become some kind of mercenaries and powerful humans will come after us... Because simply if anyone defeats or catches the king, it would be a big win for them... Like when your brothers tried to capture and kill him too…" he continued. He hoped that all the gibberish he was saying would distract Matt enough.

"They took you in at once because they knew what powers you have hidden in you. I even think they kept you from evolving into what you should be. To be one of them…" Paolo smiled with a fake calmness.

The more Paolo was talking, the less hope Matt felt about finally getting his real answers. He hated himself for using the guardian whom he considered his friend... with some benefits, of course. But this conversation wasn't going anywhere like this...

"Of course I know about the chaos on Earth. How the sides and lines got blurred. I've seen the most unlikely pairings between demons and angels or even humans and other creatures. Now it's about survival for most of the mortals. And also a fight about who will gain the most power. But I... I don't care. They brought this upon themselves. I only ever cared about the innocent lives which were suffering from all this. I helped and fought only for them on the side of my brothers and sisters... But you won't even tell me if it's them or someone else at our heels? Because frankly, you gave me nothing with your talk. I already knew these. We already talked about these. You're just repeating the same thing in a different coating...." he frowned.

"So these are no real answers to my questions, though I asked nicely... But I guess you'll never tell me either, huh?" he snorted shaking his head. "What was I thinking?"

"You know I would never betray Corey... Even if I could tell you anything I would never do against his will. And he knows what is best for us all. Right now he is out to gather information about where to go from here and what may come in our way. Yes, you asked nicely. But you also know about how I am with him…" Paolo said sitting up with a slight blush on his face.

"Yeah... loyal to him to the last feather on your wings," Matt said and sat onto the edge of the bed, staring ahead of him. "It was so stupid of me to try and go to you with this," he chuckled bitterly then just went silent, looking down at his freshly marked skin, which was already healed and smooth, but still warmer than the rest of his body. He absently stroked along it, pressing his lips into a thin line.

"I just have to let this go, right? Fine. I'm sorry I tried to use you and probably hurt you with it. And thank you for your help earlier... Can you just... leave, please?" he said on a much more emotionless tone as he closed up more. "The marking took a lot out of me, I need some rest."

"Things will happen as they should, when they should... Try to rest. And yes. I am loyal to him till the last anything on me…" the golden angel said and looked at Matt long one last time and left.

He just hoped Corey comes back soon. And the fading he could feel again on his brother would not get strong inside him...

***

Luckily soon they put that – if you ask Matt – damned place behind them and they hit the road again to continue the tour and be on the move. Matt assumed that already too many beings knew they stayed at that hotel. But once again, he could only guess as nothing specific was told to him or the rest of the band. They just followed Corey blindly, as apparently he knew what was best for them...

Of course he tried to care for Matt, and the half-breed didn't reject him and fed on his powers in the upcoming days, but they weren't satisfying that constant hunger like before. Either way, Matt kept saying he was fine and acted like that too, avoiding every attempt that was made to talk about such things. He threw himself into scribbling lyrics in that notebook he found in the van, playing his parts on stage and he also decided that if he wasn't going to get information, then he'll try to prepare on his own way. Which frankly, made him a bit paranoid again. A role he got used to while being on the run on his own.

Either way, he sometimes sneaked to somewhere private where he could practice with his flames and focus on being alert all the time. Which brought back his anxiety more often, but tried to fight it on his own. Also, he kept his eyes open wherever they were and maybe that's why he started to notice just how close Corey and Paolo got.

Corey felt how distant his pair started to get once again. And yes, he found consolation in their threesome, and mainly Paolo's gentle caring and love.

After the fight they had the prince also closed up again. He figured Matt was too mad at him. And it was better to not mess the half-breed up more before he finds his own way… But the fading he could feel also on Matt. And it worried him a lot... Which ended in more private talks and cuddling with the golden angel…

At least there were no new painful marks on his already pretty "inked body". By then both his arms were full of them and the koi fish was there on his side too, but nothing since that day Paolo helped him in the hotel room. Though Matt was pretty sure it wasn't really good news as it probably meant his changing slowed or was set back again. But he was glad he didn't have to ask for the other two's help during another marking session.

On the downside of things, there were signs of his fading again. He slept more, though the circles stayed under his eyes and also, like now, he had to clean up the swirling feathers in the motel's bathroom – which practically meant burning them into nothing with his blue flames. At least he got better with controlling them and now could use it on his angelic sword, which practically looked like a katana and could be summoned by him from another dimension.

Sneaking out of the bathroom he quietly put some clothes on and grabbed two beers from the fridge for himself. He paused for a long moment to look at the cuddling naked pair in the bed, legs tangled on the bloody and creased sheet. Matt could still see how Corey was taking apart the guardian angel earlier, giving his all then kissing and cuddling him afterwards.

He realized he wanted that too, but was probably never going to get it from Corey as he preferred to sub for him and make love to him instead. It was surely Matt's fault too for being distant and not willing to talk about deeper things. But there was something Matt has realized while watching the other two fucking, which made him feel... kinda jealous of Paolo.

Despite all... he already had deep feelings for Corey and it scared the crap out of him.

With that he headed out of the room to fly up onto the roof when he was sure no one was watching, leaving some of his feathers floating into the night.

Just as Matt sat down from the shadows Brent walked forth. He was in his demon form, tail swinging at his side as his red eyes looked searchingly at the angel.

Brent - Illustration by S.M.A.

"You okay? I'm sorry for interrupting you... I just try accepting myself and spend the nights on rooftops thinking…" he said as he crawled closer.

Everyone could feel the tension between the pair. But as he and Joe were the least powerful or wise in these situations, they kept their thoughts to themselves.

"I don't really know what to say or how to help. So I just stay in the background, like Joe..." he said out loud his thoughts to Matt. "But...even if I don't know much about things, literally many things in the multi-world, I still care about you, Matt."

The second Matt sensed the other, he put his wings away, though he was pretty sure Brent already saw their state. Looking up at the demon who was taller than the sitting Matt, he shrugged, opening a beer and offering it to Brent.

"It's okay, you can join me. And... thanks for caring..." he said as he just realized that this whole thing was probably making Brent and Joe miserable too. "I'm sorry if... you two are getting hurt in all of this. You are great dudes. I think I don't say that enough," he chuckled a bit, opening the other beer for himself then took a swig.

"How do you two... how should I put this? How can you two just... go along with things without being given much information about what to expect?" he asked then stared down at the bottle in his hand. "Also... have you ever been in love? Because man, it can suck big time, if you ask me..."

Brent drank from the beer too and listened to Matt tilting his head a little like a curious puppy. He was much more animalistic in his true form.

"Thanks. I... I don't know.. We don't know much about anything really and learn along the way. I and Joe are on the same level, so to say... But the king always saved our lives and kept us safe. If we should know something, he will tell us what comes. Also it's different with you... ‘cause of what you are for him. He gets... scared that he messes things up for you and just closes up," the black demon sat beside Matt and shrugged. "Never been in love... Or involved in any of those... activities," he blushed. His dark face couldn't show it, but he did blush hard.

"Well, the closing up part already happened... again," Matt chuckled a bit and looked to the side at the scrawny naked demon with the glowing red eyes and the curled up tail by his strong leg, which ended up in claws like his hands. Matt kinda found him cute like this, especially with the small horns and pointy big ears. At least Brent and he had something in common.

"Yeah... I guess it's different for you two, though..." Matt mused, watching the clearly embarrassed and a bit shy Brent. "Hey, you know it's cool. Don't be embarrassed about it. Are you afraid of it or just didn't meet anyone with whom you would want to... You know, have sex with? Do you have a preference regarding the gender? I know for many of your and my kind it doesn't matter."

"I was raised in a cage to be hated by that cult. So kinda afraid and not met anyone... I'm with the band really. This part of the world has been very crazy for a while. And... you see, what I am... I’m not trained to be powerful even if my race is the lower level troops of Hell," Brent spoke shrugging. "I don't mind genders at all. But I think I want to feel something for who I may have sex with... Corey said we will move to more safe places. He is sorting it out and will tell us all after the next gig."

"I know about your background and that you stick to the band... just thought that after some of the shows maybe you had the opportunity, but I get it man. This world and everyone in it can get pretty scary. I've been through that too. Got some pretty nasty anxiety attacks in the past year..." he confessed then took another sip from his beer.

"And dude, being or not being powerful doesn't matter when you find someone you like and they like you back. Yeah, that can be scary as fuck too, but I'm rooting for you, Brent. You're a great guy and should be happy. Maybe in these... new safer places you'll find someone..." he raised his bottle with a smile and drank to that, but then just felt sadder. He had no idea about these plans either...

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