#angel!michael

The ghost hunter sighed as her demon began gently kissing over the trail of love bites he’d left when she came home the night before, done filming the latest season of her show. Her team had learned about her relationship with Calum, the demon they’d met fifteen months ago now, while they were filming. Calum knew what locations they were going to and his job intersected with their’s one night, so he made good on his earlier promise to show up from time to time, helping to activate some of the spirits in the building with his own energy.

“Hey sweetheart,” the ovilus had droned as soon as Calum entered the room where his girlfriend was investigating with Violet.

“I thought you didn’t have the ovilus on?” Violet asked, wide eyed as she looked around the otherwise empty room.

Rose shook her head, leaning back slightly into the presence she was feeling begin to manifest around her, having a pretty good sense as to who it probably was. Sure enough, Calum appeared behind her, arms already around her waist. His eyes glowed fiery orange in the dark room as he cast his gaze to Violet, “Hi there.” He stated simply, smiling at the dark haired woman who instinctively backed away from him. He chuckled darkly before looking down at Rose, “Why’s your friend still scared of me? They still not know?”

Violet’s eyes cast up and down between Calum’s smiling face and Rose’s content one as she seemed to settle further into Calum’s chest. Her face shifted from fear to shock as she took in the couple, jaw practically touching the floor. Rose’s cheeks began to turn to match her bright red hair, hand gently grasping Calum’s arm that was around her waist as her gaze hit the ground, waiting for Violet to say something, but the usually talkative brunette was at a loss for words. Her grip on her camera loosened, the device nearly dropping, but Calum slowed its descent, instead placing it on a rickety old table in the corner.

He licked his lips slowly, scanning the room before saying, “Just letting you know I’m here. I’m going to go stir some things up for you now. Talk to you later.” Calum pressed his lips to the top of Rose’s head before disappearing.

Once the sun had begun to rise and the crew was finishing packing up all their equipment, Calum reappeared, walking over to his girlfriend of almost seven months, wrapping himself up in her arms with a sigh, it’d only been three weeks since she’d left to begin filming but he had missed her, being happy when he realized his latest assignment intersected with her travels. He hadn’t been able to tell her he was coming, Rose not particularly fond of all of Calum’s demon antics. But she did understand that he couldn’t not do his job. She sighed against his warm chest before looking up at him, “You here for work or did you just miss me?” She teased, fingers combing through the dark hair he’d been letting grow out.

“Both,” the demon admitted with a grin, leaning down to peck her lips.

Their bubble was burst as Violet cleared her throat, the rest of the ghost hunting crew staring at the couple, “You two have a lot of explaining to do.”

Calum was broken from his reverie at the sound of something in the kitchen. He pulled away, brows furrowing as Duke scampered out of the room and towards the noise. “Wait here.” He stated, giving Rose a gentle kiss before summoning his obsidian dagger, concern filling his face.

He’d started worrying about his relationship being discovered by other demons two months earlier, when they hit a year since the first time he’d run into Rose following their chance meeting on one of her shoots. It had taken him four months after their first tryst to admit to himself that what he felt for her was more than physical, tangled together in Rose’s sheets, her bright hair spread over his chest as she slept.

Demons weren’t supposed to have soft spots for anyone or anything but in the past fifty years, Calum had gained several. Fortunately those soft spots were two angels, another demon, and a hellhound, beings that could stand up against other demons coming after them, if they dared to do so. But now he had Rose, and she definitely couldn’t stand up to a demon who actually wanted to cause harm to her. So he crept down the staircase, holding his dagger in front of him as he scanned his surroundings. He looked down into the kitchen from between the railings and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ashton, Angel, and Michael leaning against the counters, Luke’s large frame hidden by the refrigerator door.

He vanished the blade in his hand, turning around to inform Rose that it was safe, having voiced his fears to her late one night in her hotel room while she was still away. The couple made their way to join the four beings in their kitchen, seeing Duke encased in Ashton’s arms as he pet the hellhound. Angel smiled when they spotted the pair, bouncing over to wrap Rose in a hug.

“Glad to see you’ve put that knife away.” Michael stated, making his way into the living room, “You worried about something?”

“You’d be worried too if you heard someone banging around in your kitchen.” Calum replied, but the serious look Michael gave him in return told him that the angel wasn’t teasing him.

Calum finally actually looked over at Ashton, and saw that the older demon, who Calum sought out for level-headed advice when he needed it, looked extremely disheveled. His shirt was rumpled and there were small cuts littering his arms and cheeks. He was scanning the room, hazel eyes wide and cradling Duke and leaning on his angel like they were the only things keeping him tethered to the world. Calum let out a breath, only one thing could make Ashton look that shaken, and it was clear that what Calum feared was beginning to happen. The demon cast his gaze to Rose, standing next to Luke, her own eyes wide as she met Calum’s gaze. Calum nodded, “Yeah, I am worried.”

The six of them all gathered on Calum’s couches after he snapped his fingers, closing all the curtains in the house, which seemed to help calm Ashton a bit. Calum wrapped his arms around Rose, holding her close as he made eye contact with Ashton, asking simply, “What happened?”

Ashton sighed, nuzzling closer to Angel as Duke went to lay in the empty spot between him and Calum. They gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he nodded, beginning his story.

“Angel and I were coming back from breakfast and they were waiting for us. Well, they were waiting for me I guess. Said as soon as they saw us walking up to my house, ‘We were coming to check up on why you and Hood have been slacking off, figured if we went to you first it’d remedy him, but it appears that the problem is much bigger than we could’ve anticipated.’

So they took out their swords and I pushed Angel back and told them to get out of there and we started fighting. It was two on one but I managed to get rid of them both and now I’m afraid that I may have made the problem bigger than it originally was.” Calum nodded slowly, eyes taking in the wounds on Ashton’s skin. Angel was gently running their hands over his arm, muttering quiet incantations. Calum hummed, he’d known the sting of another demon’s blade several times before, and though he didn’t see what Ashton had looked like immediately after the fight, those wounds weren’t meant to heal as quickly as a normal wound would. He also had seen Ashton in a fight, so he knew that the demon hadn’t had any concern for himself as he fought off the other two, meaning he’d probably been pretty beaten up at the end, it had probably taken all three angels in the room to make his wounds appear only to be superficial cuts, something that Ashton would have normally healed from in a minute.

Rose and Michael seemed to share a look as Calum let out a sigh, shifting Rose out of his lap. “Ash, I’m gonna get you a new shirt to wear ok?”

Ashton only nodded slightly in response, his hand overtaking one of Angel’s, the two of them whispering back and forth, Angel’s face full of concern for their demon. Calum walked back upstairs to his bedroom, Michael quietly following behind him while Luke stayed to keep watch over the living room. Michael shut the bedroom door and gently grasped Calum’s shoulder as he stopped in the middle of his room. “This is exactly what you were worried about when you heard us appear inside without knowing it was us, isn’t it?” Michael asked, feeling the demon’s shoulders shake under his touch.

Calum nodded slowly, letting out a heavy breath through his nose as he tried to keep himself in check. “Does Rose know?” Michael asked, before tacking on, “That we startled you when we came in and that you’re worried about something happening to either of you?”

Calum sighed, turning to face Michael. “I told Rose that I was worried that someone would come after us a week after the thought crept into my head two months ago. We were both rattled when we heard you guys come in and bang around my kitchen. I told her to stay up here while I went to check it out. You know we’re not supposed to have soft spots for anyone or anything and I’ve got so many. First it was Duke and Ashton, then you and Luke, and now there’s Angel and Rose in there too and Rose is the only one on that list who can’t fend off a demon with ill intent without serious harm coming to her. So fuck yeah I’ve been worried and now that it seems to be coming to be true I’m scared. I don’t want to lose Rose.”

Calum stepped away from Michael’s hand, steadying himself as he made his way over to his closet, finding a shirt that Ashton could change into before speaking again. “Ashton’s lucky, his partner can actually defend themself against an attack from other demons, but I get why he wanted them to get away from the fight. It wasn’t just so he could protect them from the other demons, it was to keep Angel from seeing him like that, y’know what I mean, Mike? We’ve seen him fight, both with and without someone to protect. I wouldn’t want Rose to see me fight like that either.”

Michael nodded slowly, staying still in his spot as Calum shook his head and made his way back downstairs. Luke and Rose were talking quietly while Ashton leaned on Angel, eyes closed while they ran their fingers through his hair. Calum placed his hand on his best friend’s shoulder, handing him the shirt he’d retrieved before turning to look at Luke, the oldest being in the room, just beating out Angel and Ashton. Michael was only a few years older than Ashton, as far as Calum had figured in the years he’d known the angel, making Calum the youngest supernatural being in the room. Calum took a deep breath and started, “So, what’re we gonna do? I’ve told Mike and Rose that I’m scared of exactly this happening, demons seeing me out with my girl and using it against me for any reason. Do you have a plan Luke?” The blonde angel hummed, eyebrows creased as he asked, “Why do you think I have a plan?”

Calum’s jaw dropped, stunned by Luke’s question. “Well, I figured, since you’re the oldest and you’ve said that Ash and I aren’t the first demons you’ve befriended, maybe you’d have seen something like this happen before.”

If possible, Luke looked even more shocked than Calum just had, pausing to collect himself before stammering, “I mean, yeah I’ve known other demons and all, but I’m not the oldest Michael is…wait, did we never tell you?”

“Tell us what?” Ashton almost yelled into the quiet room, looking between the two angels, Angel doing their best to keep him from launching off the couch in search of answers.

Michael hummed, rising from his seat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. His wings appeared behind him and he spread them to their full span, pure black ravens feathers gleaming under the lights. The two demons just stared, eyebrows raised, they had both seen angels with wings that weren’t necessarily the pure white dove wings that Luke and Angel had, and although Michael was the only angel they’d met with ravens wings, the two had never thought to question it. The angel sighed, folding his wings back closer to his body, fingers reaching out to fidget with a few of the black feathers, “Neither of you have ever wondered why my wings are so different from other angels you’ve seen?”

Calum and Ashton shook their heads while Rose just stared at Michael, having never seen any of the angels show off their wings. Michael smiled at her before sitting back down, repositioning his glasses before beginning to explain.

“So, when I became an angel, I chose these wings to remind me of where I came from, so I could never forget about my past.”

Ashton and Calum continued to stare, Rose leaning forward slightly in Calum’s lap, already invested in discovering where this was going. Michael rolled his eyes at the two demons before continuing.

“So, it started a little over 500 years ago, I got assigned to work with Luke on something. After that ended, much like 50 years ago when Lu and I worked with you two, our perfect little angel boy had gained his first demon friend.” Finally, Michael had gotten the reaction he was waiting for, Ashton and Calum’s jaws dropping and both demons babbling as they tried to figure out how this had never come up in the past 50 years. Michael’s green eyes gleamed and his wings fluttered as he took in their reaction, grin spreading over his face as he now knew that his two friends were sucked in, Angel even looking shocked as they turned their attention away from Ashton for the first time since Calum and Rose had first come downstairs. Michael finally held his hand out to silence the two demons so he could continue.

“We were friends for about 75, maybe 100 years when I came to Luke with some concerns I was having about things going on in hell at the time. I couldn’t complain to any of my superiors about those things to see if they could take it higher up the chain because, well, I only had one superior and he was the top of the chain.

I was hell’s lieutenant, and I worked hard to keep my title unquestioned and unchanged. That mindset changed after I met Luke, partly because the king was not happy that it had even been considered that angels and demons should work together and began changing things up. As I continued to meet up with Luke I realized that, not only did I not like these new policies, but I also didn’t like some of the practices that I had enforced, or the things that I had done in order to become the lieutenant.

Luke got back to me a couple months later. He had been doing some research and had discovered a scroll with instructions on how a demon could become redeemed. We both poured over it for hours and I decided that it was what I really wanted. It takes a week, and we need somewhere that the demons looking for you two wouldn’t know about where you can both lay low, that is, if you both want to do it. I can guarantee you, like we’ve been saying for 23 years now, you’re both beyond eligible for it.”

The room fell quiet and the two demons looked back and forth between each other and Michael, trying to read what the other was thinking before giving an answer. The two demons were close so Michael knew that if one didn’t want to give this a shot, it wouldn’t happen, at least not now. Ashton broke the silence after casting a glance to Angel, “I’m down if anyone has any ideas on where we could possibly go, like, do we have a whole plan in line for doing this?”

Rose spoke up as soon as Ashton finished his question, having been thinking over everything Michael had said on her own. “The demons that came looking for Ashton only saw him with Angel, they don’t know about me or where I live. I have a bunch of equipment at my house that we can use to surveil my house and get a warning if anyone comes looking, in case they somehow got a reason to do so.” Calum turned his head to look at his girlfriend, gently taking her hand in his. “Are you sure Ro? This could become dangerous if they find out that we’re at your house. I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger that we could avoid.”

Rose shook her head, turning in Calum’s lap so that she was facing him. “I’m sure. If this is something that you want to do I want to help in any way that I can, including giving you a safe place to stay and make sure that it stays safe the whole time we’re there.”

Calum nodded slowly, mouth slightly open as he listened to her talk, hands gently resting on her waist. She smiled at her demon boyfriend and leaned in, giving him a soft kiss, whispering “I love you, Cal.”

Calum was still in a state of shock as he processed those words, but a grin broke over his face as he leaned in and crushed his lips to hers again. He pulled away after a moment before whispering, “I love you too, Rose.”

Luke cleared his throat, “I suggest that if we want to do this, you guys better get packing so we can get somewhere safe before anyone comes knocking here, then we can discuss the redemption process further.”

Angel and Luke each held Ashton, disappearing back to his and Angel’s home to pack up their things, Ashton, though his cuts had all disappeared thanks to Angel’s diligence, was still drained from all the blows he had taken from demon blades, his power still having not recharged after the battle. Michael followed Calum and Rose upstairs to help them get Calum’s things packed up. Calum was carefully folding his clothes and gently placing them in his suitcase while Rose gathered chargers and laptops from around the house. When she reentered the bedroom to put things into the backpack that Calum had placed on his bed, Michael looked up at her. “You’re going to need to pack a bag when we get to your house too, in case something happens and we have to leave. Any other ideas of places we could go if that happened?”

Rose sighed, glancing at the other suitcase in the room. “Calum picked me up from the airport yesterday afternoon and we came straight here. I just need to do my laundry and then I’ll put it all back in here. I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past few months, guess I can do it for another week.” Michael nodded, making the suitcase she’d looked at come closer to him. “As for other places, I suppose if it comes to it, it’s time my mother met my boyfriend.”

Her last statement got both their attention, Calum’s head snapping up from the shirt he’d been folding while Michael gave her a hard stare. “Rose, I can’t ask you to do that. I’m not going to let you risk your comfort for my safety.”

Michael nodded in agreement with Calum’s statement but Rose waved them both off before he could speak up, “It’s not just you Cal, it’s all six of us. Plus it’s only a last resort if they somehow find out about our relationship and where I live. It wouldn’t even be the whole week. I’ve lived in that house for longer.”

Michael sighed, accepting what she was saying. “It would be better if we had to go there anyway. If anything happens, you and Ash would be at your weakest. With this process you both have to stop using your powers at sunset tonight, we’ll formally begin the ritual at sunrise tomorrow and after that, no transporting yourselves anywhere, not even to the next room, no summoning a drink from the next room, nothing.”

Calum nodded slowly, getting to his feet and walking over to his girlfriend. He leaned down, kissing her gently, pulling her against him in a fluid movement. He rubbed a gentle circle on her lower back as his lips moved gently against hers. “Promise you’ll say something if it gets to be too much if we have to go there?” Calum whispered, voice filled with worry. “You don’t have to stay with us if you feel like you need to get out.”

“Just for a little escape. I’m not going to be able to leave you guys completely if we have to do that. C’mon, we gotta finish getting your stuff together.”

Calum gave her one last peck before returning to his closet, halfway through getting together the clothes he’d need. “One last thing,” Michael started, “so no one gets suspicious that you disappeared after Ashton got in a fight, I’m gonna do what I usually do when you two can’t come home due to work. We’ll have Duke with us, obviously, but I’m just going to show up here with him, and then take him outside for his walks while we’re gone.”

Everyone agreed, Duke’s head poking up from the pillows on Calum’s bed at the word ‘walk.’ Soon Calum had all of his stuff packed and Michael slung the backpack over his shoulders while Rose and Calum each grabbed their suitcases, Michael grabbed Duke and handed him to Rose before putting his hands on each of their shoulders and they went to Rose’s house.

When they appeared in the living room, Ashton, Luke, and Angel were already there. Rose quickly set Duke down and got his bowls set up in the kitchen before showing everyone where they could stay. She got her laundry started and then pulled down her personal ghost hunting equipment, pulling the other two male angels outside with her to help her put it all up.  Luke went around the edges of her yard, putting down sigils that would keep unwanted guests off the property.

As Michael screwed in the final camera while Rose sat in the yard with a laptop, entering each camera into her software so that they’d be able to use their supernatural security system night and day without leaving the comfort of her house, Luke flew over, having put down his final sigil. He sighed as he landed next to Michael on the roof, leaning back on his hands while he folded his wings back behind him, looking up to the sky. “I’d like to put demon traps inside the house as well, but I imagine that would be more work than necessary with two demons actually inside, regardless of this week’s plans.”

Michael giggled as he moved to sit next to his friend, feet dangling over the gutters. “Hopefully there won’t be more than the two demons that are already inside, and your sigils and Ro’s cameras will be enough to get us through this week.”

Luke nodded silently, eyes scanning the edges of the property, as if he were already looking for any possible threat that could appear at any second. Michael reached out, rubbing the blue-eyed angel behind the back, “Calm down, master strategist.” he teased before pushing himself off of the roof, using his wings to slow his descent before sitting next to Rose, watching as she put in the final camera’s number to her computer, the image of the two of them sitting in the grass appearing on the screen, Michael’s image glowing in the infrared light. He smiled as she slowly rose, balancing the clunky surveillance laptop in one hand as she got to her feet. “So, this week, we need some plans that’ll keep our demon buddies calm while we go through this.”

Rose nodded, her eyes gleaming as she said, “I think the two of us need to go on a shopping trip, for supplies.”

Michael grinned, his dark wings disappearing as he followed Rose inside, Luke still sitting on the roof, staring into the sky. Rose set the computer on the kitchen table, plugging it in so that it would have constant power while they kept an eye on the outdoors. Ashton, Calum, and Angel hovered around her while she showed them how to click through the different cameras or how to have all the camera angles visible at once. Once they all understood she turned and gave Calum a gentle kiss, saying, “Michael and I are going to go out and get some food and other stuff I’m going to need for the week. Lukes still outside, text me if you need anything.”

Calum gave her a knowing smile, eyebrows raised as he looked down at her. She giggled, squeezing his hand in one of her own before gently pushing his chest, “Be good.” She said simply, giving him another kiss before turning to Michael.

Rose grabbed her purse and then pulled Michael out to her garage. She climbed into her car, switching on the engine and smiled as it purred while she and Michael buckled their seatbelts. The ghost hunter hit the garage door opener and put the car in drive, letting it close as she made her way down the drive, fondly running her hand over the steering while, “I missed you baby.” she said to the car, smiling as she pulled onto the open road, pressing down on the accelerator as she began the familiar drive to the store.

Michael followed Rose around with the cart once they’d entered, keeping up with the shorter human’s pace as she beelined for the grocery section. “Ash and Cal are going to actually get hungry during this week, and Luke will probably raid your fridge if he gets bored in the night. Just something to think about while we’re here.”

Rose nodded in response to Michael’s advice, picking up a few packs of chicken and ground turkey and placing them in the cart, producing hand sanitizer from her bag as she turned to peruse the produce. Her eyes were on her phone, looking through the list she had been making before Calum began tickling her sides, before their peaceful morning together had been interrupted. She shook her head and led Michael methodically through all the grocery aisles, grinning once she’d gotten all the food she needed for the week and darting across to go to the board game section. “No Ouija boards.” Michael joked, smiling as he followed her.

Rose snorted, “I only use spirit boards if the location calls for it, and even then I try to stay out of it, haven’t used one personally since high school.”

Michael giggled as Rose went down, grabbing Monopoly, Life, a couple card games, and a LEGO set, happily depositing each into the cart. As she was about to cut through the center of the store, a young girl poked her head out of one of the toy aisles. Shyly she spoke up, “Are you Rose? From Paranormal Travels?”

Rose smiled, nodding and the girl grinned. “I love your show! Do you have any idea when the next season is going to come out?”

Rose hummed, saying, “We just flew back home from filming our last round of locations yesterday. We do try to spot edit in the hotels when we have the time, but it’s still gotta go through some more editing, and I’ve got to go in and do some voiceovers, so it’ll be at least a few months before we can start talking dates.”

The girl nodded and hummed, “So, any plans now that you’re back? I’m guessing the guy behind you isn’t Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome?”

Michael looked down at his pale arms in fake shock and Rose giggled, gently pushing the angel. “No, this is our friend Michael, TDH is back at the house getting set up for a get together we’re having with a few of our close friends this weekend. Michael and I are in charge of food and activities.”

She giggled, humming and looking up at Michael, who shook his head, “I don’t do ghosts, bad experiences with ‘em.” He said with a smile at the girl.

She nodded slowly, slightly disappointed, but turned back to Rose, “Can I get a picture before my mom needs me to leave?”

Rose nodded, Michael taking the girl’s phone as she happily tucked herself into Rose’s side, both of them smiling for the camera. She thanked Rose quietly once Michael gave her the phone back, smiling before walking back down the aisle she’d appeared from. Rose hummed, before Michael interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the situation they were in. “We better finish up and get back to your house.” he said, sighing as he looked into the cart.

Rose nodded, turning down the center aisle and weaving through the store to the cosmetic section. She grabbed a few sets of face masks, nail polish and her shampoo and conditioner before going to the checkout. Michael helped her load up her trunk and they went home, where five pairs of hands made unloading the car and stocking the kitchen go quickly.

Once everything was put up, Luke, Michael, and Angel went upstairs to talk quietly, Ashton still laying in his room recovering his energy from his fight. Calum wrapped his arms around Rose, leaning into her and swaying slightly, head buried in her neck. Rose sighed, leaning back into him and closing her eyes, hands resting on top of his. “Not gonna be your demon much longer, sweetheart.” Calum mumbled, arms tightening around her.

Rose hummed, reaching one hand up to run through his dark curls. “Mike says you and Ash are gonna be hungry this week.” she whispered.

Calum hummed, nodding quietly, “Figures. Speaking of being hungry, you haven’t eaten since breakfast, you good?” He fixed her with a stare while he waited for her to answer, his grip loosening slightly as he moved his hands to rest on her waist.

She sighed, pulling away from Calum, saying, “Help me cook dinner, gonna make enough for you and Ash too. It might help him recover, and get you ready for this week, it’s gonna be a long one.”

Calum chuckled, shaking his head and followed his girlfriend around the kitchen, helping her get everything together and started chopping.

~~~~~~~

Rose was woken up at the crack of dawn by hushed voices. Her bedroom was still dark save for the glow emanating from Luke, standing at the foot of the bed.

“Give a guy some warning.” Calum’s voice was saying, the demon having jolted when the angel suddenly appeared.

“Get downstairs, it’s time.” Luke said simply, crossing his arms as he waited. “Wake Rose as well.”

“Already done.” She grumbled, pulling the sheets tighter around herself.

Calum gave Luke a look, “We’ll be right there, just give us a minute.”

Luke nodded, walking out the door, leaving it cracked behind him. Calum sighed, leaning over and giving Rose a gentle kiss, “C’mon sweetheart, let’s get dressed, then you can go right back to sleep, ok?”

Rose nodded, sitting up and letting the blankets fall to her lap, stretching slowly before rising from the bed. Calum watched her for a second before he forced himself out of bed, only pulling on sweatpants, holding his hand out to Rose once she’d pulled her pajamas back on, leading the way downstairs. Her living room was lit only by candles, and she sleepily mumbled, “Be careful when you blow those out, don’t want my smoke detector going off.”

Ashton laughed, already sitting on the couch, some of his color had come back since they’d first seen him the previous morning, the rest and dinner had done him good. Angel was seated at his side, holding his hand tightly, so Calum sat on his other side, leaving room for Lily to sit next to him. She molded herself to his side as Luke and Michael stepped forward, ready to begin. Each angel had a small bottle of silver paint in their hand, Luke crouched in front of Ashton and Michael in front of Calum. “I’m going to need you to hold still, ok Cal?” Michael stated calmly, green eyes meeting brown. “The paints gonna feel cold, and then once the symbols are each completed it’s not gonna feel great. But you’ve got Rose to keep you grounded, that’s going to help a lot, believe me.” Calum nodded and Michael turned to Rose, “You can hold onto him, but I’m going to need that arm in a bit, ok Ro?”

She nodded too and Michael dipped his finger into the paint, careful to not drip any of it on the floor or the couch before touching it to Calum’s chest, slowly forming a symbol over his skin. Calum tensed as Michael finished the first symbol, gritting his teeth and trying not to curl in on himself. Rose shifted, running her fingers through his hair and whispering gentle praises in his ear as Michael began on Calum’s right arm. She kissed his cheek and Michael looked up, “It’s going to get better as the week goes on, be less uncomfortable each morning.”

Calum just nodded in response, squeezing his eyes shut as Michael completed the next symbol. Rose gently pulled his head closer to her chest, looking over the disheveled curls to see Angel doing the same to Ashton. As Michael completed the third symbol on Calum’s left arm, his form flickered slightly, Rose held him tighter, whispering, “It’s ok baby, I’m right here, it’s ok.”

She felt a warm blast of air hit them both, Michael drying the paint before placing his hand on Calum’s chest, whispering an incantation Rose couldn’t quite pick up on, too focused on how tense Calum’s body felt in her arms. She continued to coo to him, quietly whispering a combination of soft praises and sweet nothings to her boyfriend until Michael removed his hand.

Calum opened his eyes, completely black, but they were no longer the opaque lenses that seemed to suck whoever was staring into them into nothingness, they had become more translucent, lighter in color. He shook his head, brown eyes returning a moment later, and looked down, the silver paint had disappeared from his skin. He scrunched his eyebrows, looking up at Michael, “So we have to do this every morning? Same time?”

Michael nodded solemnly, “Like I said, it’s going to get better each time we do it, hurt less.”

Calum sighed, nodding and leaning over to kiss Rose. “Thank you sweetheart.” he mumbled, squeezing her hand in his own.

She simply nodded, looking over at Ashton, who seemed to be coming out of his own experience fine, slowly looking around the living room while Angel ran their fingers over his chest. “Back to bed now?” she whispered to Calum and he laughed, gently scooping her into his arms.

“Of course princess.” He mumbled, rising and slowly making his way back up to her room, Duke at his heels.

~~~~~~~

The week continued on in the same way, Ashton and Calum took turns helping Rose make dinner, in the evening they’d play games to relax, day one was monopoly, day two life, on day three it was karaoke and day four had been self care, all six of them lounging around the living room with face masks on, Rose painting Calum’s fingernails gold. Luke and Michael switched off walking Duke, Luke taking the hellhound back into Calum’s house in the morning to leave for the walk, Michael doing the same in the evening. Everyone would periodically go over to the laptop on the kitchen table to check the cameras. Everything so far had been going according to plan. Day five was when it went wrong.

On day four when they completed the dawn ritual, Calum and Ashton’s eyes had been completely normal, all trace of black gone. On the fifth day, their eyes seemed to fog over, a translucent white beginning to form over their eyes. The rest of the day went on as usual, Ashton, Calum, and Rose went back to sleep, they ate, and everyone split up to do different things around the house. Rose didn’t have to do anything for work, so she and Michael were sprawled over the couch working on their co-op farm they’d been building in Stardew Valley.

Around five, Michael sat up, scooping Duke into his arms and vanishing to go over to Calum’s to take the hellhound for his evening walk. As he was walking up the drive back to Calum’s front door to end the walk, he noticed someone lurking. The angel frowned, pulling Duke in closer and walking closer. As he got closer, the figure stepped out of the shadow he’d been part of and Michael froze, jaw dropping as he looked up at the King of Hell.

“Good evening, Lieutenant Clifford, I was wondering if you could potentially show me to the location of Hood and Irwin.”

Michael sputtered, struggling to find his voice as the small hellhound hid behind the angel’s long legs. Lucifer chuckled lowly as Michael tried to take a step back. “Come on Michael,” he said, “You and I both know that they’re not out on an assignment. It will be so much easier for all of us if you just let me know where they are. Don’t make me command you.”

At that Michael stiffened, face scrunching into a snarl, “I don’t have to answer to you, it’s been 400 years since I had to answer to you. I’ve changed, become a hell of a lot better and I’m not telling you anything about my friends.”

“Pity.” Lucifer responded, shaking his head as the angel continued to stand his ground. The devil stepped forward, hand grasping Michael’s arm before he could reach for his blade, pulling forward the images of Rose and her house against Michael’s will. He nodded sagely as Michael ripped his arm from the devil’s grasp, letting out a guttural yell as he lunged towards Lucifer, sword drawn, but before the blow could connect he easily cast Michael aside, shaking his head as he did so. “Now is not the time for that, Michael. I will not concern myself with this matter any further. Even if you move them now, I know of this ghost hunter girl, it will not be hard to find them again. Farewell, Michael.”

Lucifer disappeared and Michael groaned, getting to his feet and scooping up Duke and disappearing back to Rose’s house. He scampered through the front door, eyes wide and panicked as he froze under the stares of everyone, opening up the night’s board game in the center of the living room. “We need to leave. Now.” The angel said, clutching Duke to his chest as he stared down his friends.

Rose was the first to move, grabbing Calum’s hand and pulling him upstairs to grab their bags. Ashton exchanged a glance with Angel before getting up and following Rose and Calum upstairs. Luke and Angel made their way to their fellow angel, Luke asking, “What happened, Mike?” his face filled with concern for his oldest friend.

Michael took a breath, hand reaching up to rub over his face as he gathered himself. Luke reached forward, noticing an angry red handprint on Michael’s skin, right where Lucifer had grabbed him and forcibly took the information as to Ashton and Calum’s location. The angel pulled his hand back before he had even gotten hold of Michael’s arm to examine the mark, it was letting off so much heat.

Michael flinched as he looked down at the handprint, carefully setting Duke on the ground before saying, “He was waiting at Calum’s house when we were coming up the driveway at the end of Duke’s walk. He asked me to just tell him where we were staying, but I refused. Then he grabbed me before I could get the jump on him and pulled up the house and Rose. Said he wouldn’t personally bother with this issue any further and left.”

Luke turned to look out the kitchen window, to the sigils he’d painted out earlier in the week before nodding in defeat. “If they’re coming straight from him those aren’t going to hold for long.”

Just as Luke finished his statement, Rose, Calum, and Ashton came downstairs, bags in hand and eyes wide as they looked at the three angels’ grim expressions. Rose noticed the handprint first, running over to Michael. As she was reaching for his arm, Luke pulled her hand away, “I couldn’t even touch it, it’s too hot.” He stated firmly, Rose’s eyebrows pulling together in confusion as she looked up at Michael.

He shook his head, sighing before saying, “I’ll explain when we get to your mom’s place.”

With that he wrapped Rose in his arms, Luke grabbing Calum and the bags next to him, Angel doing the same for Ashton before they all left her kitchen, right as a small brigade of demons began finding their way into her front yard.

The group appeared on Rose’s mom’s back porch. As Rose pulled away from Michael’s chest, she stood on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder, seeing that her mom’s car was gone. She sighed, stepping away and grabbing her bag from Luke before stating, “Going to need my car here for my cover story.”

Luke nodded, snapping his fingers and her car appeared, thankfully empty of the visitors that were trying to find their way into her house. Rose hummed in appreciation, turning and leading them into her mother’s house, grabbing a key from under one of the trinkets by the door that led inside from the screened in porch. Calum followed behind his girlfriend, carrying Duke, as she led the way through the small farm house. “Calum and I are going to stay in my old room, here,” she pointed through the doorway, then down the hall, “Ash, you and Angel have that room down the hall on the left. Luke, Michael, pick a couch to pretend to sleep on I guess, and I’ll get blankets and pillows for them.”

They all nodded, everyone splitting off as Rose went to lay down in her old bed, Calum following after her, closing the door and letting Duke find a spot on the bed to curl up as he moved the suitcases into the corner. “Haven’t been in here since I left you that note, much smaller than I remember.” he stated, wrapping her up in his arms. She let out a tired giggle, cuddling closer to him. “Can tell you’re already starting to feel bad about being here, love. It’s late here, we can just go ahead and stay in here if you want. Not have to see your mom until breakfast.”

Rose sighed, “She’s gonna see my car as soon as she comes home, not to mention Luke and Michael in the living room. She’ll come straight in here. It’ll be fine, it’s just two days.”

Calum sighed, gently running his hands through her hair as she resigned herself to that fact, slowly getting up to get the blankets she’d promised the two angels. She set a pillow against each couch’s arm, throwing a large soft blanket over the backs as well before turning to Michael, grabbing his injured arm. He gasped as she touched the handprint, “Ro, that thing is red hot!”

She scrunched her face, “No it’s not. It’s maybe a little warm, but like a sunburn more than what you’re claiming. You said you’d tell me what happened.” Michael sighed, nodding as she stared up at him. The blonde quickly recounted what had happened at the end of Duke’s walk, Calum frowning in the corner as he listened in. Once he finished, Rose hummed, rising and going back into her room. She went into the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and slowly pouring water from the bottle she’d produced from her suitcase into the fabric. Carefully she reentered the living room, making her way back to Michael and putting the wet cloth on his arm. He hummed as the pain dissipated, staring when Rose removed the cloth and the burning handprint was gone.

She smiled, “Packed holy water when we got back to my house. Had gotten into a habit of carrying it more often when Calum wasn’t around anyway. Figured it might help you out.”

Michael grinned, while Luke laughed, looking over at Calum, “Found yourself a smart one Cal.”

Calum beamed over at his girlfriend following Luke’s comment, “Sure did.” He said, stepping over to pull Rose in for a gentle kiss.

She smiled against his lips until they heard the door to the porch open. Calum moved, pulling Rose to sit on the couch between him and Michael, arm wrapping around her tightly as they all waited for her mom to come inside.

“Rose Anne!” She cried as soon as she stepped into the kitchen and saw Rose sitting in the living room. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Rose took a deep breath before saying, “It was a last second decision. My friends and I decided to go for a road trip and today we were getting a little tired from being in the car and I figured we could stop here. Also figured that it was a good time for you to meet my boyfriend. Didn’t realize you would be out.”

Rose had casually breezed by the fact that she had a boyfriend, having not told her mom anything about Calum in the last ten months, but her mom picked up on that statement and glued to it. “Which one is he? Why haven’t I heard about him?”

Rose cringed slightly, but Calum easily took it upon himself to do introductions. He stood, gently squeezing Rose’s hand before walking towards her mom. “Hi, I’m Calum. We started dating a few months before she left to go film for this season of the show. We kept in touch throughout her being away and when she came home we decided to do this to make up for the lost time. These are our friends Michael and Luke, our other two friends, Ashton and Angel, are in the back room sleeping, they were both pretty tired.”

Rose’s mom was beaming as she listened to Calum speak, nodding along. Michael and Luke had each looked up and waved when their names were mentioned. She grinned, reaching up and pinching both of Calum’s cheeks between her fingers, “Well aren’t you just a little cherub!” She squealed, glancing over at her daughter before saying, “How did you two meet? I want to hear all about it.” Calum let out a nervous laugh, staying quiet a moment before speaking up again, “Our paths crossed for our different jobs one day. We got to talking at the hotel cafe during lunch and then we kept bumping into each other a few times after that and we figured maybe the universe was trying to tell us something. Come to find out we live like ten miles apart and never ran into each other before that because of our schedules. But like Rose said, we’re all pretty tired, we were just waiting up to say hi to you.”

She nodded, beaming at Calum as she waved them all off, “Of course, go get your rest, we can talk more in the morning.”

She made eye contact with Rose at that last statement and the red haired woman nodded solemnly. Calum passed by her, reaching for her hand and holding her to him as they went to go get ready for bed.

Luke and Michael woke the couples at dawn yet again for the sixth day of the ritual, quietly going through it since Rose’s mom was still asleep down the hall. When Calum and Rose crawled back into bed once the paint faded from his skin again she looked up at him from where her head rested on his chest. “Cal, I’ve got a question for you.” He hummed, raising his eyebrows as he glanced down at her. “Why did you let my mom pinch your cheeks last night? I tried that one time and you immediately pinned me to the bed.”

Calum let out a loud laugh at her question, hands flying up to cover his face as he continued to laugh, his body curling around his girlfriend as he tried to regain his composure. “I’m serious Cal!” Rose pouted, watching as Calum wiped tears from his eyes.

“Sweetheart, it’s just, one, your mom isn’t you, my girlfriend. Two, it’s better for both of us if your mom likes me, right? And then third, I’m supposed to be being good now, can’t go pinning people to the nearest surface over something like them pinching my cheek.”

Rose giggled slightly, cuddling closer to Calum, pout disappearing from her face as she whispered, “I guess that makes sense. Still sad I can’t do it though. Your cheeks are so squishy!”

Calum chuckled, lowering his head to her reach, “One time, alright? While I’m not supposed to be doing anything about it.”

Rose’s eyes lit up, gently taking one cheek between her fingers, giving it a gentle squeeze before leaning up and pressing a kiss to the other cheek. “Happy now, babe?” He asked, brown eyes glittering in the early morning light spilling into the room through the blinds.

Rose nodded, snuggling to his chest, hiding from the sunlight as she tried to go back to sleep for another hour.

She awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking. She smiled, shaking Calum gently, “Babe, I know you’ve gotta be hungry.” He laughed quietly rolling over and pressing a kiss to her lips before nodding. They both got out of bed, walking into the kitchen where they found Ashton talking with Rose’s mom while Angel sat with Michael and Luke. Rose gave her mom a quick hug while Calum snuck a quick bite of the cheese Ashton had been shredding, looking at the omelette that was in the pan. “Figured veggie omelettes would be a good call since I don’t know what everyone likes.” She stated, and Calum nodded, shooting her a smile before pulling Rose to sit down. They all sat around the large kitchen table, quietly eating the omelettes and Rose was happy that her mom’s attention was focused on the other guests, staying close to Calum as everyone else spoke. She left to go to work not long after breakfast, Luke and Calum jumping up to gather everyone’s dishes while Michael began milling about picking up the two pans and the cheese bowl and washing them. The day went smoothly from there, Rose taking Calum for a walk around the farm with Duke, greeting a few of her cousins that they saw driving down to the shop to get the tractors out and start working the fields for the day. After that she and Michael went into town to get the groceries her mom had written out so she could serve six extra people. At dinner that night the talk was easy and they all went to bed early.

When the seventh dawn ritual was complete, Michael spoke up, “So, to get your wings you either do something super valiant today and they pop out, or we just do this again tomorrow morning, which is more likely to happen given our situation.”

Both former demons nodded at the angel, understanding what he said and they were about to all go back to bed when Rose’s mom appeared. It was a Saturday, so she didn’t have to go to work, but she did have to help her brothers and their kids out with some of the tasks. She jumped when she saw the group of six already up, having not heard anything, but she gave them all a tired smile, offering them a list of breakfast options, though she couldn’t cook due to needing to get going. They all mumbled their assent, telling her it was ok and that she could get going. She fixed herself toast and left and Rose sighed, walking into the kitchen and reaching into the cabinets above the microwave, grabbing a box of cereal for herself as she began making her own breakfast, Calum and Ashton following after her, the three angels happy to not have to pretend that they actually had to eat for at least one meal.

Rose and Calum took Duke out for his morning walk again, Ashton and Luke joining them this time and they all chatted about the situation as everyone else was in the barns so there wasn’t anyone to overhear. Lunchtime was when everything began going downhill.

They were all sitting around the table again, eating sandwiches when Rose’s mom said, “It’s been so long since I’ve met anyone you dated Rose, I’m glad you decided to bring Calum by for a couple days during your road trip.” Rose swallowed the bite of her sandwich, Calum placing his hand on her thigh as she responded, “I’ve brought my last two girlfriends here, mom. I didn’t date anyone between Anya and Calum.” Her mom’s face twitched slightly and Rose pushed her paper plate away, now only covered in a last bite and some chip crumbs, “I know you like to pretend that when I say they were my girlfriends that you like to pretend that I just mean it like when you say that you went out for brunch and mimosas with Brenda and Jan, but I don’t. I mean it in the same way as when I say Calum is my boyfriend. You like to ignore every time that I’ve told you that I’m bi and think that it’s a phase. It’s not, and yeah, I’d love to spend the rest of my life with Calum, I love him, but I also don’t want you getting disappointed if I don’t end up with a guy.”

At the end of her tirade she pushed her chair away from the table, storming out to her car and speeding off into town. Her mom got up in a huff too, screen door slamming behind her as she walked off to her car, disappearing to the barn again. Calum looked up at Michael, eyes wide with worry for his girlfriend. “I’m gonna give her an hour, thirty minutes for the drive into town, and another thirty for her to be in town, then I’ll go check on her, promise, Cal.” The angel said, patting his shoulder. “Like you told her when we were packing, if she needed to get out of the house, it was fine. Besides, they’re after you and Ash, not her. I didn’t notice anyone suspicious when we were out yesterday anyway.”

Calum nodded, taking deep breaths to calm himself before picking up his and Rose’s plate, throwing them both away and going into her room, curling up with his hellhound.

True to his word, an hour later, Michael popped into town, in the alleyway he’d spotted Rose and Calum from over a year ago. He was hit with a wave of déjà vu when he saw Rose sitting at the same table with another demon, but this one wasn’t friendly. He felt cold as he began running across the street. The demon grabbed Rose, pulling her in front of his body, giving Michael an evil grin. “Think I’ll finally get a promotion for bringing this one in, huh Lieutenant?” He teased, running his pale hand through Rose’s bright hair.

Michael recognized the demon, not by name, but he had been around before Michael had been redeemed. He had always been trying to make rank with the least amount of work possible. He hadn’t moved very far that way, and it seemed nothing had changed in the past 400 years. Michael drew his sword, though all three of them knew he couldn’t actually do anything with it without risking hurting Rose. “Let her go.” he commanded, green eyes staring down the demon holding her.

“Don’t think so. Hood will do anything for her, I’m sure of that. Taking her is just as good as finding him.”

Just before the demon disappeared with Rose, she locked eyes with Michael and he got the message she sent to him loud and clear in his head.

Go back to my mom’s. I’ll take care of myself until you guys find me. I can handle this.

With a loud crack the demon disappeared and Michael stared where they’d just been standing before going back to the house.

He spilled the story to everyone and the fire in Calum’s eyes told him that they had to go find her right then. He tucked each Calum and Ashton under his wings after they’d each procured their swords from their bags, focusing on the signal he was still getting from Rose. The angel had masked Calum and Ashton’s appearances since everyone in hell was on the lookout for them and began leading the way towards where he felt like Rose was. He almost ran into her. She was running, dragging the demon who’d taken her behind her, their wrists linked together by a pair of handcuffs. She gasped, wrapping her free arm around Michael before she recognized Calum through the disguise Michael was using for him. “You guys wouldn’t believe how dumb this idiot is.” She laughed out, “Guy tried to get me to have sex with him, I poured holy water on his dick. Said it was lube, but obviously, our friend here isn’t feeling so good. He’s complying so long as I don’t hurt him more. Idiot didn’t think to search the ghost hunter for anything that could be used against him.”

The demon she was attached to groaned and Michael tapped the links with his silver sword, the cuffs disappearing completely with a hiss. He then lifted the sword and ran it through the demon, “Help no longer needed.” He snarled before removing the sword, watching the demon dissipate into smoke.

Calum wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, ready to go when a female voice carried down from the ceiling. “Well that worked out much easier than I thought it would.”

Calum, Ashton and Michael shared a look as the voice fell over the room, which had fallen to a hush. “I whispered in that little demon’s ear what I thought would work to get the three of you here, didn’t actually realize how fast it would happen. It also appears I didn’t account for how feisty Calum’s girlfriend was, but oh well.”

Ashton let out a harsh laugh after she told them what had happened. “You whisper a lot of things in a lot of people’s ears Lia, not a care for what happens to them in the end.”

Lia let out a giggle as she appeared, a hundred feet away from the group. “You didn’t seem to mind when I was whispering in your ear Ashton. Too bad you stopped visiting me, found yourself a goody goody angel, did you?”

Her voice played through so many different emotions and Calum held Rose closer to him. “Don’t listen to anything that succubus says, we’re gonna get out of here, one way or another, it’s going to be ok.”

Rose nodded against his chest, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding her tightly for a moment before going back to back with Ashton. It was a familiar position for the two of them and they both drew their swords. Michael still had his sword ready and he pulled Rose to stand against his back as they all began to fight through the crowd surrounding them. Rose sprayed holy water at any demon who got too close to the group. At some point Calum and Ashton’s swords changed from blurs of shadowy obsidian to match the bright light of Michael’s silver sword.

The room was grey with the dark mist of the fallen demons and they’d made it to where Lia was blocking the way back to Earth. “Boys, please—“

“Really always were more of a talker than a fighter, weren’t you Lia.” Michael said, twirling his blade before shoving it through her chest.

She gasped, but didn’t dissipate like the other demons they’d been fighting. She grabbed at the sword, even when it burned her fingertips, but Ashton and Calum moved quicker, letting their own now silver swords pierce her. She wailed before turning to red mist. They knew they didn’t have long before someone else came running, so Michael tossed Rose over his shoulder, leading the way through the tunnel in front of them.

They exited the tunnel, ending up in some woods somewhere, but before Michael could bring the three of them back to the farm, both Calum and Ashton cried out, crumpling down. Rose looked around in worry, and Michael set her down. “It’s ok, they’re going to be ok.” he said, but she still ran to Calum, crouching next to him.

Michael looked around before sending a message to Luke, that they were ok, and that they were in the same woods he had been in 400 years earlier when he was redeemed. The two other angels appeared seconds later, as Calum wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. “Baby, baby, baby” he whimpered over and over, blunt fingernails digging into her shoulders as he held her tightly.

She wrapped her arms around him, running her fingers through his dark hair while Angel ran over to Ashton, doing the same to him, their white wings enveloping him. Michael and Luke were standing off to the side, watching as the two former demons began sprouting wings. There was an explosion of black and white feathers from both of them, the pair of brand new angels gasping as the pain disappeared, carefully giving a few slow test flutters. Rose stared at her boyfriend’s wings, slowly reaching up to touch the feathers. He smiled, turning his head slightly to look at them. Looking at him from the front, his wings looked like an interesting mix of black and white, though from the back some of the feathers looked more brown. Ashton’s wings were almost totally black, but along the edges of his body and where they attached to the main structure of the wing, they were white.

Luke nodded as he looked them over, “Osprey and Condor. Definitely different from other angels that exist, but they fit you both.” Luke set Duke down and he immediately ran over to Calum, jumping in his lap and wagging his tail. “Had a favor done for you by the way. World’s first heaven hound. He’s going to be around for many, many more years.”

Calum beamed as he pet his dog, cooing to him and grinning as Rose leaned into him. She was smiling proudly as she wiped at her eyes. Angel grinned over at her, standing from their spot at Ashton’s side and walking over to Rose. “We also have been told that once your time here is done, you get to come up with us, spend all of eternity by Calum’s side.

Rose’s eyes widened, staring up at Angel while Luke smiled over at them, Calum’s eyes wide too as he tried to take in the new information. “Boss knows you two are going to be together for a long time, saw the way Rose fought down there. Figured that you deserved some sort of reward when your life was over.”

Luke nodded when Angel finished giving her the news, stepping over with a folded up piece of paper. “They said they think that these will suit you when the time comes for you to accept them.”

Rose stared up at the blue-eyed angel, gently taking the paper from his hand and looking it over, staring at the gradient of purple, blue, and pink in the feathers on the wings. She gasped, staring at the paper, new tears forming in her eyes. Calum shifted, pulling her closer as he looked at the mockup too. He grinned, squeezing her shoulder before kissing her gently. “Let’s get you home sweetheart, we’ve got a lot of time to process this. Talk more about it later.”

Rose smiled, cuddling into Calum’s side, holding him tightly as they all disappeared from the woods. Calum and Rose appeared back in her living room, their bags at the door, her car in the garage, and everything back in its proper place following the demons’ search for Calum and Ashton which had trashed the place.

It was just the two of them and Duke, Calum’s osprey wings folded around her body as he continued to hold her to him. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed being there with her. “Marry me.” She whispered against his chest.

Calum jumped, but he smiled, “Of course Rose. Anywhere, and anyway that you want to do it. I’m ready to start our eternity now.”

She giggled, smiling up at him and he took her left hand in his, a silver ring encrusted with a large ruby and small bits of amethyst now adorning her ring finger. She gasped, staring at it, before looking up at him. “I proposed to you though!” she scoffed, but he smiled, a dark band appearing on his own left hand.

She hummed in content as she looked at it, “Call us married then.” She smiled, looking up at him.

“Suppose so.” he replied, scooping her into his arms and disappearing up to her bedroom, a ghost hunter and her angel, partners until the end of time.