Marcus thought about what Loren said for a minute, it did make sense to him. He always thought being an angel was pretty lifeless, watching people endlessly, it was tedious, and boring through the eyes of the fallen. He looked at Loren, slightly surprised at what she had said after pondering on it. I see, photography is something you enjoy? Can I see some of yir work then?" The fallen put his arms around the brunette's shoulders and grinned,"Please?~" He added, using the tone Ace had used with Dustin just moments ago.

Ace seemed to register this slowly, before it clicked,"Ah! I remember~" She said. Before her head perked up at Dustin's voice, and the sweet smell of oranges,"Yay!~ Thank you Dustin!~" And she did something a bit unlike her, but she was sickly, so it made sense to some. Some would guess she would be like this as well if she drank. She went and wrapped her arms around the blond's shoulder like Marcus, and kissed him on the cheek. With a catlike grin still plastered on her face, she took the mug a d the plate, and began to munch on her new treats. All the while, chugging freely on her milk as if it were alcohol. Humming a tuneless tune that she couldn't even understand.

She nearly jumped out of her skin! It wasn't often a man put his arms around her, let alone a fallen angel with severely broken wings. Blushing furiously, she wasn't quite sure what to do except give in. "Alright, I'll do it! Just please could you move your arms? I need to go and pick some up from my closet," said Loren in a deceptively calm tone. All the while, her eyes held a panicked kind of expression, though the feeling was.. Kind of pleasant.

Dustin blushed furiously at the warm feeling of someone hugging him. It hadn't ever really happened to him before, at least not like this. Glancing up, he knew he was blushing, the blond regarded Ace with bright eyes. She had surprised him, no question about it. 'You're welcome Ace," stated the gray eyed angel with a trembling voice. The young woman really unnerved him, and looked adorable. The thought caught Dustin by complete surprise, making his wings flare out at the realization.

Ace kept chewing on her treat ever so happily, her feverish state slowly disappearing. As she looked at Loren, her grin increased tenfold,"Loren! Show Marcus how awesomely god like you can be with photos!" The black haired vixen laughed to herself, before drinking some more of her sweet drink. As she finished, Ace was caught off guard by the sudden flaring of the gray-eyed angel's wings, and jumped from her hug on the man, and slipped on air and hit her head on the floor."Oww..." She mumbled, it would seem that her fever was almost gone, being a nurse, and being an avid milk drinker, she recovered very quickly, and rarely got sick, and if she did get sick, then it was serious. Blue eyes flickered up at Dustin's blushing face,"Dustin? How come you're so red?" With concern, she put her forehead against his, looking up to the ceiling,"Odd, you don't feel feverish.. Something wrong?" It was back to the Ace everyone knew and loved, the bittersweet, angelic demon which seemed to not have a filter over her mouth most of the time.


Marcus let go of his hold on Loren, his hands up in surrender,"Okay okay then Loren, just show me the pictures or I'll have to kiss you for it" He teased, he was always a bit of a flirt, today was no exception. As the woman got up, his head snapped in the direction of the other couple. It seemed that Ace had fallen to the floor, and he laughed hysterically,"Karmas a bitch ain't it!" He said, before thousands of years worth of death glares were thrown at him before Ace check Dustin. Putting his attention back to Loren, he smiled so sweetly that it looked demonic,"I want to see it now."

Blushing furiously, and rolling her eyes, Loren rummaged trough her closet. She wasn't sure which pictures to use, but on whim decided on her favorite ones. Ethereal snapshots with smoky lighting and strange haunting models who seemed to embody all the mystery there was in the world, it always fascinated her. It was because of these snapshots she had decided upon her path, even against what some of her family might have thought. One day, hopefully soon, Loren's work would grace grand halls and magazines but for now it was only her room and that of her friends nad family. Turning to see Marcus smiling, her breath caught at the sight. What a picture that would be, exclaimed the young woman within her mind. Wordlessly she handed them to the angel, eyes downcast.

A slight cough escaped him involuntarily, almost as if the angel was trying to appear sick to cover up his strange behavior. It certainly was impossible. Dustin was a different order of being then humans, and never felt unwell unless it had something to do with negative emotions. Certainly, none of that was going on not even with Marcus present. Closing his eyes fro a brief moment, the angel reminded himself to calm down so he could watch over his charge and Ace as well. "No, I'm not sick. Simply a little embarrassed, if that makes any sense." Dustin was always honest to a fault, even when it could get him in trouble. This was certainly one of those times.

Marcus took the photo book in his hands, half rectulant to even open it. When he opened it, he was surprised to see the ominous lighting and seemingly fake effects of the picture,"How interesting, you took this all yourself? I would expect it from Ace here, but not you." He laid down on his stomach, turning the page,"But, it seems that you may have taken very odd pictures, it's very creepy, but maybe there should be somehow to balance out the dark mysteries, like, angels and demons." He shivered, thinkig about the demonic beings from hell,"Make the scene look pretty in the background, it may add tothe creepy feel of the photo." He looked at Loren,"Why so down?" With two fingers, he went to tip her head up to look at her, grinning, he said,"If I'm that handsome, just say so~" He said teasingly, then winked,"Just kidding!" When he was satisfied with his teasings, he looked back to the photo album in his hands.

He turned to another page,"I take it you like these photos then..." It was more of a statement at most, and he turned to Ace,"And you, what do you do? Surely with an artistic friend like Loren here, you do something of similar value?"

Ace's response was to throw a slipper at the albino's head. She huffed, sitting on the bed,"Of course I'm artistic! I'm just going for medicine because I want to help people. My parents feel like drawing should just be a sort of side job." The black haired girl pouted,"It's not like I draw well anyway, being a nurse is fine with me." Sitting up, she smacked herself in the head a couple of times,"Gah! Why do I feel so stupid, I'm 17 and I don't know what I want to be yet!"

She lifted her knees to her chest,"Eh... I already have my first crush, so being an engineering, artistic doctor can wait till I find me a boyfriend!" Then, she remembered Dustin was right next to her, she waved her hands about nervously,"Ah! Dustin! I'm sorry!" Standing up quickly, she bowed in apology,"I'm going to make something to eat now..."

Her face red, she ducked into the kitchen, searching the cupboards for her gloves and the items required to cook. "Grannys soup will make me feel better!" She said nervously, putting the pot on the stove and turning on the stove so the water could boil. Putting carrots, chicken, and other vegetables and spices, she started to cut up the veggies. When she got to the chicken, she turned her head,"Loren! Can you brin the first aid kit here? I may cut my-OW!" Blood trickled from her new knife cut from missing the chicken. Ace may be a good cook, but she can never be trusted with a knife. As the knife clattered to the floor, Ace went to the sick and started to wash off he blood, a stream of curses escaping her lips.

Loren was listening intently to his words, and laughing a little inside. "They are indeed mine. I know they aren't the best, which is fine considering that they were my very first attempt at making a series of pictures." A nervous smile was on her face as she still studied her floor. That smile of his had truly set her on edge, and to think he had figured it out so easily! A blush crept up her cheeks at the feeling of Marcus's fingers upon her chin. His words only aggravated the situation. "I..I, well you are good looking..."

The words were interrupted as she heard her friend. Rolling her eyes a little she went to pick up a first aid kit. The young woman was stopped though as Dustin pushed passed her to run into the kitchen.

Her blood was running and he hated it! Panic came and went as the angel rushed to her side. The sight of blood worried him more then it should have considering that this young woman was not his charge. Quickly he reached out to grasp the injured hand and placed a hand over the wound gently. A soft light emanated from his hand, healing the wound. "Ace, you have to be more careful! Let me help, I'll take over the cutting." At the words Dustin folded his agitated wings to proceed with his statement.

Ace blushed, before nodding in response, she was embarrassed, not only because she hurt herself in front of Dustin, she worried him so much to help out,"I'm sorry," said the newly healed girl,"Just cut those vegetables and spices, I'll put them in, and don't forget the chicken." She smiled, but it looked fake, but nevertheless, she put the flavor cube into the now boiling water, and stirred it around,"Need the spices!" She held out her hand impatiently, putting a pinch of salt in the mix to keep flavor. She was dedicated to her cooking, but she wasn't really chef-worthy in her eyes.


Marcus laughed,"Maybe I can be a model for one of your pictures one day~" He kept laughing, but he made failed attempts to stop. He looked out the door,"Can we go out or something? I wanna exercise, I hear moving helps the body heals sometimes~" His wings twitched in anticipation, being in one place for a while, it made him antsy. He flipped through a bunch of pages,"Mhm," He chuckled at a few of the pictures,"Some of these are more cute than ominous." He had seen these places before, since he's been flying around and slacking off, instead of watching his charges. But now he had to be careful, one slip up, and he could have demons on his trail.

Chuckling a little he handed her the spices without comment. Then it was a matter of cutting up the vegetables, dicing tomatoes and onions... It made his eyes water out of reflex, something passed on by his once human mentors. Cocking his head to the side, Dustin studied Ace. A small hmm left the angel as he considered something that was quite far from what he was allowed to do. The demand would get him in trouble with his superiors, but Dustin found himself not caring. As the angel moved, one of his wings brushed up against the young woman and he left it there.

[COLOR="Sienna"]Turning around to glare at him, Loren realized she simply couldn't do it. Sighing a little, resigned, she moved to carefully take her pictures from him and put them away. "PLease stop laughing at my first photography attempts!" Regarding his wings critically[ the young woman shook her head. "Whatever you do to hide your wings might harm them more then anything else.... I don't know if it's such a good idea." Ace was the one who took chances, not Loren. She was the good girl, the one who followed the ruled to a letter without once stepping out of line. /COLOR]

Marcus pouted,"Awww! The pictures were so pretty!~" He flopped himself onto the bed,"Come on Loren, do something spontaneous for once, the only thing more colorful than your pictures is Ace!" He stuck his tongue out at the cooking girl's back, Ace just pissed the man off entirely, yet, he felt he was familiar ground with her, but he didn't know why. Though, it was probably because he and Ace had similar personalities, but he thought he and the black haired demon were completely different. He huffed,"If you don't go, I'll go off by myself, and drag you with me." He unconsciously licked his lips, his mind filling with all the pranks he could pull.

Ace took the spices that were placed on her hand and tossed them into the mix. While stirring, she thought thoroughly about what Dustin had said before, she was a bit careless, but she was Ace, she never really cared about anything. She was meant to die, so it's better to live free than die regretful. Given the circumstances of course. Ace took the container of salt and the flavor cube packages, to put them back where they belonged. Right as she was about to move, she felt something soft touch her. At the sudden contact she flinched away, dropping the items in her hand. "Ah! I'm sorry Dustin! I was spacing out, you startled me..." She bent down to the floor, seeing the dirty knife that she had carelessly dropped before, she picked that up first, be for trying to reach the salt from her current spot. Her short arms were just short of the container, so she gave up and started to pick up the flavor cube packages. There were so many of them, why did she think she needed so many to cook? She inwardly smacked herself at her stupidity, just because there was a man in the apartment and was actually talking to her about something not related to her job shouldn't scare her. But she was dead wrong, it scared her a bit, and the fact that Dustin was an angel, freaked her out a bit more. Though, she wasn't going to let that get in the way of having an actual guy friend.

Smiling to himself he watched. Dustin moved to catch the salt for the young woman, handing it to her silently. Glancing at the other two still in the room, his eyebrows rose. His Loren with swaying hips and a predatory smile? It was absurd! Yet there she was, putting the moves on the fallen angel. Chuckling now, Dustin turned to Ace. "Have you ever seen Loren that... Wild?" He certainly hadn't and he was her guardian. The words were whispered though, so the two in the room couldn't hear.

Watching the angel, she thought he was acting like a child. It was alright coming from Ace, expected from her even but she had expected more from Marcus. Turning away, the young woman thought, and thought hard. Admittedly she was afraid of taking chances that seemed to be reaching out and calling for Loren, demanding her to take a leap of faith. Nodding to herself the brunette turned to the angel. "Alright, but only if I get to choose where we go." Waltzing over to him, she found her hips swaying and a slightly feral grin on her lips.

Ace looked up to the man's words, and her eyes widened when she saw what was just described, keeping in her giggles, she shook her head,"Never in my lifetime...." She whispered back. She stood, putting the bloody knife in the sink and the flavor cube packs in the cabinets. After letting some giggles escape her lips, she took a mental picture of the moment, a perfect use for blackmail. Going back to the pot, she saw that the water wasn't exactly near boiling point, so she turned to the blond angel next to her,"So Dustin, can I ask you a few questions?"

Marcus grinned,"Meow Loren!" He teased,"I never knew you had that side, you can pick, but I'd like to see more of that sassy side of yours." He had to say that he was shocked, never had he expected Loren to be capable of such naughty behavior. This aspect drew the albino man in, wanting to know more things the brunette in front of him was capable of. He folded in his wings, so they hid inside the folds in his clothing, and he put his hood back on. Standing up slowly, but surely, he then asked,"Where to milady?" With a polite bow, he gestured to the door,"After you,"

She laughed and blushed, returning to her usually demure self. It was hard to be like that! Loren actually had to put some conscious effort into it, and she felt silly half the time. "So I can practice on you?" Raising an eyebrow she tried to make herself seem coy, or something like that. She wasn't sure how much it worked though.

Watching Marcus hide his wings with interest, she laughed at his behavior. Shaking her head a little she caught his hand in her own and tugged him out the door past Dustin and Ace. "I'll be fine Dustin, you can stay here. Even if Marcus is a fallen angel, he's still an angel." Turning to him, Loren winked at him as they walked down the stairs and reached the ground floor. There was a park nearby and that was where Loren was headed. It was a good thing no rain fell anymore.

Dustin chuckled, and smiled. "I have nothing to hide." It was after this statement that Loren walked out of the apartment with Marcus behind her. She didn't even leave him any time to protest and she was gone. The angel walked to the door and hesitated with his hand on the door knob. A worried look was in his gray eyes, and his bond hair was now in disarray because the man kept passing his hands trough it incessantly. With a quick tug, the black ribbon fell away to let the blond hair cascade around his face and shoulders. Turning to Ace, he looked at her questioningly. "I don't trust him at all Ace.." stated the angel simply.

Marcus laughed, before following the girl. She was so interesting and so full of surprises that he was surprised she didn't burst yet. He chuckled, thinking about where she wanted to go. Probably somewhere scenic and calm. Like a park or something. Maybe somewhere where she could admire him and other things. But that was besides the point, he was going out with a human girl, and most fallen angels don't do that often, or at all. It seemed that her guardian angel even allowed it, that was most unusual. He looked around, thinking the two were being stalked, when he saw nothing, he calmed down,"So Loren, where are we going?" His wings hurt from being so constrained, and yet he dealed with it, since he was finally getting some fresh air.


Ace however, was gushing over the matter,"Aww! Loren's finally growing up! Ah I feel so envious of her!" She said, jumping up and down in excitement,"Weren't they adorable Dustin! Think about it, what would they think if we did that?" She then covered her mouth, shocked at what she just said. "Not that we would be dating or anything!" She added, a blush on her face. She then took note of the man's appearance.His hair was down, and a bit messy, and yet it made him look like a child. "What's wrong Dusty? Loren's completely fine on her own, and if Marcus did anything, I'd wack him with my bat!" She grinned, giving him a thumbs up. She trusted Loren's desicion, since she has never made a move like that on anyone that she had seem before, meant that the albino was indeed special. She gave him a smile,"Give him a chance Dusty." She suddenly got a bit shy,"Is it okay if I call you that Dusty?" She was now as red as ever, ducking to the floor, head between her knees, she said,"I'm sorry I'm being rude right?! I can't help but give you the nickname!" She crouched, and began drawing circles on the tiled floor.

They walked down the dark deserted street, until a park came into view. There were a few hiding places the young woman knew of, if only because she liked having private little picnics. It was towards a little copse of threes that she led Marcus. It was seemingly impenetrable, but Loren knew the way in. Inside, flowers abounded and were mystifying even with night having fallen.

Releasing the fallen one's hand, she turned to smile at him. As she spoke, Loren twirled around with her arms flung out. "This is my hiding spot, what do you think? And, you can let your wings out, no one will see and if they come near we'll hear them before hand so you can hide." Grinning, she moved forward boldly to place a hand on the man's face out of curiosity. She wanted to know what an angel felt like, and found his skin to be as soft as a petal.

The angel said nothing and waited. Ace was always very open about everything, and this was quite an event indeed. A small smile did cross Dustin's face as he listened to her enthusiastically speaking about Loren. It was true, and she was right. Loren had a way of seeing things in others that some would miss, and chances were it was that way with Marcus.

A slight panicked feeling took old of Dustin as he saw Ace kneel to the ground. Gently he bent down to place his arms and wings around her protectively. "Ssshh, it's alright Ace. Call me Dusty if you'd like. And, if you weren't a little rude you wouldn't be yourself. I know you, nearly as well as I know Loren." Carefully, Dusting bent his head to place a kiss on Ace's head, and with one hand began running his fingers trough her hair in a soothing way.

Ace looked up at Dustin warily,"Are you sure?" She asked, looking around, besides Dustin, all she saw was his pure white wings. It blinded her. Turning back to Dustin quickly and digging her head into the blondes shoulder. "It's too bright Dusty," She mumbled, her face red and warm with embarrassment. The angel was surprisingly warm, despite the fact that angels were supposed to be dead beings from up above.

After a few minutes, she shifted and mumbled,"We need to finish cooking before Loren and Marcus come home." But she made no sign that she was going to get up first, her excuse was that the angels wings were to bright and blinding, but that was a lie. Ace just wanted to stay in the ever-growing warmth that was Dustin.

Marcus chuckled as he was pulled along by the girl in front of him. She was so enthusiastic. When he saw the park, he raised an eyebrow, why the park? But he made no complaints, since he promised to let her pick where to go. As he saw the undergrowth of trees, he was a bit surprised, she didn't seem like a girl to look for random hiding spots to hide it. He looked around at the inside, even though it was simple looking, the flowers made it stand out quite a bit. Marcus gave a sigh in relief as she said he could let out his wings. He flinched and grunted in pain as he let his black wings come out, still a bit bloody but mostly clean, which was good.

"It looks nice Loren, how did you find this?"

Dustin's wings flicked back and forth with his confused emotions. He had no idea what exactly to do or say. The angel settled for gently squeezing the young woman before folding his wings and standing up. It had felt right, but wrong, to hug Ace. Shaking his head with, Dustin bent slightly to extend a hand to the young woman. "It's alright Ace."

Biting his lower lip, Dustin tried to think. Taking his time, the angel sent his thoughts to his charge and was relieved to see that she was alright. A small smile crossed his lips at the strange events happening, and the fact that a born angel like him was off gallivanting on earth without any repercussions. "They'll be hungry when they come back." Dustin stated.

The young woman watched as Marcus freed his wings. A concerned frown crossed Loren's face, and before she knew it the brunette had moved forward to place a gentle hand on one of his newly bloodied wings. They were so soft and black... It was hard to resist the temptation of perhaps plucking a feather to remember the fallen angel by. That would have been rude though, so Loren dismissed the thought.

"Well, Ace and I were out playing hide and seek... I know we're a little old for that, but it's such a fun game! In any case, I ended up hiding here and Ace never found me. She still doesn't know about this place." Realizing that, Loren's blue eyes fell to the ground. She wanted to know what he thought, and wanted him to at least be her friend. Frankly Loren was trying to impress the angel.

The fallen felt the soft touch of the woman on his wings. He turned away to hide the confusion etched on his face. His sentence may be prolonged because of what he was doing. Communicating with a human! It was unheard of to most angels. His ears perked up at the sound of her voice however, Loren and Ace playing hide and seek? Well, it wasn't surprising for Ace to be doing such trivial things, but Loren? He always though she was the more mellow of the two. He snickered, finding the idea of Loren playing hide and seek amusing,"Hide and seek huh? And here I thought you were much more sophisicated, instead, I get a cute photography girl." He grinned, wanting to see the woman's embarrassed face. The albino played with a few flowers, and made a crown of flowers for Loren, holding it out to her, he smirked,"To the hide and seek champ."

The black haired girl took his hand, unsure if her legs would support her, but then stood straight up when Dustin said the word 'hungry.' "Well what are we waiting for!? Let's get cooking! I have to go to the mall after this anyways, it need more pillows for everyone!" Ice blue eyes burned with determination. She went back to the pot, and looked at it blankly, as if wondering what she was doing, and it clicked. She went over to the vegetables that Dustin cut earlier. And went to finished up the soup. It all happened in a blur, and soon enough, the black haired, blue eyed girl was pulling on her jacket, looking at Dustin, she asked,"Dusty, you coming? I could use the extra set of hands. N-not if you don't want to that is..." Ace just hated forcing others to come with her just so she could run some errands, she somehow found it rude.

"Pulling her hand away quickly, Loren tried to figure out what she had done wrong. So far all they'd been doing was talking... There really didn't seem to be anything wrong with that at all. The brunette frowned, lifting her blue eyes to try and figure out the problem. It was a relief to see him turning around again, with a teasing demeanor. "I'm not just cute you know!" Laughing, she moved forward and bent her head down to accept the crown. It was a sweet gesture, and very unexpected.

He smiled genially at the young woman, and watched her finishing the soup. A delicious smell filled the kitchen, making the angel's stomach grumble. "This smells heavenly!" Dustin laughed a little at her nervousness and shook his head. It was so strange to see Ace so flustered when she'd always been so composed before. He was quite oblivious to the fact that this might be because of his presence. The angel quickly hid his wings, making them disappear completely. As a fallen, Marcus could do no such thing, but it was another matter for Dustin. "I don't mind helping, actually I really like it." Moving forward, he smiled the moment he stood beside Ace.

Blue eyes blinked in surprise, obviously Dustin would want to help, he was an angel after all. She smacked her forehead, completely missing the obvious. "Oh really then?" She asked, opening the drawers of her desk to get the keys and her wallet. "You seemed like the person to do those things, it seemed pretty rude to me when I was thinking it earlier, since you were so patient with me." Ace had to admit, she could be such an unlikeable bitch at times, it was funny, how this angel seemed to waltz in and communicate with her colorful personality so easily. But she wasn't complaining, this was her first guy friend that she hasn't made too much fun of. She then opened the door to the apartment room, shooing Dustin out before going out herself, shutting and locking the door behind her. She then pointed towards the exit,"To the mall!" She exclaimed, marching out.

Two hands put the fragile crown on the brunette's head ever so gently,"Hey, and I'm not the typical badass you think I am." He smirked, one part of his lips curling upwards. "Of course you're not just cute, you're feisty, overreacting, and full of surprises as well, I'm surprised you don't have a boyfriend, you're too edible." As if to prove his point, he leaned in towards Loren, a bit too close, and inhaled her scent. It wad the first time he noticed what she smelled like, it was a scent like no other, familiar yet original to the girls personality. His wings twitched in anticipation, and he leaned back to his original spot, where he sat, looking at the ground, and making little pictures in the dirt. He did pick a few flowers, smelling them ever so gently, before dropping them, disinterested, and repeating the process,"So Loren, do you find places like these all the time?" it was an awkward question, but Marcus was at a loss for words.

He laughed, more like chuckled, as he listened to Ace. "No need to harm yourself!" Dustin stated with a smile. Following her direction, the angel walked beside her as they left the apartment. At least he'd be sure to get a nice soft fluffy pillow for himself, and maybe he'd be able to convince Ace to get something horrible for Marcus. Really that was unkind of Dustin, but he truly did not like the fallen angel.

A furious blush covered her face as she regarded Marcus. In reality, the young woman wasn't all that feisty. Loren had wanted to get his attention, and her friends could attests she never acted that way! Still blushing, the young woman sat down in front of the angel. As he leaned forward, her breath caught for a moment and her blue eyes widened. A little disappointed sound escaped her as Marcus retreated.

"W-why aren't you typical? And yes, because I love finding little secret hideaways. " Loren had a few here and there in the city. She could hide quite easily, and not even Ace would find her. She supposed Dustin was the only one who would be able to do that. Leaning forward again, Loren gave in to the urge to bury a hand in those dark feathers. The young woman moved to Marcus's side and began gently, carefully, petting his wings.

Red eyes flickered over to the woman who was now petting his wings as if it were a small kitten. He looked to the side, suppressing the blush that was fighting it's way onto his cheeks. He stifled a laugh at her red face however. "It seems that you want me to do something? How perverted Loren~" He teased, turning to look at the girl with a full on smirk,"Why I'm not typical you ask?" His voice went a bit lower, more seductive,"Well would you like to find out hmm?" He leaned onto the girls lap, enjoying the warmth that emanated through him. All from the one source of heat in the shrub. Loren. "Well, as you can obviously see, I'm an angel, so, I do have those tendencies to be a bit nicer than most." His finger traced circles on the arm she wasn't using to pet him. He winced as she hit a sensitive spot, but calmed down as the brunette brushed over a certain spot, making him shiver. Like a dog, there was a place he just adored to be petted at. And Loren just found that spot. Putting his arms around her waist, he sighed, his tensed muscles relaxing.

Once the mall was in sight, the black-haired girl started to run. She wanted to get home as soon as possible so she could have Dustin taste test her cooking before Loren and Marcus got home. As she passed the doors of the department store, she started to rummage through the basket that held all the pillows. She took a few soft ones, and some harder ones. As she was looking, she had found one shaped like a cow. Staring at it for a few minutes, she hugged it,"My pillow." Her muffled voice said. Ace got a cart, putting the chosen pillows inside. Looking at the blonde, she blinked,"Go pick some pillows Dusty~" She said,"I'm gonna get some snacks!" With that, she left the cart with him to deal with. Ace scurried off to the snack section, the bunny ears on her jacket trailing behind her.

She didn't know what to say. Loren's blush became even worse, and all she could do was stare at Marcus with trusting and apprehensive eyes. As he leaned into her, she forced herself not to pull back. There was something nagging her, just at the back of her mind... If only she could remember. That lovely teasing tone of the angel's reminded Loren of something important, something she'd lost.

Curiosity pushed her to run her hand over the spot that had made him shiver, she wanted to know why the angel had done so. Loren didn't know how to react to Marcus tracing circles on her arm, and had no idea if she liked if or not. It was when he put his arms around her that a small, soft sigh escaped her. Without thinking she leaned forward, placing her head underneath his chin as best she could. "Oh Marcus... Where have you been?" The arm not caressing that one spot upon his wing, wrapped around the angel possessively. Water filled the young woman's eyes, but remained there as confusion and contentment warred together, along with an overwhelming sense of relief. It felt right to be like that with him, and yet Loren didn't know him at all! So why had she asked that question and why was it so important for her to gain his romantic affection?

Dustin found himself jogging to keep up with Ace. A large smile was plastered on his face as the angel rushed in behind her. Amusement filled his eyes as he watched Ace rush to the pillow basket and started rummaging trough it. The moment she picked up that cow pillow, a tender feeling filled Dustin and a soft unguarded look crossed his face. Licking his lips, the angel sighed. Grabbing the cart, Dustin watched Ace run off with a troubled look in his eyes. He knew very well that whatever happened he simply couldn't allow himself to feel certain things, and one of those feelings was starting to wriggle into his heart. It was hard not to give in when he'd watched Ace go trough so much....

A jolt of awareness pulsed trough Dustin, and his wings nearly burst forth. Grabbing pillows at random, save for a soft sheep shaped one, the angel set off to catch up with Ace. "Loren's upset about something, we need to go back now! You have no idea how much Marcus could hurt her, especially if she remem...." Cutting himself short Dustin grimaced. Ace couldn't know, if she did Loren would certainly find out and this time... This time the angel was terrified he would lose her.

((I was thinking maybe that Loren and 'Marcus had already been together, and that the people in charge up there decided to test them by making them forget, and making him fall. Dustin thinks he fell because his love wasn't true))

[[Oh! How interesting, a very nice plot twist, but how exactly does Dustin fit into the puzzle then? Could he also be watching Loren since he's examining the two as well? Ah Ace, the uninvolved victim in this whole mess~]]

As said girl turned around, she looked at him curiously, not fully understanding the situation at the moment. Her arms were full of assorted snacks, and she was even holding one between her teeth. It was quite funny to the people passing by. Her mouth made an attempt to move, but couldn't. So Ace put all her chosen snacks inside the cart. "Dusty? Calm down first. I can't understand, what's wrong with Loren?" Her child-like voice was serious at the moment, she wasn't joking around. If anything bad had happened to her best friend, especially concerning guys, she was ready to kick some good ass.

Taking the cart, she rolled it off to the cash register,"Tell me on the way." She said, her voice seemed oddly cold, considering she was very happy a few minutes ago. As the cashier scanned the items, she took out her wallet. Paying the man, she caught from the corner of her eye that he was checking her out. Obviously not in the mood, she ignored him, picking up the bags.

Walking out of the shopping area, she finally spoke, her voice eerily calm,"Now, what's wrong with Loren? I want answers, now." The girl gave off a dark aura, and she hid her eyes from view, not wanting to offend the man with her death glare.

His eyes fluttered in confusion, he got the gut feeling in his stomach that he did indeed know this woman before he had fallen. He didn't look at Loren, in fear that he may recognize her, and in someway, hurt her. But he risked it anyway. Looking up, he saw her watering eyes. It didn't register to him at first, he hadn't seen her cry before. And he ignored the thought of that they had just met because something in his time told him they had not just met.

Like Loren, part of his mind was nagging to him, trying to get him to remember the past. But it seemed blocked off to him. Something unable to reach. Soghig sadly, he said,"I don't know Loren, I feel like I've known you forever." He lifted a hand, and cupped her face,"Don't look like that Loren, is unlike you..."

A smile graced his lips as he felt her fingers brush over his wings favorite spot. "You know, I never knew I had a spot like that, combined with your warmth, it feels nice.." He made a move to sit up, and felt her arm, which was around him possessively. He looked at her, giving the cute looking brunette an embarrassed smile,"Loren?"

Loren leaned into Marcus's hand with a soft smile gracing her lips now. She didn't know why she went from being happy to sad in moments around him, though... She rather thought it was because something made her afraid she would lose him. "Do you get the feeling we know each other too?" At his comment about his wings, Loren laughed a little. "I couldn't help myself! It just seemed... right." Loren tried to think of why the were so sure they knew each other, but could find no solution.

Looking up at the way he said her name, Loren blushed furiously. Realizing the way she held the angel, she let go immediately and backed away. The crown of flowers fell to the ground as Loren stood quickly to retreat, and her feet crushed some of the delicate blossoms with her haste. Looking down at them, Loren felt like it represented something which had already happened. Something had been broken and there didn't seem to be any way of fixing it at all. "I'm sorry Marcus, this whole incident.. I haven't been acting like myself." The young woman remembered he was fallen then, and that her actions had in all probability moved him closer to his doom. If Loren was sure of nothing else, she knew that harming Marcus in anyway was something she didn't want to do.

Dustin followed Ace quietly. The angel winced at ever comment she made, and her tone of voice made him flinch. There were some things that were better left unsaid. For this reason it was imperative to hide the truth, with more truth. Dustin monitored his charge quietly, finding her calmer then before. There was a deep sense of sadness within her though, that had absolutely no right to be within her.

Before he knew it, they were outside and Ace had to be faced. "It's complicated Ace... Let's just say that I failed once to stop something that never should have happened, and now it might happen again. I'm terrified that this time, Loren won't be given the chance to move on and live a normal life." Dustin's eyes were pleading as he regarded Ace. Moving away from her, he started pacing in the parking lot very glad that no one else was there to see his distress. A guardian angel had no right to fall in love with his charge or anyone connected with them! It was a horrible thing, especially when the angel in question was a half demon. (I was thinking, maybe Marcus is a half demon, and had been Ace's guardian. And, he did hurt Loren and broke her heart... For what reasons I have no idea. Umm, yeah I can take that part out though.)

"There were things he wanted to change. Dustin knew he should have stopped Marcus, should have finished him off. Killing was something forbidden in all but dire circumstances, and Dustin would have done so in a heart beat the moment Marcus had broken Loren. He'd become everything to her, and that half angel had taken advantage of that. If it hadn't been for Ace... For Loren's love of him, everything would have been different.

[[No, I was actually thinking the same thing, but I was too nervous to say anything ^^" But the breaking her heart thing seems a bit random, maybe he tried to injure her with his "demon" powers?]]

Marcus laughed yet again, sitting back up straight, her reactions were always entertaining. It kept him interested and active in conversation. "Yeah, I always thought I knew you from someplace..." His head started to throb from trying to break through the wall that kept him from something blocked deep within his mind. He held his head, coughing,"I think your friend gave me your cold..." He mumbled, his face was slightly pink, not just from her next comment, but the slight fever and the sudden chills he felt.

Looking down at the broken crown idly, he sighed,"All beautiful things seem to never last long..." He looked up at Loren,"And yet you're still here..." He sneezed,"Let's go back Loren, it may not be safe for us to stay here. I wouldn't want you to get hurt; one, cause your adorable, and two, I don't want a angry Dustin on my ass for having you injure while he was flirting with Ace."

He snickered, even though he was running a bit sick. "Do you feel as if Dustin has a thing for Ace? It's funny when you watch them..." He thought of the little moment he and Ace had before, he found it hysterical to see that man get flustered over a small incident. "Enough about him, I still wanna know more about you later, it might help us.


When she finally looked at him, she saw him pacing, she scoffed."'Learn to trust a man,' mom says, 'you'll find the one,' she says. What bull." She muttered to herself,"Huh, well, why spend time with me then? You bastard, you should've done what you needed and just left," Her blue eyes were fierce, and she spun on her heel,"I'm going back, you can come, but don't you dare try to get close to me again, or else you'll have a date with my bat."

She was pissed off at Dustin, she had seem him flinch at her words before, most likely because he had never heard her speak like that. Now, Ace didn't care what he thought, he was just here to do something regarding his precious charge. But that wasn't what she was mad about.

Instead of going straight to the point, he veers off course, and starts becoming friends with her. And having no guy friend known, she accepted his guesture, not realizing what she was going to get into. She did develop a crush on the angel, but she dismissed it, putting it off as a childs fantasy. The black haired girl kept walking straight to the apartment, the bags of pillows and snacks in her hands. Her stomach was growling, and she wanted to eat as soon as possible. As well as harden her heart to the angelic man even more.