Nyx slumped on the couch, dangling her legs over the arm, exhausted, but it was her couch, in her living room, in her house.

Aiden's portal had made her move easier than it would have been otherwise. With the help of their parents, she and Cassie had spent the afternoon shoving Nyx's belongings through the swirling purple and black portal to her new home.

Sharing a room with her sister had not afforded Nyx much opportunity to gather furniture or household items of her own. It killed her to do it, but she spent a large chunk of her savings filling in the gaps. There would always be more shifts at the market.

Still, after everything, her house was sparse. She reminded herself there was all the time in the world to fill it with whatever she wanted.

Arranging things once they arrived via Aiden's portal had taken the most effort. She'd have to enlist Angel's help in moving the furniture.

A pounding rap at the door interrupted her celebratory cigarette. It was too loud and obnoxious not to be Angel.

"It's open," she called. Her stomach did summersaults, hoping things would not be awkward between them after the discussion on the beach.

Angelus stepped inside as she expected, but was surprised to see a young woman trailing behind him. The woman nibbled the cuffs of her sleeves. Her eyes drank in everything all at once.

Nyx sat up, tapping her cigarette out in the ashtray on the coffee table.

"Nice place," Angel said, looking around the living room.

She frowned. "Have you been crying?"

"Nope," he said.

"I know when you've been crying." Nyx got up and narrowed her eyes, examining him.

"Clearly, you don't. This is Kismet," he continued, gesturing to the wisp of a woman behind him. "Alistair found her on the mainland and she needs somewhere to stay. I figured since you got this place all to yourself and all, maybe she could stay with you?"

Nyx crossed her arms. "Don't you have a place all to yourself?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd love the idea. I can't even look at a woman sideways -"

"Sure. Looking is the issue, I'm that insecure-" The heat rose in her voice and she caught herself, not wanting to fight in front of a stranger, especially not about this. It wasn't this poor girl's fault.

"I'm sorry," said Kismet. "I'll find somewhere else to go. You've been more than helpful already."

"No, no," said Nyx. She sighed. "You can stay."

Nyx glared at Angel, but softened as she turned to Kismet. Guilt swirled in her stomach.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It's not fair to put this girl in the middle of our bickering. She hasn't done anything to deserve being drug into our mess.

"You're welcome to stay with me," said Nyx.

With the matter apparently settled, Angel moved past them to the kitchen. "Did you get any food in here yet?"

"Yes, but not a lot," Nyx exclaimed and hurried after him. Everything was pre-planned and portioned - Angel would eat all of it if he had half a chance.

Angel stooped to properly scan the shelves of her fridge.

"Get out -" Nyx began, but Kismet stared at them. It occurred to Nyx that she was most likely hungry as well. "Has anyone fed you yet?"

Kismet shook her head.

"Ok, fine," Nyx sighed. She nudged Angel out of the way and brought the chicken out of the fridge. "I'll make supper."

Angel pecked her on the cheek. "You're the best."

"Can I help?" Kismet asked. "It's the least I can do."

"You can help me with the carrots if you want," Nyx said. She pointed to Angel before he could escape into the living room. "You peel the potatoes."

He sighed, but didn't protest otherwise. Supper didn't take long to prepare with the three of them working together.

When it was done, they sat at the table to eat. The pine wood was chipped and stained and the chair wobbled under her at the slightest shift in position.

"Where's your stuff?" Nyx asked, realizing Kismet hadn't arrived with a bag.

She didn't look away from her plate. A stubborn pea rolled away from the prod of the fork. "I didn't bring anything except my CD player."

"That's all?" Angel gasped. "Not even clothes?"

Nyx's stomach tightened, wishing Angelus wouldn't be so blunt. She was ashamed for lamenting the few items she had earlier.

What could possibly make someone run from everything they've ever known, with only the clothes on their back?

She wouldn't dare ask.

"I can share," said Nyx. "It's not a problem."

"Thank you," Kismet said, still fixing her eyes on the peas.

After supper, Angel excused himself for the evening, but Nyx followed him outside. The setting sun painted the sky the colour of a ripe plum with a gold haze on the horizon. A warm breeze kissed her bare arms.

He'd already stripped his shirt off and was part way down the front walkway when she managed to catch up to him.

"I'm sorry about the beach earlier," she said. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

"I know," he said, turning to look at her.

The balmy wind blew his hair into a tangled mess and stirred the wild flowers on the lawn. A butterfly floated between them, flitting greedily from one bloom to the other.

"What is this?" Nyx asked. "What are we doing?"

"I dunno, you tell me," he snapped. "I asked you to move in, exactly what you wanted a day ago, and you said no. The ball really is in your court here."

She reached for his hand, twisting her fingers between his. "I love you and I know you love me too."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then stopped.

"Are you going to deny it?"

His eyes met hers, wounded. "I could never," he muttered. The skin of his cheek pulsed. "If you already know, then what's the problem? Why do we need to talk about it?"

"Because I need commitment."

"But I said you could move in -" he began, but she interrupted.

"My worst fear came true last night, and in the blink of an eye, I realized I'd have to live the rest of my life without you. I thought maybe you'd be ready to stop, but the first thing you wanted to do was learn to use your powers to fight. I can't stand around and watch you throw your life away on drunken whims anymore."

"What do you want from me?" he exclaimed, tossing his hands in frustration. "You know who I am better than anyone. This is it. There's nothing else. There's nothing under this. So you can finally stop waiting for me to change because the person you think you love doesn't exist. I'm not going to wake up one day and decide to be someone different, so get over it."

"I don't want you to be different, I need you to be better!"

His blue eyes hardened, sharp as flint. "I hate to tell you this, but this is as good as it gets."

In a flourish he extended his wings. She had no choice but to step back and give him space. Angel beat his wings against the sky, crouched and jumped, catching the wind under his feathers.

She looked up and watched him go.