"So, why did you both want to talk with me?" Vanessa asked the two sitting across from her.

They'd mentioned yesterday they were planning on visiting her to discuss something important, but she hadn't expected them so soon. Her work wasn't too hectic usually but visiting during office hours was still looked down upon.

"Well..." Emily began, "We were thinking... it would be good to find a way for Damien to practice his magic in an environment where he could let loose, you know? And didn't have to be wary people would see him use mana..." she finished, looking away slightly and nudging Garrett who pretended not to have felt it.

Vanessa nodded her head, rolling her eyes at their reluctance to speak. She'd been thinking something similar of late but still wasn't quite sure why this was so important they had to talk now, or what it had to do with her.

"Go on."

After looking at Garrett for a few seconds, Emily turned back and smiled brightly at Vanessa. A smile she had seen many times before. One Emily used only when she'd wanted something from her.

"So... we were thinking... it would be great if he took a trip. You know, away from the Village for a month or so. Obviously, Alexa would go with him since they never do anything without each other. He might deny it, but the kid is stuck to her by the hip and she relies on him being around to comfort her," Emily said, rambling.

Vanessa thought about that for a moment. It was no surprise that she'd suggest taking Alexa away for a month or so. If Damien left, the girl would want to go with without a doubt. It would also help her with her practice as well, so denying the little Celestial from going would be counterproductive.

Letting her go was... problematic though. She was only allowed to stay with Vanessa, or with the Tearens, because of her assured safety. Going on a trip without Vanessa to guard her would be....

'Wait. They said he'd be taking a trip.'

"What do you mean by 'he' would be taking a trip. Surely you wouldn't suggest sending him out alone?"

"Oh no, no way! No no no no no, not at all," Emily shook her head in denial.

"Then-"

"He wouldn't be going alone because you and I would be with him! Them!" Emily interrupted, staring at her with her infectious smile and happy eyes.

Vanessa sat still, exasperated at the pair's suggestion. There was no way she could leave her post. She was the Villages only healer. If she left, who woul-

"Also! We already talked to the branch leader at the Association. He gave us permission to take you away for up to two months, eight months from now. Another healer has already been requested to fill your absence. He said and I quote, 'This is a great idea! Vanessa has been a damn hard worker ever since she was contracted to us years ago and hasn't requested any leave time. Usually, we only allow two weeks of max leave per instance, but in her case, I'll make an exception. Stay the full month if you want. In fact, since your family is the only one she willingly goes to see outside of work, why don't you take two months!'"

Emily finished and looked at her with a smile that said, 'now what are you going to do about that?' to which she had no idea. If the branch leader had already placed an order for a new healer....

"You shouldn't have done that without asking me first," she finally said coldly.

Emily's smile drooped and her eyes glanced to the side, drooping as well. She looked back and lifted her hand up to her head, beginning to chuckle lightly.

"Hahah, yeahh... I thought it might be too much, I just-"

Vanessa interrupted Emily by sighing loudly before beginning to speak.

"The girl wouldn't be able to go without me anyway. We'll bring two tents and blankets for three people since they sleep next to each other."

She hated it when people interfered with her life but for some damn reason, she couldn't stay mad at Emily. The way she acted so childish was adorable and endearing. Spending time alone with Emily for longer than a day would be nice too; they hadn't gotten the chance to for years, ever since their crew broke up. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. No doubt the girl would insist on...

"Really?!" Emily asked, nearly jumping up.

Vanessa's body warmed up seeing her smile return, more luminous than the sun.

"I also believe it would be important for them to get out and have room to stretch their mana away from the small town. Just don't forget, two-"

"Two tents, blankets for two people, and some extra provisions. Got it! We can hunt for food for the most part and we'll camp by a lake fo-"

"Blankets for THREE people, Emily," Vanessa corrected with a glare.

"Come on Nessa, please? The extra blankets will be heavy and bulky to carry. Plus you still owe me for getting you this job, remember? Just this once? Without me having to sneak in?"

Emily looked at her with pleading eyes as her husband sat next to her, holding her hand and looking off to the left where a bookcase was. The man knew he had no weight in convincing Vanessa and had let Emily do everything, just like back when they'd worked together, and just like when Emily convinced her to take this job.

He was a smart man.

As for Emily, she had been trying to get in bed with Vanessa, literally, since they met about fifteen years ago. She'd succeeded in some instances, sneaking in without waking her up or taking advantage of her while she was comatose, but...

"Fine. Fine. This one time. Because I owe you," Vanessa relented. Perhaps she'd be mature about th-

"HAH!"

"Tch."

Emily yelled out, turning to Garrett and pointing at him at the same time as the man scoffed, clearly listening to the conversation while perusing the books.

"I TOLD you she'd say yes. She's been extra loving for the past few years because of Damien. Pay up!"

Garrett made a sound of annoyance before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few silver coins. The equivalent of a months salary for them, Vanessa noted. She gaped as the money exchanged hands.

"... Are you kidding me? You bet money?"

"Yep! More money for our trip. Garrett was sour 'cause he can't come since he has to work the shop and wouldn't give me more than a few silvers. So we made a bet on whether you'd let me sleep with you. I bet on you, of course!" Emily said with a huge smile adorning her face.

Vanessa did all she could to NOT smile back at the genuine enthusiasm the girl showed, choosing to shake her head instead. Emily genuinely believed that betting had nothing to do with the pride won from winning, only using it as a means to make the trip more comfortable for all of them. Trying to act angry definitely wouldn't be believable.

Emily just had a way of getting to her.

"Obviously I bet against you," Garrett said with more than a hint of annoyance, turning towards the table. "Who would think you of all people would willingly get that close to a Human. Celestials typically refuse to befriend us let alone cuddle with us. Damien is going to pay for costing me that money, the little brat."

"Vanessa isn't a typical Celestial. She's the best Celestial. Stop being a sore loser; it's only some silvers. I'll help more than usual so you and your son can spend more time together until we leave, happy? And I'll even sleep under the same blanket as you too!" Emily joked, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

The man nodded.

"You always... nevermind. Thank you love. But really, Vanessa, I thought you'd be more complaining that he and Alexa get along TOO well today, not accepting to sleep by Em. What gives? What if it keeps up and the two end up wanting to get married? Her mom would kill them both, probably literally."

Garrett glanced at her and spoke with earnest.

That was another problem. The boy was independent for the most part, but her niece was reliant on him. It had a simple solution, though.

"She'll be going to the academy without him for five years. She'll be forced to grow away from him then and find someone there to fawn over, maybe some pompous noble or a regular mage. Either way, it will be fine. And so what if I let Emily stay with me? She's like a daughter-"

"A hot daughter," Emily interjected, waggling her eyebrows while giggling.

"A daughter," Vanessa asserted.

"First Damien, then Emily, soon you'll be letting me-"

"Not even in your dreams, Garrett. Not even there," she interrupted with a glare.

She'd never laid with a male in her life and nev- man. A man in her life. Damien was technically a male but he didn't count. He was... different. Even more so than Emily. It felt more natural for him to use her as a jungle gym than it did for anyone she'd ever known in existence to even brush past her wing.

'If only he were older,' she thought.

Damien stared at the winged demon across from him, breathing harder than he had since coming to Eleria. Ever since he'd bit her, she'd been extra aggressive. He had bruises and cuts from his shoulders down.

She was mad.

He didn't want to spar anymore.

They hadn't even been counting wins and losses today; it had just been a no holds barred pummeling match, him the dummy and her the overly aggressive assailant. She was sporting a few bruises as well but the way she fought today made it troublesome for him to justify doing anything but defending.

She was fighting close to him, too. It was way more painful and aggressive, fighting that close, but the perfect range for him! He should be winning. He could easily put her in an armbar or any number of holds, but the one time he did she'd almost broken her arm herself to get out of it and continue.

He'd tried to back off and call it quits earlier but she'd not relented, continuing the attack.

Women were terrifying. All because he bit her to escape a painful situation and wouldn't let her kiss him? He understood it was a show of familial affection but... it was just a little much.

Maybe she wanted him to show her more love.

'Who knows?' he thought, sighing.

If there was any silver lining, it was that she was more tired than he was, giving him an advantage when it came to taking the initiative. He decided to go with a plan he'd come up with on the spot. It was a dumb one, sure, and wouldn't work if she didn't care, but it was something.

If it didn't work it was going to hurt a lot.

Standing up, he once again beckoned her forward in a taunting gesture with his hand. This seemed to infuriate Alexa each time he'd done it and she promptly sprinted at him.

Or, moved in a quick manner. The girl looked about to fall on her own.

Keanu was on to something about using this particular gesture as a fight starter, something about the confidence it exuded had a damn good way of pissing people off.

Unlike other times where he set into a stance to dodge or receive her charge, he moved forward towards her as well.

The girl slowed down slightly, confused and not sure how to react. Thinking he was attacking, she swung a wing in from the side.

'Slow. Too slow.'

She was exhausted. He ducked under it with his arms in front of his face, blocking the punch he'd expected to come after the wing. She surprised him and instead hit him in the gut but there wasn't much strength behind it. He opened his arms and locked them around her back while she braced to be tackled to the ground, which never occurred.

Damien had slowed down before impact and Alexa only had to step back slightly. She tried to elbow him in the shoulder to get him to let go, but he didn't. She lightly smacked him in the head, but he kept hugging her.

A pinch, a jab... nothing overly painful. His gamble had paid off; she was too kind to beat on someone who had completely given up willingly. Eventually, she stopped and just stood there staring at him unsure of what to do, arms draped loosely on her sides.

"Let go of me," she demanded.

"No."

"Let me go, now," she asserted, louder than before.

"Not happening," he replied.

...

A minute passed.

Then another.

"What is this supposed to do?" She asked.

"Get you to stop hurting me. I don't wanna spar anymore today. Beating each other up doesn't help. Using all this to be cruel isn't what we are learning."

Alexa didn't say anything for a while and when she spoke up it was to say something absurd.

"I'm venting my anger. It helps. You can take it."

"...Oh, come on I bit you, sue me," Damien said back. "And it hurts. Just because I can take it doesn't mean I like it. I don't want to fight you. I hate it."

"... let me go," she said after a few seconds had gone by.

"No."

"Please?"

Damien hesitated at that.

"Are you going to hit me again?" He eventually asked.

"... no. Maybe."

Well, that was reassuring, he thought. "No then. Now come on. Let's go inside and sit on the couch or something to talk. I hurt. Fix me."

"How are we going to move if you won't let me go?"

Damien thought about it for a moment and eventually decided to cede the point.

"You won't hit me?" he clarified.

"Sure," she said back.

'She's calmed down enough anyway... maybe it's safe.'

He was wrong.

Garrett, Emily, and Vanessa all returned home earlier than he'd thought. He'd originally expected it to take at least take an hour to convince the Celestial to help but it hadn't taken longer than ten minutes.

The three were going to explain the circumstances to the children. They'd be leaving in a few months for a trip, essentially. He'd hoped they'd be enthusiastic, considering all the preparation that was going into it. Going behind Vanessa's back was always terrifying; a fear ingrained in him through their time as a crew.

Entering the house, he led the two women through it to the backyard. As he approached the kitchen he didn't hear any sounds of fighting, so he wasn't sure if they were back there any longer.

Walking out the back door, he stepped out to a sight that only made him shake his head and reaffirm his earlier line of questioning. Damien was hugging Alexa while she just stood there, saying and doing nothing.

Garrett glanced over at Vanessa and waved his hand forward at the two kids.

"See what I mean?"

"Hush. Why are you two... hugging? Or why is he hugging you? Don't you two spar this early in the morning?" Vanessa asked.

"I lied to him. He won't let go," was Alexa's reply.

His son had more bruises than usual and the girl looked flustered, emotional, and upset. Her hair was in disarray and her wings were disheveled. They looked like they'd been brawling, not sparring.

"You lied to him?" Vanessa questioned, surprised.

"She said she wouldn't hit me anymore and I let go earlier and then she hit me harder and even bit me. I'm not letting go again," was Damien's reply.

Garrett repressed a sigh.

"Why isn't she hitting and biting you while you hug her then?"

To Garrett, that seemed like an obvious solution to a confusing situation. Why question what they had done to get to this point when you could help solve the problem and devolve it into a situation you could understand and fix, like them fighting?

"I feel bad if I beat him up while he's hugging me. I've tried. Doesn't feel right. He doesn't fight back."

Garrett sighed. Loudly.

"Well, for the meantime, why don't you two lovebirds come inside and I'll make us all some hot chocolate, then we can talk! We have good news for you both," Emily said, trying to coax the children in.

Alexa visibly blanched at that statement, pushing at the boy trying to get him off her with renewed vigor while he held fast. She was blushing while she clawed at him.

"Get off you pain in my... let go of me, didn't you hear what she said? Just... let... GO!"

Alexa was peeling at him and shoving at his arms but he wouldn't budge.

"No, I don't care. I'm thir- four. It's a joke meant to embarrass you. You're nine. We couldn't even be lovers. You're weird for thinking it. If I let go you'll beat me up again, even with them here."

Alexa seemed to calm slightly at this explanation while his son appeared to have some noticeable trauma and fiercely rejected the thought of letting her go.

"If you want me to let you go, heal me first. Also, let's go inside. We can carefully walk if we work together. But I'm not letting go. You'll gouge my eyes out next time, and I don't want to be on the run for the rest of my life."

Garrett took a deep breath and looked at Emily. She was watching with an amused smile spread across her face. Turning to Vanessa, he noticed she was smiling too, though in a much more subdued manner. They were enjoying the scene, why though he couldn't tell.

He rotated back to look at his son and the little Celestial, observing the situation anew.

Here was a Human boy of four years visibly overwhelming a Celestial of nine years by sheer physical strength because he, the stronger one, didn't want to get beat up anymore, confident she would if he let go because the girl had lied to him before when he'd let go. The Celestial was flustered and trying to pry the boy off not because she hated being touched by a Human, but because she wanted to beat him up. Again, not because she didn't like him or because he was touching her wings, but for some undetermined reason. And she wouldn't hit him now because he wasn't fighting back.

And they were all ok with her attacking him, a four-year-old, because they knew how the two were mature beyond their age, were closer to each other than anyone else in the world, and had been brutally sparring this past week anyway.

The situation was completely absurd. He was sure nothing even remotely similar to this had ever happened anywhere on this planet before. It was insane laying the facts out like that in his mind.

Garrett laughed.

I hear laughter and glance over to see Garrett doubled over on the step, laughing hard at my predicament. A predicament that is in no way amusing.

His laughter prompts Emily to join in and even Vanessa looks away, trying not to let an obvious smile cover her entire face.

It's NOT funny.

I'd let her go earlier and she'd immediately hit me in the face then pounced on me. It took a dumb amount of twisting and biting and thrashing to even stand back up; there is no way in hell I'm letting go again unless they'd intervene and it didn't look like they were going to anytime soon.

They were all either laughing or just smiling at us! No doubt the situation was adorable to them, but to me it was precarious and any option that didn't involve me holding onto her defenselessly would result in my pain.

I'm surprised this was even working.

"Honey, go get the hot chocolate. We can just talk out here."

After Garrett finally stops laughing and says that, I watch pops go from standing to sitting on the back steps.

Vanessa hops off the steps and walks toward us.

I hold hope in my eyes as I look at her. Bright shining hope.

Instead, she smirks at me and sits down on the grass a foot away from her niece, to my right and Alexa's left, looking over at Garrett. She then hits the back of Alexa's knee with her wing, causing us both to topple to the ground.

I lift my legs up and wrap them around her like an impromptu backpack, or frontpack, as she hits the ground with her knees. Using her moment of confusion, I swiftly move around her until I'm on her back, head resting on her left shoulder, and still latched on.

This position is even safer. Plus, using her as a jungle gym feels like a victory in my book.

Alexa continued sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of her... parents.

It felt weird calling the two that, but they treated her like a daughter so... maybe she'd call them her second parents.

Emily had just returned and given everyone hot chocolate while Damien remained attached to her back like the little parasite he was.

What the little kid's problem was, she'd never know. They shared everything. They were practically inseparable, but the little shit still wouldn't show her any familial affection and when she tried to show it, he vehemently resisted.

Like he hated her.

He never even showed his mom and dad that affection, only Vanessa.

Why? Why, after all this time and after all they'd gone through, why didn't he treat her like family?

She didn't attribute any of it to him being four either. She knew something was weird about him, though no one ever really expressly told her and he never volunteered the information. They had a promise for that when they got to the academy, but she was still curious. Either way, she knew he wasn't mentally four. Everything he did had a purpose, a reason behind it. He felt more mature than her most of the time, so he wasn't just being a four year-old brat.

What was it that caused him to view Vanessa as family more than her?

It incensed her to no end and hurt, bad. Beating him up helped. Venting frustration physically always felt good, she noticed, but only when he was fighting back. Not only one or two of the punches she'd thrown at Damien while sparring over the past week were fueled by annoyance at the boy.

Yet, when he'd realized the nature of their sparring had changed today, he'd stopped trying to win or injure her at all. In fact, not a single bruise on her was caused after the moment she'd almost broken her own arm out of teary-eyed anger. He already rarely caused her actual pain, pulling his punches and choosing to put her in a hold to end fights rather than knock her to the ground, yet while she was trying to actually hurt him, he'd resorted to hugging her.

It made her so damn frustrated!

"Damien, are you going to get down, or?" Emily started the conversation with a question.

"No," was his curt response, "not unless you can promise me she won't chase me down."

"I'm not getting in the middle of that, whatever you did to her is your fault. She wouldn't just be mad for no reason. Figure it out," Emily responded dismissively.

Alexa felt his head twitch to look at her Aunt to the left and saw her shake her head. He then turned to look at his dad and he shook his in denial as well.

A smile spread across her face.

'Perfect.'

They were on her side. He was going to get what was coming to him whether he liked it or not.

"That being said, don't take it too far, Alexa," her Aunt chided.

Alexa internally cursed. She shouldn't have gloated so openly, smiling like that. Now she'd have to hold back.

"Regardless of whatever fight you two are having, we have news for you both. Put it aside and listen for now, then continue with... whatever this is. Deal?" Garrett asked.

Alexa nodded her head. The conditions were fine by her.

She waited for Damiens nod of ascent on her back, but it never came.

"Damien?" Garrett asked.

"Can we talk inside? I'd rather be in the hou-"

"No. You two aren't ruining my shop again."

After the quick interruption, she felt Damien's head weakly nod.

"Ok. So, we all spoke and decided you two will be taking a trip out east, to a lake a little further up the mountain. The plan is to leave in eight months. It's about a ten-day trip there and you'll be staying for a month with Vanessa and Emily to keep you safe and make sure you don't do anything to hurt yourselves.

You'll be out in the open in an environment where you have plenty of open space to do whatever kind of mana practice you want for a full month with no peering eyes."

Alexa had felt Damien shift a few times during Garrett's explanation. She could tell how excited he was just from how restless his body was. He'd gotten the same way every time they tried to sleep but he was looking forward to something.

Fidgety.

It made her smile unconsciously and by the time she realized it and looked up, hoping no one had seen, Emily was already grinning at her.

She looked down embarrassed.

Damien didn't understand what was going through her mind though, as he kept shifting on her back wanting to ask his dad questions but stopping himself. He always had to be extremely reserved when practicing around the house so he didn't break anything. Being able to practice in a wide open space was going to be amazing for him.

She was excited too if she was being honest. A full lake of water to practice whatever she wanted for a month. It was perfect. And her Aunt would be there with them! Alexa didn't know how they'd convinced her stubborn Aunt to do anything, but she was grateful for it.

Maybe she could get the woman to be more affectionate with her over the trip too.

"Why do we have to wait so long?" Damien asked.

His earlier trepidation had been replaced by mirth it seemed. She'd have to fix that. He needed to feel sorry for making her feel like crap inside.

"Vanessa has to go with you and her replacement healer won't be here until then. Also, summer will be around the corner so it won't be snowing and the lake won't be frozen. Right now the area is no doubt covered in ice," Garrett responded.

"It'll be a trip with just the four of us! We'll bring all kinds of good foods and snacks since your dad gave me plenty of money for them. Those will be for special occasions, though. You'll have to hunt for our food mainly," Emily added.

"We have to hunt for it?" Alexa asked.

That seemed impossible. She'd never hunted anything before.

"Yep. We are going to teach you how to survive in the wilderness too. It's the perfect chance to get you both more independent. I'll be your teacher for that, so rest assured you'll definitely be great by the time you're done!"

Both she and Damien groaned at that which caused Emily to look offended. Alexa saw Garrett and Vanessa smile at her and her parasite knowingly.

Most likely, the witch wouldn't let them eat anything unless they caught it themselves. It was going to be horrible.

"Are we bringing tents or do we have to make our own shelter and bedding up there too?" Damien asked.

Alexa mentally smacked the hell out of him for it.

"That... is a good proposition, Damien," Vanessa replied.

"It wasn't exactly a propo-"

"Yes. In fact, let's add that Emily. You will have to make your own shelter. Once you do and it is passable, we'll give you a tent if you want it. Otherwise, you can stay in your makeshift home. I'm betting you'll choose to stay in it after you've built it though, the pride of making something will drive you to enjoy the stay more. Perhaps we should forgo tents altogether if we'll be there for a month...." Vanessa interrupted Damien and then trailed off at the end, murmuring to herself.

"In any case, that is the plan. I suggest you two try and practice how to make shelters and how to hunt before the time comes. Vanessa can grab you books on both if you need."

Garrett stood up while talking, smiling down at them.

"That's all we had to say. You two can get back to... bonding. We'll be inside if you have questions."

After finishing, the older man turned around and helped his wife up before leading the way inside.

The earlier looseness Alexa felt around her body from Damien's limbs immediately disappeared, indicating he was getting anxious about them leaving him stranded.

Alexa smiled.

"I'll be heading back to the Association. You know where I am if you need anything, Alexa. You too Damien."

With that, her aunt stood up to leave.

Alexa leaned forward from where she sat quickly, intending to stand, then hesitated for a moment. Damien chose that time to lean into her back and knock her off balance, so she steeled her heart and used the momentum to jump up and walk towards her aunt.

She knew her Aunt didn't exactly like hugs, but maybe normalizing them would eventually get her to enjoy them and maybe even help them get closer.

To her surprise, her Aunt hugged her back and even gave her a kiss on the forehead before smiling and turning to go. That had been the first time she'd ever seen her Aunt show anyone affection except Damien and rarely Emily.

'Finally.'

Watching her Aunt walk away while trying to control the swirling emotions in her heart, Alexa turned her attention to the parasite on her back. She was ecstatic to begin his punishment.

She jumped in the air and landed on her back, getting an oof sound out of Damien. She did it a few more times, but it seemed like it didn't really bother him much and he wouldn't let go, so she stood up and looked around the yard. Her eyes scanned the fenceline and the grass, ultimately landing somewhere further from where they sparred, on a certain bush.

She grinned an evil grin.

Once she'd moved about halfway there, Damien's hands gripped tighter around her and he began protesting vehemently.

"Can't we talk about this, why are you so angry?!"

"Not anymore. And you should know why."

"That's non-consensual! You're going to drop me into those thorns because I won't let you kiss me!?"

"You know that's not it either," she shot back, irritated at his excuses. "It's about what it means! You deserve this."

With that, Alexa stopped walking and turned around, rear facing the thorn bush, wings wrapped around her front so they wouldn't get caught in the impaling.

"Why can't you just accept that I don't like it and think it's weird? It's... I don't... Please?!" He pleaded one last time.

She stopped and looked to her shoulder where his face was resting, looking right into her eyes in a panic.

"It's how everyone shows close friends and family affection. After all... you... After all this do you really not see me as either?" she asked, almost shouting.

All the steam behind her anger and frustration seemed to vanish with the question, being replaced by a twisted, miserable sensation inside her stomach.

The hurt in her voice real.

"What! You should know you're my best friend and my favorite person in this entire world, why do you need to kiss me for me to prove that?! I spend almost every moment of the day with you! I love you more than Vanessa and mom and dad. Isn't that enough?" he begged, sincerity in his eyes and voice.

That brought Alexa to a cold stop, face adorning a shocked look as the pain instantly receded. She felt as the tension and weight of her not truly belonging slowly lifted and was replaced by warmth.

They all claimed to love and enjoy her presence, but there was always a nagging feeling that she was imposing. That she didn't exactly belong.

This, however, immediately helped to mitigate that. Even if Garrett and Emily were more inconvenienced than they let on, Damien at least genuinely loved her, even more so than Vanessa or his own parents.

Her body felt a kind of relaxation she hadn't felt in years.

'He cares about me... the most?'

She felt giddy all over.

Alexa had never known earning this little brats affection would mean so much to her, but if she was honest, she already valued him more than most of her family as well. Certainly more than her brother. Hearing he felt the same way was terrific. It was the first real deep friendship she'd ever made that went beyond simple blood ties. Being loved by someone outside familial obligation...

Her brain shot a question at her and anxiety came back to the forefront of her mind. She began searching his expression for any tell-tale signs of a lie, worried he was saying whatever he could to get out of his situation.

He seemed to notice her apprehension come back and sighed.

"Lexi if I didn't want to be with you all the time I would have my dad or Vanessa teach me. I could sleep in my own room. I could wake up and train alone. I make you train with me because I want to stay with you for as long as I can... You make life fun. I'm happier when you're around," he finished, smiling at her brightly.

Alexa could no longer suppress the smile on her face as she stared at him. How he could say such embarrassing things without pause was probably due to his age.

She kissed him and he groaned loudly, withdrawing his head and smacking his forehead into the space between her wings. Alexa stumbled forward slightly but caught herself while smiling like a fool.

He was adorable. And she was loved.

"I still feel like I should drop you in there," she said, not meaning a word of it.

He started to scratch at her wings in response and her tense body immediately relaxed even more than it already had. Tension she hadn't even realized she'd had.

"That's not playing fair," she complained, making no effort to stop him.

"Lexi is the best. She is the greatest. So beautiful and smart and my favorite. Damien doesn't deserve to be dropped into the thorn bush because Lexi loves him too much," Damien chanted from her back, muffled as he pressed his face onto it and continued to scratch her wings.

Her head cocked to the side as she sighed in content and began walking towards the house.

"I'm still going to kiss you," she said to the yard.

He stopped scratching her wings.

"I don't like it though."

"But you love me more than you don't like it, right?" she asked, pausing her steps while looking over her shoulder.

"Of course I do," he responded immediately, still muffled. "That doesn't mean I-"

"Then you'll get used to it after a while," she interrupted, grinning as she continued towards the back door.

"I don't..." he started, trailing off.

"It's really important to me," she muttered quietly. "You know... you could say it more often," she continued, voice getting even lower as the sentence dragged on and her face got redder.

They continued forward and eventually reached the steps. She stopped again and looked up to the door.

It felt silly to ask for affection from him. She felt he should just know to say it more often. More like his mother and father.

'Even Aunt Vanessa shows affection more than him!' she inwardly complained

"I thought it was obvious," he said back after a moment, surprising her that he had even heard her. "But if you like hearing it so much I'll make sure to say-"

"Ahhh whatever!" she interrupted, unable to stand the embarrassment. "Keep scratching my wings and I'll consider that a replacement for now."

She walked up the steps into the house as the scritching of her wings continued in earnest.

"He loves her more than us," Garrett sighed out as the three adults all stared at a scrying spell Garrett had constructed.

"That's... depressing. I had just beat Nessa out too."

Emily was pouting in the corner.

"But he did say he loved us some amount, right?" Garrett eventually said, standing up and smiling. "Maybe after this he'll start being more loving?"

All three adults nodded at that. The little demon had never actually said he'd loved any of them, let alone shown the universal sign for affection to anyone except Vanessa. In fact, he usually just smiled and nodded when they told him how much they loved him.

For this reason, they'd agreed to not stop the small fight. Alexa was old enough to know what was too far and Damien needed to learn to be more compassionate. Whatever he had done had really gotten to Alexa. If it all ended with them not talking, Garrett or Emily would speak with the boy one on one.

It looked like that wasn't going to be even remotely necessary, though.

Garrett turned to the Celestial and asked, "How did you get him to kiss you anyway? Why is he alright if it's you? Maybe he likes you more than me, but he's close with Em. What gives?"

Vanessa shrugged.