359: Clinging

Clinging

Azriel was already deep in his sleep when Theodore teleported to the bedroom. Theodore kept on watching Azriel for a while, contemplating whether or not to wake him up. He was sleeping so peacefully that for a moment, he thought of returning to Adeline's chamber.1

But in the end, he decided to stay. He stretched his arms and his back and then aimed at the empty spot on the bed. A mischievous grin appeared on his face before he jumped as noisily as he could.

Azriel gasped and instantly sat up on the bed. He swiftly turned to check if the ceiling had fallen on his bed.

But he was surprised to see that his younger brother was spreading his arms and legs and was pretending to be asleep.

He narrowed his eyes and asked Theodore, "Uh… what are you doing?"

Without even opening his eyes, Theodore said in a monotone, "Having a sleepover at my brother's place. Any problem?"

Azriel scoffed in disbelief and folded his arms. "Er… yes! I have a problem because it so happens that that brother is me. And neither you had asked my permission for a sleepover, nor did I invite you."

Azriel poked Theodore with his leg and tried to push him off of the bed. But Theodore was sticking on the bed like some glue. Azriel gave up trying to push him and sighed, "Can you go back to your own room? Or…" he satirically coughed and said, "Or wherever it is that you sleep at night… making babies."

Theodore opened his eyes and gave an intense glare to Azriel while Azriel was flicking his brows and was chuckling.

Theodore rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket to cover himself.

Azriel raised his brows and asked, "Oh, baby brother! Didn't you hear what I just said? Why are you making yourself comfortable? Just go and spend the night with your wife-to-be." He landed back on the bed and closed his eyes. Then said while sighing, "And leave me and my bed alone."

Instead of listening to Azriel, Theodore turned to face his brother and wriggled closer. He wrapped Azriel's arm with both of his hands as if he was a small baby and closed his eyes.

Azriel laughed quietly and asked, "What is it? Why are you acting like a baby? Wanted to reminisce our past?"

Theodore also smiled and said, "You always used to make me sleep with you when I was little. And Samael used to get jealous saying that you loved me more than him."

A wistful smile appeared on Azriel's lips when he recalled their childhood. It seemed like a distant memory now, the heaven, the family, and that life.

"Samael and you used to fight all the time. Not that you two don't fight now!" Azriel chuckled and asked, "By the way, I heard that you two have equal strength now. Did any of you manage to increase your power level or are both of you at a stalemate?"

Theodore clicked his tongue and answered, "We both are at a stalemate. I cannot wait to surpass him and get that sword."

"What's the deal with you and that sword? Why do you want it so desperately anyway?" Azriel was really curious to know why Theodore was after that sword that could wield hellfire.

And Theodore answered truthfully, "I was not planning to but I happened to see a vision accidentally. In that vision, I was using that sword. And I genuinely feel like I need to have it, no matter what."

Azriel opened his eyes and turned to gaze at his brother. A few worry lines appeared on his forehead as he was concerned for Theodore. "Doesn't your vision bring trouble for you? That was the sole reason why you were kicked out of Heaven. So why are you so hellbent on gaining that sword? Maybe, you got that vision so that you could avoid it."

Theodore took a deep sigh. He puckered his lips and he seemed like even he was still in doubt. "I also thought about that vision a lot. I don't know why I was wielding that sword but it really looked like I needed to. And… I don't know… I didn't want to deliberately look into the future and seek answers. So for now, I think I will just try my best to have that sword in my possession, in case I need it in the future."

"Just make sure that you don't make a foolish mistake as you made in the past. Visions aren't to be played with." Azriel sounded really serious when he gave that piece of advice to his brother.

They were quiet for some time. Azriel waited for some time for Theodore to reveal his true intention behind coming to his place.

But after a while, he gave up waiting and asked, "So, why are you here anyway?" He scoffed and added, "And why are you willingly sleeping on my bed and clinging to me. It's very unlike you."

Theodore tightened his grip on Azriel's arm and shrugged, "Nothing much. I just wanted to say thank you. Adeline and I are finally going to get married, all thanks to you."

Azriel smirked and teased his brother, "Your brother is great, isn't he?"

And rather than taunting Azriel, Theodore smiled and simply accepted, "Yes, he is."

Azriel furrowed his brows in disbelief. "What? Did you just agree that I'm great? Is something wrong with you today, baby brother? Did you get so happy that a few veins of your brain ruptured? Or did you finally lose it after living on for millenials."

Theodore opened his eyes just to roll them at Azriel. "Shut up! Just take the appreciation when I'm giving it to you. Don't make me regret coming here."

"That's more like it." Azriel smiled again and said, "You are not you without your crankiness."

Azriel let out a sigh and questioned as if he was still in disbelief, "Honestly, I don't know what Adeline saw in you… But then again, she has her quirks. Not a single woman had dared to slap me in my long and lonely life. And she did that without even flinching or giving it a second thought."

"Be thankful that all she did was slap you." Theodore remembered what Adeline had told him before coming to his brother's place. And he passed on that message, "By the way, Adeline said that she has forgiven you a little. She said she will forgive you completely if you behave well."

A wide grin appeared on Azriel's face. He felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off of his head. The guilt that had been eating him up was now lessened to some extent. "Tell Adeline that I will never betray her trust again."

And he said in a whisper, "I hope that everything that I did will make her forgive me completely… when she knows of it."

For some reason, Theodore felt a little sad. Both the brothers closed their eyes to get some sleep.

And Azriel could tell that he was going to wake up tomorrow with a numb hand. Theodore had fallen asleep while clinging onto his hand, just like he used to when he was a toddler.

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