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September 3rd
Today’s date was an important one. One Caelum hoped to always remember.
Over the years he’d learned to accept how his charges would forget him but that didn’t mean he had to forget them.
His visits to David, though much sparser and shorter now, were one of the empathy daemons favourite pastimes. Watching such a stoic uptight man slowly fall in love with his person was beautiful. Even if Caelum couldn’t help the alpha in other ways anymore, he was glad he could provide the deserving man with someone else to help carry all of his many well-hidden burdens.
His knots once so compact and ignored now being gracefully unravelled by the human Caelum secretly coerced into David’s life. Angel had managed to open up the gift of who David really was without ripping the wrapping paper. Without pushing away the defence mechanisms he used to hide any and every quality that made him feel unworthy of his late dad’s title.
The summer heat had not yet given into autumns approaching chills, the air outside warm and clear from the rain whilst Caelum perched himself onto David’s walls, both metaphorically and literally. Sitting cross legged at the end of the garden and admiring the sight of the couple through a large screen door that led out into their backyard.
The wolf was laid flat on his back with his mate curled up into the side of him on the couch. Angel's head rising and falling slowly along with David’s chest, snuggled into thick black hoodies and each other. Used takeaway boxes were piled onto the coffee table as the light from the tv flashed gentle colours across the couple's skin.
It was peaceful, calm, ‘nothing special’ but to Caelum it felt like he had the best seat to the most perfect view in the world.
After a while, David shifted, slowly removing himself out of Angels arms before lifting them into his, placing a kiss on their forehead and carrying them upstairs one step at a time cautious not to jostle them. It was almost funny seeing such a beast of a man being so careful and attentive but it also made it that much more special. David was naturally very heavy handed; it would be easy for a man of his size to forget his own strength but he never did. Always adding in that extra effort to make sure he was soft with his mate and even with those members of the pack who needed it.
Caelum knew David would come back down to clean up, or maybe to just turn the lights off and decided he would leave after that. Just one more quick look at his old friend before rifting home.
A few minutes past and David returned, just as the daemon had predicted, switching off the tv and living room lights, refolding the blanket they’d laid under and picking up the discarded pizza boxes to throw out. He looked tired but not sad, not exhausted in that mental way Caelum and seen so many times in his charges before.
The wolf approached the back door, the garden fairy lights reflecting in the glass, he twisted the key that was kept in the lock before making his way to the outside recycling bin. Now that he was closer Caelum could feel his emotions clearer, love, drained, appreciation and that lingering grief that would be there forever.
Caelum jumped down off of the wall happy and tired himself, ready to return home or maybe even see how freelancer was doing, Saturday nights they spent with Gavin but the incubus never seemed to mind when he visited.
David stopped his walk back inside at the sound of rustling coming from further down his yard.
“Hello?”
Caelum paused too; the wolfs voice was slightly deeper than the last time they’d talked. It suited him.
“Is someone there?”
Shaw strolled down towards the patch of flowers he’d planted, usually he’d have mistaken the noise for some sort of nocturnal animal rummaging around but with the threat of Quinn more present now than ever and his defenceless mate sleeping inside, he wouldn’t risk it.
Caelum was just about to leave but David’s posture and emotions had completely shifted and the daemon wasn’t going to leave him like that. He would always help the wolf even if said wolf couldn’t see him anymore.
Fear weaved its way through the alpha’s previously calm emotions as he straightened his back, eyebrows furrowed and mind alert as he searched around. If Caelum just stayed still, he figured, David would realise there was nobody there and continue on his way to bed.
But he hadn’t, the man just stood still, heartbeat slowing and mouth uncharacteristically agape as he tilted his head to the side. He smiled, forgetting to keep his voice down out of joy.
“Caelum?”
The young empath stepped forward slightly out of the shadows. There was no way. David’s walls were too high after Gabes accident, he couldn’t possibly see-
“Caelum is that you?”
“David?”
The wolf laughed, actually laughed. Not a half assed smile but a full-blown chortle of joy released from his chest.
“You can see me?”
“Of course, I can see you! What are you doing out here?”
Could humans forget forgetting?
“I came to see you!”
“Why didn’t you knock on the door or something little guy?”
Had the ‘stalker’ really managed to lower David's walls that much? Caelum's eyes watered in glee. He knew how this worked, as soon as the wolf’s defences rose even slightly, he wouldn’t be able to see the daemon again, he’d be forgotten just like last time.
“I didn’t want to dis- de- dist?”
“Disturb?”
“Yeah! I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“You wouldn’t have. Come on let's sit.”
The pair strolled together up to the porch stairs, neither caring about the rain water soaking their trousers as they rested.
“It’s been a while... how are you?”
“Good! I’ve actually been living in Aria for a while.”
“I'm glad...is that why you stopped coming to visit?”
“Well, sometimes I stop by-
Caelum wouldn’t make David feel bad about forgetting him, it was never the charge's fault and Caelum had a habit of picking charges who would internalise everything as their fault, their responsibility. Ignoring all reason that the blame wasn't on their shoulders. David wasn't an exception to this.
“..But you have someone else to help you now and I think their doing a really good job at it.”
That signature innocent smile on Caelum's face as he gestured towards the house, brought another one to David’s, he couldn't believe how much he missed him.
“Oh, yeah their pretty great, you’d like them.”
“I’m sure I would.” David would probably never have any idea just how sure but that didn’t matter. “-and it’s like that human saying. Don’t fix- Don't break something, um”
“Don’t fix something that isn’t broken.”
“Yup, you two work really well together.”
“Hmm, thank you. I- they’re my mate so you’d hope so.”
"How've you been... today esp- especially"
"You remembered? I'm... okay actually. Todays been okay."
The Alpha looked slightly taken aback by the question but Caelum wasn't sure if he'd ever get the chance to ask again. He needed David to know how well he was doing. How worthy he was of his position.
"You remind me of him sometimes. I know how much pride he felt for you before so I can't ima- imagine how proud he would be of you now.
David looked down towards the stairs below them. It was weird having a kid talk to him about something so personal but then again Caelum was around the same age as him. In human years anyway.
"Thank you Caelum. Really."
Caelum turned towards the wolf; arms open.
“Hug?”
David pretended to think about it, he wasn’t a big ‘hugger’ in all honesty but he’d really missed this damn Daemon, even if he’d only just remembered him tonight. The wolf wrapped his arms around Caelum’s back and the daemon giggled as he tried to do the same. Arms not quite reaching all the way around.
Happy, nostalgic, tired.
“It’s late out you must be tired.”
David had forgotten that d(a)emon's could read emotions and hummed fondly. Caelum said he 'knew' how proud Gabe was of him and it wasn't just a guess based on character but actual fact. Something he could finally be certain about. He stood up, Caelum rising with him but no where near as far.
“I suppose I must be, besides don’t want to keep the menace waiting.”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too Caelum. You’ll come back again?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Night kid.”
“Good Night.”
David patted the empath’s shoulder and made his way inside, turning to see his friend one last time before the daemon rifted away.
Caelum would always come back again, whether the alpha would know wasn’t assured but that didn’t matter. David was happy and Caelum had finally gotten the goodbye he’d craved for so long.
September 3rd
It was a very important date; Caelum was certain he’d never forget.