The city buzzed below, neon lights bleeding into the dusk sky, the quiet hum of electricity threading through the silence between you and Angel.

You sat side by side on the balcony, knees tucked up, a lukewarm mug of tea cradled between your palms.

You hadn’t spoken in a while. You didn’t need to. The world, for once, didn’t demand your constant vigilance.

Angel was watching you again. He did that more often than you realized — long, measured stares when you weren’t looking. The way your brow furrowed even in stillness.

The way your fingers trembled slightly on cold nights. The quiet you sank into when your thoughts were heavy, like now.

“You’re complicated,” he murmured, voice even but touched by something softer than usual. You didn’t answer. You didn’t need to. Angel wasn’t asking.

“I can’t understand your brain or your heart,” he added, eyes trailing over the city lights, but not really seeing them.

“You think like a machine. Act like one, sometimes. Precise. Sharp. You notice every small thing. Read danger before it even breathes.” His gaze flicked to you.

“But then you break like a human. Bleed like one. You ask for help when you’re drowning, not when you’re already underwater, but when the first wave hits. You tell me when you’re scared. Or lonely. Like it’s a normal thing to do.”

You sipped your tea, still silent. The warmth seeped into your fingers, just barely enough to thaw them..

“I used to think people were either cruel or weak,” Angel went on. “I still think that, sometimes. Devils made me believe that. Humans made me believe that. But you…”

His voice drifted, caught somewhere between breath and thought. “You blur that line. Cold one moment, warm the next. You give so much, and then you retreat like you’re scared to drown in what you give away.”

He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees, wings shifting with the motion.

“I don’t know if I’m in love with your mind, or your heart. Or the way you make both look like they’re at war all the time. Maybe I just… like the noise. The chaos. The way you exist like every emotion is too much and not enough.”