All around me are familiar faces

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Date | Thursday, the 13th of January 2022 Time | Late in the afternoon - 16:16 Place / Area | The Poe family house; a slim, two-story town house in the Southern parts of Aston, Gaia. Weather | It's very cold outside yet fresh, bordering minus degres celsius as the sun has set and left the street dark and only illuminated by street lamps. Outfit | A fitted, navyblue and white checkered, knee-length dress over a woolen mustard yellow sweater with a thick high neckline. 40 denier black nylon tights.

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Maeve Poe should’ve probably thought it better through before she started wrestling with opening the front door with not one - but two heavy plastic bags in either hand. Weighting both her noodle arms down and making it very difficult to lift them up to the door handle without accidently slamming the bags against every surface around and potentially break eggs or bruise fruit or whatever groceries she had accumulated for her parents. But eventually, with enough struggle, she got it. And thank God that the door opened inwards so all she had to do after the handle, was push it open with a shoulder. “Mum! Dad! I’m here!” she called out instantaneously, just expecting them to be home to hear her. The door was unlocked after all. And their car was out front. Not to mention the light were on and had she checked, she’d also been able to see the flickering of the TV being on in the living room. She quickly went straight for the stairs, which filled up half of the wide of the slim hallway, ready to lead anyone upstairs in a B-line from entering. The plastic bags were placed on the second step, finally freeing her from the workout it had been carrying the stuff. Next she went back and closed the door and then the scarf was unravelled and hung up among the cluster of jackets on the hangers on the wall right next to door. Her coat followed suit right after, finding a spot where it only just hanged without falling off. “Hello, love! We’re in here,” she could hear her mother call back just as Maeve was zipping down and taking off her boots so to not drag in the ice slush from outside. “Come on, there’s someone here you should meet. - You want any more tea?”
Maeve straightened up and her movement slowed slightly as she scooted the second shoe to stand right-up. Her brows curled confused. Wha.. Who was Delilah talking to? She tried sneaking a peek through the open doorless-doorway into the open spaced room which acted as much a living room in the farthest corner with couches, dining room more or less in the middle of the room and kitchen in a nook by the wall opposite of the front side of the house, but she couldn’t really get a clear view. So instead she grabbed the groceries again and hurried inside.

”What’s with the ladder outside? Did Noi-..” The young human’s current thought abruptly stopped and muted her words when she laid eyes on the guest. The shock and surprise were so prevalent on her face that she might as well have been a cartoon character whose jaw had just dropped all the way to the floor. She had only completely stopped moving for a little bit. Taken back, plain and simple. He looked.. so much… like…

Her bubble was then popped by the sound of her father’s ever calming voice. “Ah, Maeve! This is - did you know the Mrs. Maverick next door has a grandson? Handy one, fixed up the right up from snow having fallen through last night.” Huh? Maeve had to blink a few times and her attention switch a bit back and forth between their guest and her father, who were both sitting down at the large round table. Delilah was in the kitchen just getting the tea pot. She hadn’t heard anything about a hole in the roof, what?! Well.. anyway.
Hopefully she hadn’t actually been standing there being rude to the guest for more than a few seconds - even if it had felt like a much longer time. As her eyes found him once more, a kind, bright smile finally broke loose on her lips. Still a little scatter-thought. “Hi,” she greeted him and was about to hold a hand out when she was reminded of the bags. “I’d shake your hand but..” Excusably she lifted the bags a bit more to further explain. “I’m Maeve. Which.. you probably already would’ve guessed.” Thanks mum and dad.. Speaking off! In a fleeting moment she turned her heard around the room and saw Jonathan, the oldest of the three troublemakers in the household, and Sawyer, the second oldest. But no.. “Where’s Collin?” “Oh, in his room. He ran off almost as soon as he saw Michael and hasn’t come out since.” This probably surprised Maeve even more than the resemblance of this visitor. Collin usually didn’t behave like that.

The past month had been a right rollercoaster of pure and utter excitement and adventure; a much-needed break from the glum and dark City of Dis where he had resided ever since Lucifer had disappeared and Hell had changed and gotten their new Queen. A change of power was never exactly fun, and there had been a lot of hard work in the Stygian Council to make everything calm down – not that they’d succeeded entirely yet, but at least now everything seemed to be somewhat back in order.
Originally, Levi had ventured to the city of Oakheart in the pursuit of some Banshee that had been nagging him for a while. The ability to take souls was not a new one but this particular pest had been taking pieces of souls and that meant a lot of half-witted, half-useless souls in hell; and useless was not something he liked at all. Especially not when it was a powerful soul that could be used for positions that he desperately needed to fill. A pure waste. It had led him to observe this Archibald, only to follow some nuisance of a dusty fairy to the city of Aston where – lo and behold – strangely, he had stumbled upon a distraction.
It was many years since he had been to Gaia. Unlike most other places in the world, the main popularity of Gaia was supernatural and so in hindsight, the main popularity already had a straight ticket to Hell and that meant that there was no fun around. He would have to fall really low to be so bored in life that he would come to Gaia to what? Push a few angels towards the dark side? Lord, were there more important beings to corrupt.
Aston had a strangely large number of Archangels interfering with its day to day life and where Levi usually would dart around them and find another playground, this time is was too tempting to not at least look into; cue the distraction.
It was not only Michael – who as always seemed to get most of the attention of the lot of them - but more this time also Gabriel and Remiel that had caught the demon’s eyes. Two very different Archangels; one of which had suffered greatly under Samael not long ago, if rumours in hell were to be trusted. He had heard that the angel had retired for a while but was somewhat excited that that rumour wasn’t true. This highly unlikely duo had a strange little silver lining between them. It was a sincerely uninteresting human girl that these two oh-so-powerful angels had taken an interest in and Levi wanted to know why. In his mind there were two options.
1. This short brunette was somewhat important in God’s almighty plan to rid the world of darkness.
2. This short brunette was dangerous to God’s almighty plan to rid the world of said darkness (red. the likes of himself).
Either option was an open invitation to get involved. Archangels or not.

He had really found the perfect window. Humans were all the same, deep down, and finding a window like that wasn’t exactly challenging, but it had been almost comically perfectly timed with the lovely Mrs. Maverick coming back from the Christmas holidays a little later than she had planned and this Maeve Poe’s upcoming birthday. A little window where family wasn’t in center of the human’s life; long enough for him to introduce himself whilst she took an unconscious break from seeing them after an intense Christmas week. Wriggle into the snug wormhole of his new alter ego, Michael. Which had, coincidentally, been yet another little perfect correlation in this lucky window – The name of the actual grandson of old Mrs. Maverick was named Michael. Levi had done a little victorious jump upon that discovery; how perfectly taunting to become no less than a Michael.  
It had now been a few weeks after arriving at the cozy but desperately-in-need-of-a-hand townhouse on the delicate little street in South Aston. Levi had fixed the portico last week, carefully choosing the perfect time to do so when Delilah and Benjamin Poe were on their way to work or when the kids had to go to school, starting with the warm neighbourly banter he’d seen many humans do, immediately establishing some form of trust. He’d even made a big deal out of helping Mrs. Maverick down the stairs and around into the garden for a cup of tea one day, wrapped in snug blankets, talking about things that had so little importance he hardly remembered a single word anymore. He thought he’d gotten the warm, inviting laugh down really well.

And now he was here. In the living room of the Poe’s and it would be a lie to state he was not at least a little bit exited to figure out what was so special about this girl because frankly the early afternoon had proved that the only mildly interesting thing about the family was their cat.
He raised the cup of tea to his lips, warmly observing the mother of the house as she chirpily chatted about Mrs. Maverick when a shuffle of movement and noise came from the front door; and then, a bright voice from the hallway. There was a particular excitement in Delilah's eyes, before she replied to her daughter and then turned back to him. Levi, still with the cup in his hand, nodded appreciatively. "I'd love more tea, thank you ma'am." She shot him one of those motherly disapproving little looks, having firmly told him to call her by her name some minutes earlier and Levi's eyebrows shot up slightly, smiling apologetically, quickly correcting himself. "I - uh - Delilah," he muttered just as the human entered the room and he looked up, wide eyed with slightly parted lips.
Her look of absolute surprised took him aback slightly and he had a second of doubt or wonder if she somehow knew who he was, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and he sucked his bottom lip in and bit down, feigning a shy smile as he let his eyes flicker downwards in supposed embarrassment and slowly dragged a hand through the unruly curls before looking back up at the petite brunette. He thought it humbling and charming to shake his head lightly, his eyes warm and humorous, at the praise in which the man of the house spoke of him in. He had done a lovely job of the roof, if he had to say so himself; more than anything because he had been the cause of destruction in the first place, but of course also because he was indeed a handy one.
I’d shake your hand but.. His eyes widened slightly as they darted to the heavy bags in her small arms; way too heavy for a little human like her to be fumbling with all by her lonesome. With a little ‘dear me’ muttered under his breath, he gently pushed himself up and placed the cup of tea back on the table, wanting to look eager to help her out.
"Oh here, let me-"
He had no time to formally introduce himself before it was done for him and his shy smile warmed up a little more. "Yeah," he breathed out. "Michael," he repeated the introduction with a low chuckle through the chaotic atmosphere that seemed to have established itself. "Nice to meet you."

It had become a given for her to automatically feel just a little bit bad for new folk being exposed to the Poe family. While they weren’t bad by any means, it still took certain kind of person to not get swept up by the atmosphere. Something, by the shy and vaguely fumbling introduction to this Michael, had Maeve think he wasn’t exactly that. And yet, he was still there. In one piece. And he didn’t feel completely uncomfortable so she greeted his coy little smile with her own. A slight apologetic glint in her eyes at the same time they swiftly looked him a bit more up and down. Standing up, he most certainly stood tall. She should be used to it by now but compared to the usual mountains she hanged around, his one was more slender so it actually felt less shadowing. Besides, he, for some reason, managed to actually feel smaller. Grounded and closer to her. It could be him slouching or it could be the kind warmth he invoked. “Likewise,” she said, hopefully reassuring him that she wasn’t about to bite or anything. That whatever look her expression had chosen to show him before didn’t mean anything. Actually, now that he had spoken, she was sure it was just a silly coincident. Their voices sounded nothing alike. They probably didn’t even look so much alike, as she had made herself believe. How would she know?! She hadn’t seen other than pictures. And now that she saw it; Michael’s eyes weren’t blue.
Suddenly feeling the weight in her arms slowly but surely pulling her down with the power of gravity, possibly popping her shoulders out of their sockets if she stayed like that for long enough - that was if the handles in the plastic bags were anywhere near as sturdy and wouldn’t stretch and break first - Maeve’s eyes wandered down from the guest’s face and to and eager hand that had been stopped from moving any further forward. It was kind of him, she found herself think and she took another half a second to quickly to the kitchen nook behind him. “You know, would you mind giving me a hand too?” She turned her eyes to him again before favoring strength in her right arm to lift the bag a little up towards him. It had been more than one and a half year since she had broken said arm and still it wasn’t as strong as it had been before, so it was a relief to give it some rest. Then as she transferred the bag to his hand, their hands stroke each other ever so innocently. With her hand free she give it a quick shake and cracked it a bit.

She was luckily a tad bit too focused on something else so she didn’t feel the eyes of her mother, watching the them as Maeve lead to way to the kitchen a few steps from the dinner table. Those excited eyes that shortly looked to Benjamin Poe to send an unspoken message. Luckily Maeve had her back to all that.
“Hng!” Grabbing the plastic bag with both her hands she had just about enough physical strength to lift it all the way up on the kitchen counter where she breathed out in relief and then looked to Michael to get orientated where he was before gesturing him to just put the bag on the counter next to hers. “Just put it down here somewhere.” Handy one, indeed, yes. “Thanks,” she made sure to add as soon as she was sure to have his attention.

“Come now. You two sit down and relax. I’ll take care of unpacking all this stuff,” sounded Delilah voice just as Maeve had stuck a hand into one of the bags and pulled out a carton of milk to put into the fridge. She didn’t get far before the milk was taking from her hands and her body was more or less turned around by her own mother’s insistence and lastly directed towards the table. Maeve couldn’t help but to look a little bewildered which probably had a hand in her not fighting back or anything. She didn’t have much of a chance, really. “Sawyer! Come help out.” A frustrated scuffle from the couch area could be heard as the second youngest boy in the house was called upon. A boy that had been invested in his video-game for a god while. “Can’t Jonathan do that?” “No. I’m asking you, young man.” “Urg! Jonathan never have to help out! It’s not fair!”
This wasn’t an unusual thing to playout in the house hold so the amplifying jealousy having crept in to provoke this even more went by the humans completely unnoticed for the time being. The only reason the youngest - and only - daughter looked to Michael as the 9-year old boy stomped passed them with a non-amused facial expression it was to - again - silently apologize.

“I’d like to say that it’s not always this hectic. But..”

Levi found himself halted, straight backed and elegant as always, but halfway through his helpful gesticulation, now standing awkwardly still with a hand out; frozen as he locked his eyes with her and nodded gently at the small reassurance she seemed to channel through her greeting. It was a small moment that somewhat felt longer than the mere milliseconds it took for him to follow her eyes to his hand. His eyebrows furrowed as though he took a second to revaluate his awkward position, before his face relaxed and he softened up in a smile, shaking his head at the stance. Her question finally had him lower his tense shoulders into a more fluid movement with a heartfelt, short titter.
“Of course,” he replied politely, finalizing his half-step to a whole to place a hand underneath the bag before grabbing hold of the handle to make sure the heavy groceries wouldn’t tempt the plastic into giving in and snapping in front of him.
Then their hands met.
Levi froze momentarily, catching himself off-guard in a short second, looking at her in puzzlement, before her hand slid away from him and he came to the realisation that he had felt absolutely … nothing. He studied her curiously, standing still when she moved to let her eyes follow her. Nothing. No emotions. No sensations. No … Not even water, come to think of it. He couldn’t sense the water within her. The excitement that blossomed in his eyes quickly contained itself and turned to, what he hoped would signal, a timid smile, to cover his little slip-up. Buoyantly, Delilah Poe would have only noticed and projected an excited smile, blossomed from a much more sincere and kind place than the one it had originated from.

Levi lifted the bag a little higher, collecting himself from his stillness to let the short human guide him to the kitchen. He placed the bag on the counter where she gestured, letting his face fold into mild features and the pleasant warmth he had so often rehearsed and used when needed. He studied her movements, mirroring it to open the bag and help empty it, but didn’t make it further than to grab hold of the plastic, before his face turned towards the shuffle of movement and the insisting voice.
“Oh, I really don’t mi-“
“Sawyer! Come help out.” The sharp motherly voice cut him off before he had even properly begun his sentence, and he had to quickly collect himself from not spitting out another chuckle, thinking it impolite to laugh and instead he chose to pinch his lips tightly together, letting the non-audible laughter ring out from his eyes instead. He caught onto the befuddled, brown doe eyes of Maeve, before turning to Delilah, surrendering to the demanding hand that was put on his shoulder to nudge him in the way of her daughter towards the table.

Levi’s eyes followed the determinately grumpy young boy with an apologetic smile, as though it was his fault, the boy had been put to work and disturbed in his video game but never made it as far as into the kitchen, before Maeve Poe’s gentle voice drew his eyes right back on her. So far it all seemed so incredibly ordinary, but he had played the game long enough to know, that his gut-feeling would prove him to be right. At some point.
He shook his head at her apology; his own apologetic smile reaching a kinder nature. “Admittedly, it’s a quite refreshing change from my own home,” he told her, making sure his voice was just low enough for Delilah to not be able to catch onto his words. He hoped that, with his back to her, she would feel triumphant at the conversation and hopefully at what Levi expected would be a warm smile from the human girl, mirroring his own.  
The fresh tea had been placed on the table in front of the seat that Levi had been placed on about fifteen minutes prior to Maeve arriving, and as his eyes darted to it, it was all too noticeable that a second cup had been placed strategically next to the teapot. His eyes widened slightly, making sure to look a calculated mixture of surprised and amazed, more so by Delilah’s maternal ability to tastefully manipulate the situation before it had even happened. His lips had parted slightly as he looked at the teapot, and he let his tongue wet them before turning back to Maeve, gesturing between the chair and the tea with a conquered chuckle. What the hell, it said. Why not? “Right. Maeve - uh - Would you like a cup of tea?” He proposed; lightly wrinkling his nose at the prospect of offering someone tea in their own home, but admittedly seeing the comical aspect of the situation.

Maeve Poe pulled a slight grimace through a smile in a bit of a disbelieving expression. “I take it you don’t have many siblings, then?” she asked, having unconsciously mimicked some of the more privatised volume when speaking that he had initiated. She followed – or rather; she lead Levi out of the kitchen area to the table they’d both been more or less banished to Delilah had her back to them when her daughter quickly glanced in her direction. Her mother wasn’t exactly being subtle. Less so than she’d been on occasions before, actually.
She stopped by a free chair and had been about to sit down but didn’t get further than to place her hands on the back rest before his clumsy proposal for a cup of tea drew her attention towards him with such ease. Her first impression of him upon seeing him had been that of a well-integrated adult. Polite and well-mannered. Comfortable, even. However, now, actually interacting with him, she started to notice the shyness more and more. Well, it did not harm. If anything, it came across pretty adorable. And safe. She hadn’t been entirely aware of it when it had happened, but coming home to a stranger in her family home when not expecting it, had tensed up some nervousness. That nervousness had dissolved and she laughed a short laugh. This got Benjamin’s attention as well, who looked discreetly up from over his glasses and tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I move out and my parents immediately adopts a new son to take my place, huh. Next thing, I know you’ve moved into my old bedroom.”
Still sporting the delightedly humoured smile on her lips, she finally sat down, taking the seat across from the house guest. “Some tea would be nice,” she then ended her teasing with and finalized it by adding: “Just one sugar.“

Tea had grown on her the past six month. Being of British blood it was nearly blasphemous to think that she all her life had preferred coffee – all thanks to grandfather Poe and his open distaste for ‘leaf water’. But having had doctor’s orders to refrain from anything too caffeinated she’d turned around just a little bit. Even liking her warm beverage sweetened just a tad.

Movement beside her, had Maeve automatically look to her side as her father rose from his seat. He loudly cleared his throat and in a bit of confusion, Maeve pushed her brows towards each other sending him a questioning look. “Welp,” he proclaimed looking back and forth between the two young adults at the table. “I best go get some work done before dinner. I can’t just sit and chat all day, now can I.” He wasn’t about to… Before the thought had finished passing through her head, Benjamin Poe had grabbed his half-finished cup of tea and walked around the table where he stopped by her side just to place a quick kiss on the top of his only daughter’s head, embarrassing as it was, there right in front of someone else. Embarrassing for Maeve. Not for Benjamin. “Good to have you home, Mae-bug.”
It was sweet, of course, and it warmed her heart knowing the love her family had for her, it was so easily overshadowed by the fact that a stranger was witnessing it. She held herself back from commenting on it or react visibly bashful to it and just followed her dad walk through the only other door in the living room besides the one leading to the slim hallway and stairs going up where he disappeared into the house’s only office space. Then when looking back at Levi she smiled somewhat sheepishly.

Levi loved every millisecond of being Michael. The way the human girl slowly relaxed and naturally engaged in conversation was the stuff of dreams to him; people spinning around his finger without even knowing so was an entirely different kind of fuel.
“I’m an only child,” he confirmed, tilting his head at the fact. Quite opposite herself it seemed that he had lived a quite solitary life with busy parents and different nannies and that, apparently, his most precious moments had been with his grandmother. At least that was he story he had told Benjamin and Delilah a few days after his arrival as a way of explaining why he had come to stay for a little while. “Don’t petty me though,” he commented with a wry smile, obviously sensing the importance of family in the Poe family home, but making sure a hint of theatrical melodrama would underline his next point. “I had plenty of siblings in my bording school so I got all the pros and cons of a large family.” A mild laughter escaped him. Pros and cons, indeed.

The demon allowed her to sit down before pouring the tea, visually loosening up my the minute, as the fragrant breakfast tea filled the room. Then he sat himself down opposite her, revelling in her bright, contagious laughter, short as it was, and could only humbly observe her a little obviously curious; eyes that would shine pure surprise from the turn of the afternoon. Tea with sugar was yet another incredibly ordinary British feature he would write behind his ear to remember for the next time he would see her. Small things that mattered to humans - remembering their favourite colours or flowers and how they took their tea and coffee. Her playful voice made him lower his shoulders further, and a seemingly genuine joy shone from his eyes. “Mhm,” he solemnly agreed, matching the humour in her eyes. “Your mother did make a point of saying she makes a brilliant lasagna so that sounds tempting indeed.” He lowered his voice a little further, shielding his mouth with a hand that lifted to touch his chin in order to muffle the words from being caught by the parents. “I’m expecting boyband posters.” The statement came with a wider smile before Benjamin Poe managed to cut through the low banter.

Levi quickly lifted the delicate china to his lips, halfway covering the bright smile that emerged upon hearing the affectionate nickname. Mae-bug. He made a quick note of remembering that. A nickname was a good connection, he reminded himself.
“Cute,” he commented soberly and pinched his lips together to visibly avoid the actual laughter that he had ‘only just’ managed to submerge to look just the right amount of smug about the scenario. As thought a small bit of confidence was growing back and the shyness slowly began to fade.
It had always somewhat fascinated him, just how parents so universally had adopted this simple trait of either not understanding or not caring for the small embarrassment they would cause their kids. Since their creation. Not only humans either. Parents.
The sheepish smile pushed his own smile wider, and he finished the movement of the cup to his lips to sip the tea, discreetly placing his pinky and ring finger underneath the cup to support the movement; a clear sign of a upper class upbringing and a visual support of Michael having attended private schools and colleges throughout his life, having been taught very proper etiquette.
“They’ve been very kind to me,” he admitted, trying to soften the sheepish smile on her lips. “Your parents,” he clarified. “You all seem very -“ A slight hesitation that made his smile seem almost nostalgic before he picked up his words again. “Comfortable.” And as if it didn’t really cut it, he managed an embarrassed little chuckle. “Good, even.” And they did; in that very basic sense of the word good. None of them were malicious - not even the younger boys who always had a more prone personality towards a bit of evil. They seemed ordinarily good and mild people. Their jealousy was there; but it didn’t seem to drive them, and his presence didn’t seem to create big issues in any way, so their jealousy was mainly superficial and not deeply rooted in them. Levi shot her a smile that seemed relieved. As if it was so rare to him to meet such a seemingly comfortable and well functioning family. “It’s really lovely,” he added quickly, fumbling with the cup as he put it down. And for a guy like Michael, it really would have been. Those distant parents. All those boarding schools and expensive degrees and fancy firms that constantly distanced themselves from anything ordinary. And it shone through Levi’s eyes as he warmly sent a look towards Benjamin - perhaps even a little longingly, before turning them back onto their eldest daughter.
He wanted to reach for her. Quite desperately so, even. That little sharp feeling of nothing that he had felt before was peculiarly interesting. Yet he knew that he couldn’t. Not yet.

She heard him; that little innocent commentary. But then only just and barely enough to settle properly with her - especially with the already-there distraction in the form of the initial embarrassment. Had she heard him properly, there surely would’ve rose an ever so slightly deeper shade of pink unto her cheeks. She would realize what she had heard eventually. Later when alone and her thoughts would wander. “Hm?” she hummed as a cooped action together with turning back to look at the young man, eyes widened and made the unspoken question - Did you say something? - very visible in her face. Now, an important question that needed answers, it obviously wasn’t, since interest rather quickly escape her in favour of the offering of tea in front of her, which she had yet to even touch although he had been so kind to pour for her. But again; distractions came so easily to the human and the universe had been generous to deliver many right after each other in a span of the short time she had been in the family home.

Plush, well- proportionate fingers gently wrapped around the cup and one curved through the sturdy looped-handled and placed her own support underneath in the crevice between the handle and cup, almost balancing it by pushing slightly against so to have a natural and relaxed finger-grip around the handle. She wasn’t being dainty with it. Simply practical. And possibly also affected by Michael’s presence to be just a tad more proper. Her eyes found him over the edge of the cup as a sip was taken and only watched towards the corner’s towards the kitchen for a fleeting second. His observation, while it was certainly not wrong, the way he expressed it gave a feeling of a rosy tint. “Ordinary may be a better word for it. With normlcy there's usually less unreverable drama or hassle, you know,” she exclaimed as the irony of it tugged at her smile. Or perhaps not ‘irony’. They were very ordinary. But knowing now that there was so much more, it sounded les casual a sentence on her tongue. She took another sip before setting down the cup and gulped it down as she straightened as if clearing her throat: “But I’m not so sure about good. That could very well just be a façade. Closing in on his teen years, Sawyer over there is turning more and more into a demon.” She gestured to the side while snickered. The middle boy child had - like many children - a very selective hearing so Maeve didn’t really worry about her words ever reaching him as he was busy struggling with pulling soda cans out of the annoying plastic net to put them individually into the fridge. Only a matter of time before he’d resolve to using his teeth. He was the an aggressive little boy, that was clear in how he resorted to ripping the plastic in half - and failing to when it only stretched - but yea, he was still a good kid. Even if he was all too fascinated with violent action heroes.
Maeve just about caught Michael looking in the direction of her dad when looking back at him and he might just about catch the glimpse of surprised pity and a pushed brow that the subtle longing left with her. It immediately had her think. Wonder.

Her head leaned a little to the side as she allowed herself to eye him for a moment. He really did look strikingly a lot like.. “You went to a boarding school?” she then asked, shuffling in her chair to get a leg over the under while still resting her arms on the table. “I’m currently working at one, actually but I can imagine it’s a very different experience being a young student at one compared to what I come across. How was it like? Did you attend for a year or how is it?” While the shift in topic had been done strategically, she could hide her genuine curiosity. A sparkle in her emotion-filled eyes. Looking from the outside in, they probably looked fairly equal standing - educated adults well on their way in life - but she hadn’t been raised up with plentifulness, though she walked and behaved with the crowd.
Unconsiosly, one of her hands had moved to her neck to gently scratch an imaginary itch.

As the fleeting longing in his eyes dissolved, the curious warmth emerged again, listening to her soothing voice rather gently correcting him. A smile surfaced slowly, growing with each word she spoke. Ordinary. And was that not exactly why he was here, he caught himself thinking. To see if that was as true as it sounded when it came from her rosy lips.
He nodded, still with the mild smile hanging onto his stubbled face, and when he spoke, his voice found a mild humour in her insistent correction. “Ordinary works.” He could hear the authenticity in his voice even if his heart felt nothing but scepticism. Certainly, no human with a connection to not-just-one, but two, archangels was ordinary. Even in a place like Aston where powerful beings walked so casually amongst each other was that any sort of normalcy.
His eyes searched for hers as she spoke again; clarifying her earlier sentence, and this time Levi’s smile was surprisingly genuine, and her light snicker provoked a surprised chortle. The mere idea that a human child such as this Sawyer was in any way turning into a demon was for many obvious reasons utterly ridiculous and yet so fascinatingly and naively funny. His laughter was much more noticeable than her secretive voice had been and so he quickly covered his mouth with a hand, eyes shining some mild state of shock that he had let himself be so apparent when she was in fact talking about someone so very near them. “Is that so?” He managed to push through, through the end of the chuckle.
Quickly covering his mouth again, this time by raising the cup to take a sip of the white tea, he shook his head. “Deary me,” he muttered, letting a warm wonder shine from his eyes as they returned to her. As though he couldn’t quite believe the luck of his day. “Was not expecting that.”

Just as she had fleetingly caught his longing gaze, did he catch onto her light pity; triumph feeling warm and fuzzy in his belly. It was an exciting game indeed, this. “Ah. Yes. My parents are diplomats,” he explained, the mild smile turning apologetic in anticipation to the slight pity that would most possibly show in the human’s eyes. “We moved around Europe quite a lot and the French school has a nifty system that made it possible to just pick up whenever we would move somewhere new.” Which must have sounded awfully lonely to someone who had lived a very different school-time. He imagined Maeve Poe having gone to school with the same select people for the vast majority of her youth and childhood; growing up in a little bubble up north where they were originally from. He didn’t sound so sorry about it though. Michael had quite liked the schools and being away from the boredom of being taken care of by maids and babysitters in large, tedious mansions. Instead the schools had provided life and opportunities, and so when Levi spoke, he sounded genuinely interested and nostalgic. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work in a boarding school,” he confessed, lowering his arms to the table to fold his hands in front of the china cup. “Do you teach?” He asked, letting his eyes follow the curious movement to her neck. Did he make her uncomfortable?

”As close to a demon as I’ve seen, at the very least,” she quickly added as if to excuse her use of the term just a little bit. It was not exactly a lie. What the little Ms. Poe was referring to was obviously the more cultural known depictions of demonic creatures. She had met actual demons. Hell! She were around some on a daily basis now. However, to her, the ones she used to categorize her own little brother was in no way the same as that other group. She had yet to come across someone who could be categorized as both. That was to say; that she was aware of. The irony of her words would surely hit her eventually. If only she knew. If only she knew..

Instead, Maeve, ignorant of the reality, listened attentively to how Michael opened up to her. He did it so naturally that it, at the same time, dawned on her how long it had been since, she’d talked to someone like that. Many new people in her life were more closed off. She’d become more closed off too, hadn’t she? Unintentionally. It then suddenly also dawned on her how she had missed this. This normalcy. After the veil had been lifted it had all been exciting and new and scary and in a way; invigorating, but this was what she was used to. Nowhere like home. She let herself fall deeper into it and it felt like a fluffed-up duvet with old but freshly washed sheets. The picking finger at her neck softened. And dropped. She, however, grimaced ever so slightly. In confusion more than the same pity as before. “That still doesn’t sound very profitable. Educational consistently would still be lost even if you get to pick up again on a later note, wouldn’t it? Not to mention the social aspect would be all kinds of broken.“ Okay. As the counsellor in her seeped out, maybe there was some pity remaining but honestly, she found herself amazed instead. Amazed that despite what she could catch on to, the Michael in front of him looked exactly like someone who had made perfect due. “But then you must’ve had many other kinds of experiences instead.” She moved her cup to her lips and before taking her sip, she wetted her painted lips. An instinct so to not have her lips stick to the smooth, but cheap porcelain. To her surprise, he had, when pouring the tea for her, gotten done a damn good job. Only, it was a bit cold since the teapot itself wasn’t the best on the marked to keep the content at temperature. Only half-consciously did she move an index finger towards, over the cup’s edge.
It stopped dead in its tracks upon him speaking again and although it hadn’t even moved an inch, it quickly retracted back to its gentle placement above the small hook. Her smile grew wider and brightened. “I’m a school counsellor, actually,” she replied, proudly. “That’s my position over all but I do teach a few classes as well. Mainly art fundamentals at first, second and third level. I majored in art back at university so when I get the initial job at the school, it seemed.. fitting.” Coming to Gaia, it had been something to get used to; the grading system. Especially as the supernatural came into it. Age couldn’t really be matched to specific grades the same way.
Like out of nowhere, Delilah had floated from the kitchen and to the dinner table with the younger pair. “She also assists in track, don’t you, love?” Maeve had barely noticed her own mother and, a bit startled, hurried to sit up a little straighter. “Back in her own school years, Maeve was a track star herself. When we were still living in England, I swear I had never seen someone so small run so fast as she did.” Delilah was holding a box of toothpaste – sensitive relief although it didn’t keep her from gesturing towards the couch and TV area of the open living/dining/kitchen room. It wasn’t in view from where they were sitting, but on quaint shelving by the TV was, together with photos in frames and other knickknacks, was a few medals as well. “She placed in a couple of races too. She must have been, what? 13? 14? Say, did you do any sports, Michael?”

Levi’s lips parted in a polite smile; a little wider than the one you would send a complete stranger, and with that admiring warmth that still made it very believably made him seem a little shocked at just how comfortable he felt in the vicinity of the petite brunette. Because shocking it would’ve probably been. Michael was by no means a shy guy, but he had a facade that came from being in a professional environment and from constantly being told to act it by everyone around him, so losing up like this would be a rare occurrence indeed. One that would surprise but also one that would fit the story that he had moved back to help his grandmother, leaving the corporate world of architecture in the big city of London behind.
Her matter-of-factly analysis of what he had just told her made his smile widen, and as she seemed to relax again, letting her hand drop from the nervous scratching of her neck, he couldn’t help a low chuckle. “Profitable?” He asked, making sure to channel sincere interest to not make it sound like he was skeptic on her take on it. Her small addition got rewarded by a slight nod. “Living four months on the Savannah in Tanzania certainly profited me more than being taught about its ecosystem in Geography, but I agree with you on the social aspect. Most arguments I had with my parents were centred around that.”

Levi’s eyes followed her elegant fingers as her unconsciousness had her wipe the edge of the cup before darting back up to an excitably mesmerising smile that met him. Truly transmittable, his own smile widened with hers and a bright laughter escaped him. “Oh no,” he admitted whilst pulling a face and raising a hand to burry his head in his hand. “I was so terribly in love with my school councillor when I was a teenager.” The fingers on his face parted for his right eye to peak out, before lowering his hand and changing the subject to avoid further awkwardness. “You majored in art?” He asked, excitement sneaking into his voice, somehow almost making him seem a little younger; as it happens when childish, genuine fascination overtakes you. He, of course, already knew all of this. What she majored in, what her grades had been, who her primary school teachers were, even the name of her best friend in third grade. He knew her exact position at the academy; who her near colleagues were and who was about to overtake the position as headmistress. Small talk like this should feel awfully dull - in fact it usually did - but he kept thinking of that feeling that had absorbed him when their hands had met earlier. So all this talking, superficial to him as it was, it was a step closer to getting to touch her again. It was a step closer to understanding her. There was after all only so much that a background check could tell you.
Levi’s excitement caught onto a more startled smile, as the Mother Human suddenly spoke next to him. Turning politely in his chat to be able to face the woman, he, like Maeve, automatically straightened his back ever so slightly. The demon’s eyes followed the indicative toothpaste-pointing, but never got around to understanding just what supposedly was in the direction that was being pointed at, before a interrogative question was thrown at him. “That’s really impressive, Maeve,” he let known, darting his eyes back to the human girl, who looked slightly puzzled as to what was going on, before returning to the eyes of the mother.
“Ah, no ma’am I’m afraid I only ever dabbled in basketball, but it never really caught on.” Michael was tall, although not as tall as Levi, and a bit more awkward in his proportions, so it had not lasted long and the preferred activities had become reading, drawing and attempting a run or two to keep in shape. “I think my biggest feature was winning on my debate team, but I was never very competitive in school.” And my parents never cared much anyway. Michael’s parents had however cared greatly about grades.
His eyes warmed up to Delilah. “I hadn’t caught much onto an accent but now I sense a hint of it. Yorkshire?” His own had easily taken a more upper class British but had no noticeable accent; any boarding school would quickly have gotten rid of any.

Oh god, if there ever was a prize for being so obviously playing shameful while also simply being so blatantly unabashed, it’d undoubtedly be going to the man across from her. He might’ve been able to convince her despite the overall theatrical outburst if he hadn’t gone the extra mile and looked through fingers at her. And she found herself laughing. A laugh much more than a chuckle or a giggle and one that had her shoulders shimmy and her head thrown slightly back. One that very closely mimicked the one he’d let out just before seeping fully purposefully into the role of embarrassment only it rolled smoother from her stomach and from the living-room couch a head of the eldest boy child turned towards them in surprise of the sound. A hand had automatically moved up to hover in front of her mouth as well until the laugh dimmed down again. “I don’t know if I feel sorry or happy for you,” she admittedly said. “They must’ve had their hands full if you then also were the kind to always stop by their office for ‘advice’ or ‘guidance’. Don’t tell me that you changed directions every week?” The hand in front of her mouth moved calmly down to lay on her stomach for a few seconds until moving back up and dapping a fingertip on the inner corner of her eye. He hadn’t quite made her cry laughing but they had watered just the tiniest bit.
She nodded. “Art history, to be more exact. I was never the practical one when it came to art. Well, except for the occasional scribbles for the fridge door as a child.” The thought had her fleetingly glance to the kitchen and the fridge even though she knew there’d be none of those still hanging. It was many years ago now. Eyes locked back to him and another sip of tea was taken before continuing: “I’m an admirer instead so, I decided to study the art and techniques of others back in university. Starting teaching myself has had me do more than I ever did in those years.“

A recent memory – at least recent compared to things like university – suddenly flew by her mind and had her attention wander to her hands for just a short second. Painter’s hands.. This entire conversation poked at a meagre sense of déjà vu, she had to admit.

Her mother butting in quickly had her eyes and mind leave that memory in favour of being present in.. well, the present. Granted, Maeve felt the instant awkwardness from how the woman didn’t try and hide her motives very well. Hopefully Michael only picked up on Delilah Poe’s friendliness. But really, who were they kidding. Of course, he’d picked on it. You’d have to be completely blank and oblivious not to. “But now, sports aren’t only meant to be competitive,” she heard her mother point out while she unknowingly started to watch the interaction between them. Mostly, she watched him. The way he unconditionally gave Delilah Poe his full attention – probably not wanting to seem rude. And if she didn’t focus so much on her mother’s sale’s plan, Maeve could clearly see the delight she felt from speaking to Michael. Delilah liked him. And so had her father, she realized. Inadvertently, she’d rested her arms and elbows on the table with the cup in the middle and her head had started tilting to one side. Admiring the scene. Relaxing.
A shuffle with the toothpaste package left the hardworking nurse with her arms calmly crossed and weight resting more on one hip than the other. Then a light chuckle. “Almost.” Maeve had perked up as well when talk of an accent had made the table. “Ben and I are originally from Lancaster in England. We moved here just before having Jonathan. Your grandmother surely remembers it.”
Out of the family only the three youngest had grown up fully in Gaia so the accent that Michael had picked up on was really only there on the tongues of the three oldest. However, within those three it was far more evident with the parents where Maeve had masked it so perfectly with something more posh – something just slightly more casual than Michael’s own – that it now was less a play of pretend. It came naturally. Expect for certain times where it slipped.
“You have a good ear,” Maeve then chose to slip in. A small compliment never hurt anyone.

The laughter that filled the room was as sincere as it could have been, bouncing off the walls and lighting up the faces around them in a matter of milliseconds. It said an awful lot about how the family felt about Maeve Poe, the flutter of joy they immediately felt at her happiness - not a single ounce of jealousy in their small bodies.
Levi’s own face showed pride. It was certainly not every day that a human would laugh like that anywhere near him; and so, the pride was probably the most authentic feeling he had portrayed all afternoon.
The smile was accompanied by a narrowing of his eyes at her question and looked sideways and slightly upwards as though really contemplating the not-so-complex question and ended it in a somewhat reserved nod of mellow acceptance. “Every three or so, I recon. I wasn’t the worst of the lot.” A playfully dismissive voice to underline the carefreeness in the conversation. His gaze followed her delicate fingers as the smile faded to contently staying in his blue eyes. Warm like the entire atmosphere. Warm like the family, like their home and like their children. A disarming warmth that had been perfected long ago.
Art-history. Michael himself had studied fine art and art history before shuffling around and moving towards architecture, but art had always had a grand impact on his visions. Much like Levi, if truth be told. Inspiration had to come from somewhere, after all. He smiled again, more attentively and nodded along to her voice as she spoke, observing the light reflecting in her eyes as they locked with his. “Ah, you’ll have to let me know of any galleries in Aston, then. I’ve yet to explore the city.” Breathlessness was what he was hopefully projecting in that moment; with a breathy voice, as though it was only the two of them in the room. Even with the hawk-eyes of the human mother. One could only admire the impact of eyes meeting like that, he thought to himself, before the moment fleetingly passed and opened the world back up with Delilah Poe’s voice.

But now, sports aren’t only meant to be competitive. Surely not, but that was the best part. Michael liked winning and though by no means a sore loser nor a sore winner, his life had been focused around successes and wins as a means to impress his family. Levi, being a little more self-aware than this human he was portraying, thought is a fatal flaw to the character and had decided to alter it ever-so-slightly to fit in better with that of Maeve Poe’s personality. Competitive, still, but not obsessive.
He nodded at the mother’s words, letting her know that he understood and agreed. “Perhaps I’m just making excuses for the terribly defective coordination and synchronisation of my limbs.” It was a cheeky smile that grew on his lips, a little boyish compared to the more confident ones he had let on earlier in their conversation. Maybe, to cover up the fact that it was an insecurity that had just been exposed; the lack of sporty abilities.
The room shifted to a smoother warmth as the conversation moved to that of England – clearly a place deeply rooted within the family, and the pride in Delilah’s eyes was almost solid in the air around them. Lancaster. He was about to explain what a funny coincidence since his own family had a house in Lake District, not far from the city of Lancaster, when the casual addition of the grandmother was noted.
The compliment from the daughter let him utter a low “thank you,” before Levi looked down, directing his gaze to the teacup in a brief moment of considering his words carefully before managing to mask the insecurity that had sprouted in his eyes. “Oh, I’m afraid she doesn’t remember much anymore, Mrs. Poe,” he explained, his smile turning nostalgic. He knew it might kill the warmth of the conversation but made sure that his voice projected friendliness and stayed kind-hearted to the fullest. “Although she does speak of you and Benjamin quite often, so perhaps indeed.”
He lifted a hand to place the cup back on its saucer, making sure that the table was in order before taking a breath, regaining his confidence and looking back up; first at Delilah and then at Maeve. "Speaking of my nan - I should think that it is time for me to get back and make sure she's alright. If there are any more issues with the roof, promise to let me know?"

Maeve spared him any verbal response to his suggestion and instead simply sent him a smile. A smile reflecting just how nice an idea it was. He obviously hadn’t said anything about wanting to go with her to these galleries but the underlying insinuation was enough to create a flutter in her stomach. And to not leave him entirely hanging, she gave him a small nod as well. However she wasn’t about to agree on such endeavour just yet. That was, in case, those had even been the thoughts passing this man’s brilliantly gentle mind. Still, the feeling she got from his gaze locking in with her for just that short moment, it made her believe some more, that she’d read him right.

A flash of horror soon painted the face of Delilah Poe as her guest’s sudden sombre expression was explained further. She gasped very faintly and her hand had just about been on its way to cover her mouth had the slight shock been a little bigger. “Oh no, Micheal. I’m so sorry to hear that,” she expressed with wholehearted empathy and situational control only a nurse of many years could present. The old Mrs. Maverick was an old woman - quite older than Maeve’s own grandparents - so that she’d slowly start to forgo was simply something to expect. But that didn’t make it any less saddening. As Delilah had just told, she’d been around since the family had moved and settled in Gaia and any indication that she was on the decline was such a strange one to think about. Not to mention how it must feel for Michael, her absolutely lovely grandson. At least he seemed to take it as well as any. Such an admirable young man. His addition mad the mother smile gratefully and worry melted away. “If I know her well enough she won’t let age take away her mind, not without a bit of a fight. But if there’s anything we can do, please don’t hesitate to tell us. I can even stop by a few days apart to check up on her when I have the time.” She placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder and rather than giving it a comforting squeeze, she rubbed it gently. Then removed it and turned her attention to her own grown up daughter. Not that it was needed because Maeve perked up plenty on her own thanks to the proclamation of the time that politely slipped over Levi’s lips.
She hadn’t thought he’d stay - she might even have been sceptical about him being there in the first place when she’d just gotten home - but then she blinked surprised and had to turn to look for the nearest clock in the room as if feeling the time having passed just a bit too quickly. Return of daily day life always came to one like that, she felt. In the meantime Delilah spoke: “Aren’t you a pet. We will. And you make sure to give our regards to your grandmother. Maeve, ho-?” “Mum!”
“I’ll follow you out,” Maeve called out in a light chuckle before her mother got the chance to pass the baton. Actually, she’d not even noticed that the same thought had crossed her mother before the young boy, still in the kitchen figuring out the groceries, had shouted for attention. She put down her cup and started standing up from the table; not so fast that she’d seem eager to be rid of him, though. A last glance towards her brother being impatient and her mother juggling with both saying properly goodbye to Levi and dealing with the boy and then one towards Levi himself prior to walking out into the slim entrance hall.

She quickly scanned the coats hanging out there and picked one she didn’t recognized off from a hanger to then stand where she wouldn’t be in the way of him putting his shoes back on. “Here. You coat, right?” she guessed when handing it to him a little after, hoping that she’d been right or it would be potentially embarrassing and she’d have to strain a smile through it. She stood for a moment biting her lip, watching him get ready for the short trek out in the cold to the house next door. She shouldn’t. She wasn’t ready! ..But she’d been ready not only two weeks earlier. She’d been ready to jump in with both her feet and no hesitation. Maybe.. “Michael?” she asked, attempting to caught his attention. Oh, what was she doing! “It’s my birthday in a couple of days. You’re welcome to come, if you’re still in town. And if you’re not busy. It won’t be anything extravagant; just good dinner here at my parents’ house.”

Unbeknown to Maeve, at the top of the stairs - which was in straight view up and down to the front door - peeked the youngest of the family down at Levi, halfway hidden behind a turn in the wall. Big brown eyes like his ‘sister’. Watching closely. And holding a black cat which also seemed to glare.

“And if you’re busy, perhaps we can meet for a cup of coffee some time?” Maeve continued, unconsciously growing restless about her decision.