c h a p t e r. 13

"For dreams, too, are ghosts, desires chased in sleep, gone by morning." ― Libba Bray

This ones a little short :// but whatever, enjoy the update!

chapter 13

It had been a good three weeks since Axel and Cas had their little brawling match and things were... steadily making Jazz all the more blushy between him and the celestial.

Cas would flirt with him, tease him, kiss him and then-- and then go from hot to cute to 'holy hell, how can this God ever like me' in a mere hour. Which Jazz didn't mind, it always kept him on his toes to know which side of Cas he'd be able to see in that moment.

It was also kind of nice?

Because here the musician is, not anything special and completely okay with that, and then the celestial comes along and makes him feel like he's someone important.

The way he's so patient with Jazz, the way he understands and doesn't add pressure or doesn't make him feel bad for not having experience in certain things, how he watches him with that fond look in his eyes when he sings, the way he hums along when he plays guitar, the odd frown the celestial gives him but with that dazing emerald, those soft sunflowers and rose leaved and ethereal green.

All of it just makes him feel important.

And by God, the way Cas smiles at him makes him just melt.

He's going weak for this celestial and it's only been a couple months.

But, well, at least it makes sense.

Because Jazz  is a Red, and he falls fast and hard and completely loyally. He's Cas', undeniably. So why shouldn't he go weak for a man that makes him feel wanted? That helps him along the journey to liking himself?

Why would he ever want to not fall for a God that smiles like that, and who holds him even when he doesn't deserve it?

"Godling," The gruff, slightly accented voice of his papa calls out, his dark eyes catching Jazz's in the rearview mirror before focusing back on the road. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" The musician tilts his head, blinking further into reality. "What? Oh! Yeah, I'm okay, Papa bear. Just thinking."

Just thinking? More like overthinking.

"Thinking 'bout what?" Tio Auggie shifts in the passenger seat to face him, hazel eyes too excited for just a simple conversation but he had always been like that. Hyper on the outside and mind way too busy on the inside.

Bar, his papa, and Gus, Tio Auggie, had dropped by for a visit early in the morning at Viv's place and then Jazz came over to hang out with their dads too, having missed them. It was nostalgic from when the four would go get coffee back at home so they decided to make a day out of it, his mama and Auntie Fen with Nyx, Eris, Payton, and Axel while Tio Law and Eli had Dela, Atticus and their own three daughters.

Unfortunately, since the weirdo had an afternoon class though, they couldn't make it one hundred percent of the time but they managed.

The trio went on a small trip to a really big book store as they waited for her class to finish and now are on the way to pick up the weirdo to go get some muffins and a hot drink at the café that he and Cas usually went to.

It was nice, being able to see his papa and Tio like this.

He missed it, he missed being home, but college was still a great experience so far and he was just as happy here and there. A major part of that was due to the celestial, who he should probably tell them about.

"Urm, well... did Viv tell you guys already?"

"That you found your butterfly?" His papa says, shaking his head. "No, Dela told us last time she called. Your mama and this idiot over here already started on ship names--" 'It's Casper!' His Tio yelped out. "--but we wanted you to come to us about it whenever you were comfortable, so we didn't ask."

Jazz sighed.

Dela couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it, a stark contrast to Nyx and Eris who could be at gunpoint and not open their mouths once.

"Ah, okay," Jazz flushed. "You've already met him, Papa, and I know it wasn't the best introduction--"

"Oh!" Tio Auggie interrupted, laughter on his lips and ringing through the car like a golden firework-- all his sounds, even over the phone, were just pure gold. It would be pretty if it wasn't so distracting. "I heard about that! Dude totally KO'ed himself with a book or some shit? Totally wacky, like, you're clumsy lil' J and not even you've done that before."

Huffing, Jazz informed, "Cas has Tourette's and was really stressed, a tic made him KO himself. And Tio!" He whined. "You should see all the embarrassing-- actually no, no you shouldn't-- things I do in front of him! I ran into a pole."

"That's not too bad," Gus snickered. "At least it wasn't cancer."

Ignoring the last part, Jazz continued. "No, you don't understand. We were on a run and like, it was the literal only thing I could have face planted into, the only pole around on at least the last two streets."

"I'm so sorry you got the clumsy genes, godling," His papa grumbles, the familiar frown on his lips. "Gwen has it too."

"Hmph." He glares at the back of his papa's seat. "So you're to blame."

"Meh."

"I least you didn't get my mystery girl's resting bitch face," Tio Auggie supplied, turning in his seat to lock eyes with him. There was exactly three seconds of wide-eyed silence before Jazz burst out laughing, the weirdo's dad quickly following and his own papa chuckling.

Life never got boring with a D'Silvetta around, honestly.

Getting to the bookstore and actually going inside was... chaotic at best.

His papa instantly went to check out the new fantasy novels and anything by Anne Rice and the new book by his favorite author while Gus bounced-- literally bounced-- off towards the poetry section. Getting his own books and awkwardly declining a girl when she offered his number was easy, but getting up to the register was not.

Bar must've been in some kind of mood because his papa was extra grumpy than usual and literally swearing out Tio Auggie in Italian as he bought his books, Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss books piled in the D'Silvetta's arms as he wheezed in laughter at something he said.

Jazz sighed, walked up to them in the practically empty line and just joined the conversation like the three 6'4 to 6'6 height men being grumpy, crazy, or done with life buying out poetry and children books was completely normal.

Which, based on the strange tone in the employee's olive song, it was not.

After getting their books, they climbed back into the car and stopped at the Gas Station for some drinks and then made the hour trek back to the campus and the apartment dorms to get Viv.

She was the catalyst to a rather insane conversation about the dynamics and literary changes it would take for an english-speaking llama to teach math and how good of a swimming teacher emus would be.

Her dad was all too happy to join the conversation while his papa was grumpily informing them that the llama, even if accepted by the school board to work, would in no way shape or form be comfortable at the school.

"Gus," Bar had growled out when his best friend disagreed. "How the fuck do you even think it could use a school's bathroom?"

Which, least to say, prompted all of them to come up with outlandish ways to make a highschool an accommodating place for a math teaching llama.

"Okay," Jazz said, earning a loud 'boo!' from both D'Silvettas. "No, no, listen!" He laughed. "The emu wouldn't be that big of a deal. It has a beak it can easily grab stuff and write with, okay? It could probably squeeze into a stall to use the toilets, too! The llama though, what is the llama gonna do, spit at students instead of giving them detentions?"

That, of course, made his papa snort in amusement and for his best friend to whine while Tio Auggie slapped his knee in defiance, "No! In this scenario we already established that the llama was a good teacher--"

"But how?" Jazz interrupted "He can't write!"

"Shhh, young oak sapling!" Gus held up a finger as he bounced in his seat, hazel eyes wide. "He's a llama. A magic, english-speaking, math-teaching llama and you dare question how?"

"Yes!" Jazz threw his hands into the air. "Parrots can speak too. Doesn't make them special."

"Ooh," Viv smacked his arm, turning to him with a gaping mouth. "Crows can speak, too! They're even more vocal than parrots! It just like, requires this process called loosening of the tongue."

"I knew that," Gus chirps the same time Bar grumbled out, "I wish I didn't."

Looking at each other, Jazz and Viv couldn't help their laughter.

Their dads weren't that alike, but those two loved each other just like they loved each other-- having a best friend to share the world with can be one of the best things to ever happen to a person. It can make life better.

"Oh, daddy," Tio Auggie suddenly giggled. "I know a way to make your tongue loose."

"Fuck off and choke," His papa snapped back.

Or not, Jazz thought with a chuckle, and then sighed. Some things just never changed.