My Dysfunctional Family, But I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

She nodded. "I… I can m-manage."

“Okay then.. Just remember that I don’t eat cats- or humans or angels for that matter.” A rare, true smile appeared on his face, hoping she would cheer up slightly.

She giggled and blushed. She giggled. Trinity hardly ever giggled. She bit her lip in angst.

His eyes widened, shock filling his expression. “Was that- did you- just giggle? I’ve never heard you do that before… You’re always so serious..” He shook his head, smiling. He did it. He made Trinity giggle. He was pretty damn close now to doing the same thing.

Trinity's face was a delicate shade of beet red. "Uh…"

“Okay okay, I’m sorry about that, just- this might be the first time you’ve shown me a happy emotion. I think I’m a little entitled to be proud I’ve finally broken that shell, right?” Asher was now talking with his hands and being expressionate, which was normally completely out of character for him.

She blinked, then smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess," she whispered.

Laughing a little against his will, he leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his hair, getting it caught on his minature horns. “You know,” he smiled. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you. I like that.” There was a tone of sincerity with the way he said it.

"Y-You do?" She was shocked because most people certainly didn't.

“Yeah, I do. Most people these days are just so predictable, I like the fact that you can be a surprise. It shows that you’re real.” He nodded a little while he spoke.

"Oh," Trinity said quietly. "That's… different."

“Yeah…” He gave up at this point. Whatever, he managed to make some sort of improvement of where he stood with Trinity, so he’d be riding that hype for days.

"Um… It's a good different," she tried, hoping to make a little bit of a lead way.

“Oh really?” He tried to get her to carry on, feeling like he way over dominated this conversation. Besides, he really wanted to see if she’d say what she was thinking.

"Yeah, I mean, when most people find out that I'm an angel, they… say very different things and act very…" She searched for a word. "Immaturely."

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “What do you mean by, ‘immaturely’?” A small scoff echoed in the back of his throat. Whenever someone found out he was a demon they acted exactly how he thought they would: instantly hate him and wishing he’d burn at the stake.

"They try to bless me. Or… love me. Or anything to get my attention enough to, as one person so cleverly phrased, 'bestow the hand of God on them.' They don't understand that's not how it works. I'm not a powerful angel, I…"

Asher frowned. "Sure, you may not be 'powerful', as you phrased it, in that regard, but don't put yourself down. You can be powerful if you wish to be. You're still an angel, so you're already legues above them! Even if you aren't the type they're expecting, still.." He was about to take a step forward, then halted, not wanting to take this too far.

"Still," she murmured, letting his words sink in.

“Still, what,” he sighed, a look of defeat crossing his face. “It’s me, isn’t it. I know, my opinion isn’t enough.”

"No, no! It's not you!" Trinity said quickly, putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him out of instinct. Her face flushed a bright red.

He was about to speak but paused before anything could come out. His eyes widened, looking at her hand on his arm, then back at her. Slight confusion flickered over his expressions.

"Sorry," she whispered, withdrawing her hand. "I… I didn't- It just… Uh…"

“No no no, it’s- it’s alright.” His eyes continued to flicker between Trinity and the floor, before finally staying at the latter. He absentmindly rubbed his shoulder that she had touched.

She noticed his rubbing. "Did I hurt you?" she asked in alarm.

“Oh! No, you didn’t. I’m just, anxious, I guess.” He forced himself to stop. In place of the anxious rubbing he took off his beanie and ran a hand through his bright red hair, trying to calm his heating face.

"Are you sure?" she asked tentatively. A hazy red glow filled her cheeks.

“Yes, I’m sure. I just, really wasn’t expecting you to do that. A nervous laugh broke from his throat.

"I didn't expect it either," she admitted softly. "It… It was instinct, I guess."

“I, I guess that makes sense.” He paused, getting himself under control. He tucked his hair back and pulled on his beanie, taking in a deep breath.