IN THE FEW DAYS THAT FOLLOWED, THINGS WERE CALM.

Axel spent most of that time with Stella. Unashamedly, he had been following her around like a lost puppy- much like Marli, so that made two of them.

But he didn't regret it. Not one bit.

Throughout that time, he realized that Stella didn't know a lot about things that were seemingly ordinary to them.

While it would have seemed shocking to a lot of people, he supposed the verified 'she's-an-actual-angel' theory, was a fair enough reason for it.

The pinnacle of this realization came to him when a very amused Bea woke him up one morning- and led him to a very annoyed Stella, who was angrily cursing at the toaster, in what he assumed was Latin- because she couldn't seem to figure out how to work it.

It was funny. 

And endearing. Very endearing.

He didn't say that out loud, however, because the teasing smile on Bea's face looked particularly smack-able that morning- so he opted to smack that stupid grin right off her face with a book instead.

There were a lot of things Stella didn't know. She didn't know what chocolate tasted like, neither did she know what Cotton Candy was, nor Icecream-

Axel figured he had his work cut out for him.

"This is Cotton Candy?" Stella eyes the pink fluff in front of her cautiously, poking it for a second.

"Mhmm," Axel confirms, stuffing half of his into his mouth in one go, "Go on, try it- it tastes like a cloud."

Stella wrinkles her nose, leaning away from it as she turns to him. "I flew through a cloud once, and accidentally ended up tasting it. It was terrible."

"Stella, no-"

While getting her to try the 'exquisite dishes of the earthlings', as she so eloquently put it, there were other things he was slowly coming notice.

He noticed how plants around her would look livelier- noticeably leaning towards her when she was near but drooping when she had passed. He noticed how the twittering of birds got evidently chirpier around her, and the butterflies that were always coincidentally fluttering around her hair, and at her fingertips.

He noticed how the sunshine gold in her hair tumbled in loose waves and curls way past her shoulder, looking coppery with a reddish tint- in the rays of the sun, he noticed how her green- and grey? eyes lit up with happiness every time they tried something new, and he noticed one small dimple on her left cheek every time she smiled.

He also noticed that he enjoyed the feeling of her dainty fingers gently clasped in his every time he took her out, he noticed how her eyes would constantly flicker to his in hope and expectation- almost as if she wanted his reassurance in all the things she did, and he noticed how every part of him seemed to spontaneously combust and melt every time she smiled at him.

Oh, he was screwed. So utterly, terribly screwed.

Every little mundane thing about the human world fascinated Stella, while every little thing about her did the same to him.

"Is that... a water fountain?"

Axel bit his lip to contain his grin, as he stared at her. "Yes."

"Oh, isn't it just splendid?" her fingers loosen their hold on his as she bounds over to the fountain with the excitement of a child on a sugar rush, "Look, Axel- it has fish!"

"Mhmm, I know," he couldn't keep the smile out of his voice as he nears her. When he finally made his way to her, however, she had already spotted something new.

"Is that... a goat?"

"...Yes?"

"It's so cute!"

Other than everything that had to do with Stella, and everything to do with their case, things had been... calm.

He couldn't help but think that was suspicious, but then again, he had been suspicious of nearly everything lately.

He tried not to let it get to him, however. Corban had said that they were taking a small break from the investigation for a couple of days, and Axel had tried not to glare at him- only offering him a stiff nod in response.

Corban had given him an odd look at that, but Axel didn't linger around for him to start asking questions.

Gone soft? Pfft. What was even wrong with that? Was he not allowed to have feelings, now, because of his job?

He had decided to do a little digging of his own. Corban was going to act suspiciously and keep him out of the loop? Call it petty, but Axel was going to do the same.

The sound of paper ripping makes him snap back into the present- only to realize that the plain sheet of paper that he wanted to use- for a reason he could no longer remember, was now crumpled in his fist. Damn it.

"Everything okay?" he hears a soft voice murmur, as he looks up at the corner of the room, to see the three figures peering straight at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Yes," Axel heaves out a sigh, as the muscles in his face relax, "Are Talullah and Jatin bothering you, Stella?"

Both the said people gasp in mock outrage at that, while Stella simply looks between them, her expression a mix of extreme interest and mild amusement.

"Not at all, bhaiya!" Jatin reassures Axel with a firm headshake, his eyes wide, "If anything," he gestures pointedly at Tallulah who sticks their tongue out at him, "it's them that's bothering her with all the questions."

"Please," Tallulah retorts defensively, flipping their hair over their shoulder with narrowed eyes, "You're the one annoying her with questions-"

"No- you-"

"Alright," Axel interrupts pointedly, "your chatting-with-Stella-time is up, so you can shut up now."

When they both of them open their mouths to argue, Axel holds a hand up shaking his head.

"I called you here because I needed help," he gives them a look, "not for you to fangirl over her."

Both of them begrudgingly lean back in their seats, glancing at each other for a second before looking back at Axel.

Since he was investigating a little on his own, he figured that asking them a few questions without context wouldn't do any harm.

While Jatin was a weapons analyst, Tallulah was a forensic scientist- and they both were relatively new at the unit without anything remotely suspicious about them. He doubted they even knew he had gotten shot.

He looks at both of them with a raised eyebrow. "So?"

"I- uh-" Jatin pulls out a bunch of papers from the file that he was holding, "I looked into the data that Agent Evans sent."

"And?"

"The bomb, that he was speaking of," he frowns thoughtfully, "was the same kind of bomb that you'd typically use like a land mine. Which, if I may add, is a little odd, bhaiya."

Axel frowns.

It was odd.

Why would someone use something like a land mine to try and blow up a hotel room?

A sudden thought occurs to him, as his brain processes that new piece of information, and when he meets Stella's eyes from across the room- he could tell that she had also made the same connection.

When they had gone back to his spot to look for new evidence, early into the investigation ... wasn't the ground laden with land mines?

His frown deepened.

That meant that the person who had attacked earlier at his old spot was the same person responsible for the explosion at the Hotel Ad Meliora.

...the same traitor.

"I also looked at your medical records, sir," Tallulah pipes in, holding a bunch of documents out for him, "there seem to be no traces of alcohol, or any drug in your blood. These records seem pretty vague, but from what I can tell, there was nothing wrong with you."

That made things even weirder.

If there wasn't a trace of anything in his blood, what had made him so disoriented the day he got shot?

However, the fact that Tallulah had said that records were vague, stuck to him.

Did someone mess with the records to make it look like he was fine?

Currently, the speculations were endless. It was only starting to frustrate him, more than anything.

With every new lead or apparent lead- they were either met with a dead-end or several more unanswered questions than before.

"Thank you," is all he can manage after a few seconds of thought, "I'll look into these."

Both Tallulah and Jatin nod, before glancing at each other.

"If you don't mind us asking," Tallulah enquired with a curious gleam in their eyes, "What was this for, sir?"

"Just stuff for an old case," Axel dismisses breezily, "Don't worry about it."

They both exchange curious glances once more, before shrugging it off, excitedly waving at Stella as they leave the room- while she eyes them with amusement.

As soon as they shut the door behind them, Axel lets out a breath, raising an eyebrow at her.

She gives him the same amused look in return, mimicking the raised eyebrow gesture.

"So huh, you've got yourself a fan club," he says lightly, with a teasing smirk as he leans back in his seat, running a hand through his hair, "Everyone in our unit seems to have heard about the woman who beat all members of the Delta Team in combat."

Stella smiles, shaking her head. "The most trivial things seem to amaze humans."

"It isn't all that trivial," Axel says defensively- because he was one of the humans that were amazed, "It didn't even seem like you were trying."

Stella only shrugs, as her eyes flicker to the large glass windows of the room- peering out into the green outside. Thunder rumbles in the distance as clouds continue to gather above, making her perk up, straightening in her seat.

In the last few days, if there was something that he had learned about her- it was that she loved the rain. It rained pretty often where their unit was located, so every time it rained, she'd stand- nose-pressed against the window- eyes wide with awe, peering outside as if the stars were descending.

Axel found it very endearing, even if he never voiced it.

However, he was sure that it was evident from the fond smile that always made its way to his lips at the sight of it.

"Is it going to rain again?" she questions softly, to no one in particular as she rises hurrying to the windows.

"Seems like it," Axel murmurs, "You seem to love the rain an awful lot, don't you?"

"I do," she hums in agreement, the green in her eyes melt into an oddly nostalgic look while they move skywards and her lips lift into a soft, wistful smile.

What she says next, shakes him in a way he didn't think was possible.

"When I die," she says softly, "I want it to rain."

The smile couldn't have dropped from his face any faster than it just did.

"What?" he sputters, rather unattractively, "You can-You can die?"

Stella only shrugs, with the same look in her eyes.

"Maybe a time will come," she says, "a time millennium from now when the signs of my aging begin to show- and that might be my time to leave. I'd want it to rain then."

She doesn't tell him about Aethra though.

He didn't need to know. It didn't matter.

"You, however," she forces herself to continue, "aren't going to live that long. No human does."

The soft patter of the drizzle outside fills the silence. It makes Stella almost worried, that he wasn't choosing to respond to that- but when he finally responds, she wishes he had stayed silent instead.

"Is that why?"

She turns to him, instantly wary of the intense, yet soft look on his face. "What?"

"Is that why you don't want me to get attached?" he takes a step closer to her, then another, and another- until he's right in front of her, "Because I won't live as long as you will?"

Her lips part, but the denial remains on her tongue. She can't seem to lie about it.

Her silence serves as an answer enough.

"Why?" his eyebrows furrow in confusion, the deepest hurt in his eyes of grey, "You already know that you've got more time than I have- is it that selfish of me to ask for some of yours?"

And she simply can't muster a verbal response to that.

The hurt in his eyes, in his voice, makes a painful pang run through her chest- rendering her incapable of saying anything.

She can only settle for pressing her lips together, shaking her head, while trying to take a step back, while trying to push back the tears that were threatening to appear.

He seems to anticipate that move, however, and his warm hand clasps around her wrist, as he pulls her even closer, till she's completely pressed against him.

"Why are you running away?" he murmurs, as a hand gently grips her chin, making her look up at his darkening eyes, "What's bothering you?"

Stella shakes her head sadly at him once more, as she lifts her own hand to place it over the one that was cupping her cheek.

"I've already made the mistake of getting attached, Axel," she tells him quietly, "I don't want you to do the same."

"What's so wrong in getting attached?" he looks just as confused as pained, "And Stella, I know you aren't stupid- I know you can tell that I'm already attached too- why?"

"Staying was never part of my plan," she shakes her head softly, but doesn't shrug out of his hold, "And attachment ends in heartbreak-"

"Maybe I already think you're worth a heartbreak," his eyes bore into hers, "Did you ever consider that?"

Even though a part of her heart warms at that, the rest of it aches. "You're only setting yourself up for it then."

His jaw clenches as he glares down at her.

"You won't even consider it," he mutters in disbelief, eyes scanning her features- even though the hurt in them lingers, "Look at yourself, you won't even let yourself consider giving time to someone you let yourself get attached to- someone you know, is attached to you as well. Why? Why won't you consider it?"

And she does.

For the first time, ever since she had descended- she considers her promise to never leave- without loopholes, without any conditions extended.

She considers it, fully.

"Regret is a strong thing, Stella," he says, tilting her chin up so that she looks at him again, "I know, that I will regret letting you slip past my fingers without trying to convince you to stay- and I know that you'll regret leaving too."

And regret blooms in her chest anyway because she had chosen to consider it a moment too late.

Before she can say another word- the door behind them bursts open, and a frantic man stands behind it- his expression alone, enough of an indication that something terrible had gone down.

The words he says next, only confirm it.

"We have a problem. A big problem."

"BHAIYA": in Hindi means (older) brother.

shit's about to hit the fan next chap onwards, and I'm going to pause the author's notes for a bit- so I'm essentially going to be quiet as the story progresses, for a while o.O

don't forget to vote and comment on all the chaps though! I typed this chapter in one sitting while I was half asleep, so it's a little choppy- I will probably come back and edit it sometime in the future. 

that is all for today, be well xx