Category: Darksiders I & II

Rating: M

Couples: Azrael/War

Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Debatable-Con (once), Lemon, Mpreg

Chapter: 47

Copyright: Characters & places © By Appropriate Copyright-holder, Plot & OC´s © by me and Food-for-mind

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

War heavily trudged to his daughter when they returned to the fortress. "Grace." Pain could be clearly heard from his voice.

Horror filled Fury's face as she was starting to realize what had happened in the White City and why Death had made a summon for Strife just a bit ago... Her eyes followed Strife as he moved Caim inside.

"Where's mommy?" Grace asked, still beaming at her father. She had not yet realized that Azrael's absence meant.

Swallowing, War took a deep breath. "Grace, Azrael is not coming back to us... We... I …" He found it difficult to admit to his child – even to himself – that Azrael would not be with them anymore.

"But..." She looked around. "But you promised me..." Tears started to form in her eyes. "You promised!"

"I failed... Grace, I'm so sorry. " The Rider reached out to his crying child.

"NO!" She moved back. "You lied! You promised me I would keep mommy forever!" She whimpered. "You lied to me!"

Feeling something break within him at her moving away from him, War tried again: "Grace..."

"You promised me that mommy would come back!" She wailed. "I hate you! I hate you!" She turned on her proverbial heel, shooting into the fortress, her sobs floating back to those outside.

Death grabbed War's arm when he felt him nearly toppling over at Grace's angry wails. He guided War inside the fort. But when he headed to the tower-room, he heard him whisper brokenly: "No, not there, anywhere but there..." The eldest Nephilim brought him to his own room after that.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"She hates me..."

Death looked up from his scrolls; this was the first time War had spoken since two hours. Before he only staid on the bed, staring unblinkingly at the wall in front of him. "No, she doesn't. She's hurting and most likely angry at you. Most beings tend to say the most hurtful things when they are upset."

Someone knocked on the door and Fury peeked inside. She carried a tray of food. "You must regain your strength, War."

War looked listlessly at the tray; he felt no desire to eat. Shaking his head, he replied: "I am not hungry." He only felt sadness and emptiness.

Death sighed. "You need to, brother. You need your strength and you need to speak to your child, War."

"She needs you now." Fury agreed with her eldest brother, holding out a piece of bread. "At least eat something if you can't finish everything."

Realising that Fury and Death were right, War began slowly chew on the food. Still, he found it difficult to swallow.

Fury shared a worried glance with Death, but let her brother eat at his own pace.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Let's try over there." Strife suggested when there was no reaction to the Fallen's calls as they moved through the fortress. "She'll have gone to something that reminds her of Azrael..." He headed for the room in which they had put the vast collection of pillows Azrael had gathered when he had been 'nesting'.

After opening the door, Caim called out again. "Grace?"

There was a shift in the mountain of pillows, but no actual answer. Strife softly closed the door behind him.

Seeing the movement, the Fallen's Commander walked slowly to the pillows. "Grace? Can you please talk to us, dear?" He asked in a soft tone.

"Go away!" Came a muffled voice from beneath the pillows. "Leave me alone! You lied to me!"

Still heading for the mount of pillows, Caim replied gently. "We didn't intend to break that promise. Things sometimes happen beyond our control."

Grace did not answer, but now that they were close, both men could hear soft sobbing coming from her hiding-spot.

Kneeling near the pillows, Caim lifted a few of them off the pile until he could see the young crying girl. "Grace?" He remained there, wings and arms opened.

She was a sorry sight: the immaculate appearance Azrael had always insisted upon had been ruined by her mad dash through the fortress. One of her braids had opened, leaving her hair a mess. Her dress was dirty and crumbled and her face was red and puffy from two hours of non-stop crying. She whimpered softly, cuddling into the pillows that carried her mother's scent still.

"He promised..." She whimpered, clutching the pillow she was on top off. The fact that her father had seemingly broken his promise was a blow almost equal in strength to losing her mother. He had been her hero...

With a sigh, Caim replied: "I know dear. He never meant to break that promise. He is just as sad that he couldn't keep it for you." Gently he picked both Grace and the pillow up and cradled them between his arms and wings, slowly rocking her.

A new flood of tears started. "I want mommy!" Grace wailed, burying herself in her uncle's hold. "I want my mommy back."

"I know, little one. We all want him back." Holding her more tightly, he kept rocking her. He rubbed her back in comfort.

Strife leaned down. "I'll tell the others we found her." He whispered, gently stroking Grace's hair briefly before he headed out of the room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Eating barely half of the food Fury had brought for him, War slowly got up.

Taking the tray, Fury looked at it sadly before heading out to return it to the kitchen. As she opened the door, Strife was in front of it, seemingly poised to knock.

"Found Grace?", Death asked the Gunner.

"She buried herself in the nesting-pillows." Strife shrugged lightly. "I left Caim with her." He looked after Fury as she headed down the corridor. It was times like these he really hated.

"Can I see her?" War asked, his voice low and hoarse.

"You lost her mother, you tell me." Strife shrugged again, having to force himself to remain his crude and sneering 'self'. Inside, he was dying to hug his youngest brother.

The youngest Nephilim cringed at the harsh words: they clearly reminded him that he had failed everybody.

"Strife, that's enough!" Death hissed at the Gunner.

"Sure, whatever..." The middle brother raised his hands. "She's in the attic, the room with the nesting-pillows. Go wild."

Wordlessly War stood up and walked passed Strife straight out of the room.

Death got up to leave as well but before he left the room, he told Strife in a grave voice: "I know you like to aggravate us, Strife, but that was low. Even for your standards. " He then left the room.

"As if you know my standards..." Strife snarled lowly, watching them go.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Grace peeked over Caim's shoulder when she heard someone approach.

War headed to the door leading into the room with the pillows and knocked a few times.

"Who is it?" The elder angel called out, still rocking his niece gently. Hearing War's voice answering, he looked down at Grace. "Ready to see your daddy?"

She seemed to shrink in his hold, but nodded lightly.

After hearing his brother-in-law calling to him to come inside, War lightly pushed the door open. At seeing the state of his child, he felt his heart sink even deeper. She looked terrible. Heading to the cuddling duo, he began to wonder what he could say to her. Nothing he could say to her would bring Azrael back.

A new flood of tears formed in her eyes when she saw her daddy. Reaching for him, she whimpered softly. "Daddy..."

In silence Caim handed Grace over to her father. Once the Nephilim held her, he got up and left so the two could be alone with each other.

Feeling his child shiver in his arms, War sat down on the ground and while still holding her tight, he'd also rocked her as well.

She snuggled into his hold, clinging to him.

After a few minutes hugging Grace, War whispered to her. "I'm sorry that I failed you and your mother."

She whimpered briefly. "Why did they take Mommy from me?" She finally whispered, looking up at him with her puffy eyes.

"Some of them don't like the idea of me and your mother being together." He admitted to his child. Particularly Azrael's parents, apparently.

"But... shouldn't his parents be happy?" She asked. "I mean... parents are happy when their kids are happy, right? Why did they make us sad?"

"I... can't say for sure, Grace. They never really told me their reason." Even though he wasn't really sure about Azrael's parents, he could imagine what some of the angels thought about his and Azrael's union.

"But..." Her lip wibbled. "Why!?" She simply could not understand why someone would do something like this to their own family.

"I don't know, Grace. I don't know." War muttered downhearted to his child.

She started crying again. She wanted to know why she had lost her mother, but no answer was forth-coming.