“Here we go with your selective memory, again.” Azazel shook his head. “My friend, I told you to be a better father to Fenrir because it would come back and bite you in the ass. Not only did you not listen, he now wants nothing to do with you and you can’t even see or get to know your grandchildren. I told you to leave Scott alone and what happened? You lost your powers. And that's just recently. Do you need me to go on?”
“All right, all right,” Loki conceded. “But seriously, I haven't done anything. I just wanted to spend time with my friend. Is there anything wrong with that?”
Azazel didn’t respond and continued to stare at Loki, knowing at some point the truth would come out. Azazel was a patient man, and while others cast Loki aside, he would never do that to his friend.
“You can keep staring at me like that all you want. I’m telling you the tru—” Loki’s words trailed off when his gaze shifted from Azazel to the window. He had a shocked expression on his face as he pointed with his knife.
“What’s the matter with you?” Azazel asked and looked where Loki was pointing, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. He turned his gaze back to his friend, who was back to eating as if he hadn’t acted strange just a second ago. “Are you going to answer me?”
Loki picked up his wineglass and took a long sip, seeming unbothered by Azazel’s agitated state. “Like I said, I’m not up to anything. Oh, and I just saw your ex walk by.”
Azazel’s eyes widened, thinking that he’d heard wrong. “Say that again?”
“Which part?” Loki looked at him innocently.
Azazel slammed a hand down hard on the table, breaking it into a few pieces, not caring in the least that their good meal was ruined.
“Stop fucking around and speak,” he growled.
“Dammit, Az, I wasn’t done…”
Azazel reached up and grabbed Loki by the neck, squeezing hard but leaving him enough breath to speak.
“Fine… fine… I’ll tell you,” Loki gave in, but Azazel didn’t release him. “You always get like this whenever it concerns Uriel. He makes you act so irrational. Why can't you just let him go?”
Azazel growled and knew his eyes were glowing blood-red, glaring at Loki. He was not in the mood to listen to his friend rant on about stupid fights between him and Uriel; all he cared about was finding the man in that moment.
“He just walked by. He was going that way.” Loki pointed to the left, and Azazel instantly disappeared from the private room, hoping to catch up with Uriel, but his efforts were in vain.
For the first time since moving to Valleywood, Azazel hated that there were too many fucking people in his way. He growled low in frustration that he couldn’t fly up in the air and scan the area. It was one of the limitations of living among humans who had lost their faith and knowledge of the supernatural world.
“You owe me for breaking the table,” Loki grumbled, coming to stand beside him.
“Fuck you.” Azazel was so irritated with the other man. He wanted to kill him. “Be lucky you’re my best friend.”
Loki cracked a smile, and it only annoyed Azazel more.
“How did he look?” He couldn’t help but ask. It had been three years since he saw Uriel after finding out they had a grown son, and the last time they'd met on top of that bridge, the angel looked so alluring Azazel wanted to drag him home and fuck the hell out of him.
“Are you sure you want to hear it?”
Azazel sighed and started walking to fuck knew where, leaving Loki to follow.
“He looked okay, I suppose.”
Azazel narrowed his eyes at Loki. “You really want to play games with me tonight?”
“Fuck! Why are you always so touchy when it comes to him?”
“And you sound like a jealous lover, now cut that shit out,” he growled, then said after a few seconds of them staring intently at each other, “You wouldn’t understand.”
Loki had had many lovers in his lifetime, but Azazel knew he’d never loved them, while they fell hopelessly in love with him. They would do anything to make him happy, when he did the bare minimum. Azazel recalled the indifferent look in Loki's eyes when he'd killed Angrboda. Loki entered into contractual marriages and relationships for personal gains, such as children, wealth, and power. And honestly, Azazel never judged him for the choices he made, even when he tried to talk him out of things.
“I really don’t understand,” Loki growled. “Because if he’d have done to me what he did to you, I would have killed him. The man left you in the dark, and you find out thirty years later that you have a son who is just warming up to you. I might not show my children love, but at least they know I am their father! If he could hide that from you, what else is he hiding? And then he has the audacity to be happy with someone else, laughing and walking around as if he has no care in the world. They call me heartless, but I think he takes the cake.”
Azazel stopped walking and stood in front of Loki. They were roughly the same height and build, so they were able to look each other in the eye.
“New guy? What does he look like?” Azazel asked, ignoring Loki’s rant.
