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ausaplenty · 5 months

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Composition

Kiara's drawings of Lilian are usually done spur of the moment, from memory or in private, hidden away out of necessity.

Not this one.

Demon LiLi x Angel Kiara. Ineffable AU.

Kiarascuro was, first and foremost, an angel – stationed on Earth for millennia and a celestial being for eons before that.

But if she were to choose to be anything else, she would be an artist.

A brush felt more comfortable in her hands than a sword, though she had been crafted to wield a blade. She had healed many battle scars and wounds in her existence, but she kept the callouses that cushioned chisels.

And just as familiar to her as the tools of her trade were the lines of Lilian’s forms - could they be called lines? The term implied a certain hardness and rigidity, but those were not the words Kiara would use to describe the sinewy forms and movements that shaped her adversary.

Did Lilian know that she had been translated to every medium Kiara had ever practiced? Did she know that if archeologist dug far enough, they’d be baffled by cave drawings far more sophisticated than those crafted by their ancestors, painted by someone who could create paper and ink with a snap of her fingers but who itched to learn this bit of human ingenuity? Did she know that scholars would be confounded by the marble reliefs of Medusa’s twin, who lacked the serpentine tendrils but gazed haughtily at her audience with a single snake curled around her wrist?

Lilian had an inkling, though her estimate would be far off because it only counted the times she’d caught Kiara surreptitiously capturing the shapes of her pose – it would be low, because she didn’t know how long ago the angel had memorized the map of her face; the all-knowing gaze, the curl of her smirk, the jut of her chin.

Kiara had gotten bolder in the two years since Armageddon, no longer hiding the twitch of her hand when it itched for a pencil. Her art had gotten better, now that she was no longer forced to rely on memory to immortalize the gleam in Lilian’s sapphire eyes or the myriad of red threading through the demon’s hair.

Her fingers twitched now, caught in LiLi’s hand as they strode toward the Bentley and Kiara realized that for all her hidden works, none of them included the demon’s most prized possession. “Oh,” she breathed quietly, the potential forming easily in her mind.

“Forget something, angel?” her adversary teased, stopping alongside the blonde.

“More like trying to remember something,” the angel said as she pulled away to study the Bentley from another angle. “I’ve never drawn your car before.”

There was something … public about a drawing of the demon and her chariot, an openness that they had been denied for decades. It was outside, for all to see, no hiding behind the gallery’s four walls.

LiLi smirked. “Should I be jealous that my car is going to replace me as your muse?”

Kiara caressed the car, running her hand over the grill as if to commit the chrome texture to memory.

“Hmmmm? Oh, no, don’t be ridiculous, my dear – I’d include you in the painting as well,” she assured her before muttering under her breath. “Though how I’d pose you … Maybe with the door open, standing in the crux? No, no, too much focus on the Bentley. I believe, thinking about it, maybe leaning against the hood -”

She demonstrated, frowning slightly as she imagined the perspective.

“I can demonstrate,” Lilian suggested as the tether of their hands pulled apart.

The offer broke through the blonde’s concentration, her gray eyes wide. “My dear, no need to inconvenience yourself – I have plenty of practice, I can do it from imagination.”

The demon tutted, closing the distance between herself and the Bentley so she could perch where she imagined Kiara had envisioned. Her body bent, one leg outstretched as she positioned the other so her boot heel pressed against the fender and her torso slanted forward, her palms resting on the hood.

“Like this?” she asked.

The blonde’s lips parted slightly in rapt attention, her heart racing at the ease of Lilian’s pose.

“Could you – if you wouldn’t mind – put your hands in your pockets? But not fully, my dear, I can imagine you can’t fit them in entirely, with how tight those trousers are,” she coached, her hand flitting out to guide Lilian’s before she caught herself and the touch dropped away. “May I?”

The demon arched a brow in amusement. “You don’t even have to ask, angel.”

Kiara could feel her face flush at the easy assurance, an intimate phrase from a being so guarded. She lost herself in the process, her body tingling at their nearness.

(The final design was one of her favorites, Lilian’s fond and trusting gaze captured as she peered at Kiara over her glasses.)

#kiara scuro #lilian moros #Ineffable AU

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ausaplenty · 9 months

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Angels don't dance

Aziraphale Kiara. Crowley LiLi. Ineffable AU.

“I told you, Angel,” Lilian said, languidly reclining on the settee with a glass of wine in her hand.

“I didn’t think they’d take it so far,” the angel muttered as she sat, her own goblet containing the once forbidden brew.

Kiara didn’t know what had eased Heaven’s notion of the intoxicating nectar to where it was considered an acceptable drink. She supposed it had something to do with Jesus Christ transmuting water into it for that one wedding … It was hard to proclaim the sinfulness of something when the Son of God was making it appear with a wave of his hand.

She couldn’t exactly argue, not when some strains of it amplified the flavors of her favorite dishes.

The blonde looked toward the window as the sounds of a scuffle started, quickly ending with a echoing bang.

“Civil War in England. Inconceivable,” she said under her breath before lifting her gaze to Lilian’s face with a slight frown. “Are you quite sure you didn’t stir the pot, just a tad?”

“Humans are truly proactive … I barely have to breathe and a war is breaking out,” her companion drawled before she took a sip of the devil’s drink. A smirk twisted her lips. “Do you think so little of me, Kiara, that you immediately thought I’d go against our arrangement?”

Cover for each other. Don’t make too much work for the other, and occasionally, maybe lend a hand.

“I should have known better,” Kiara said, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

The dark-haired woman sat up, setting her glass on a side table. “Well, that was a little feeble, wouldn’t you say? For such an grievous offense – questioning my honor?”

“You’re a demon, you lie,” the angel scoffed lightly.

“Not to you, Angel.” Lilian’s gaze felt like it pierced her soul, her pupils narrow slits. “Not for centuries.”

Kiara swallowed, forcing a small lump down her throat as she guiltily stared at her drink. “What would you have me do?”

“I want a dance,” the demon purred, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched Kiara’s very pale visage turn a hue that the blonde was sure rivaled a tomato.

“A-angels don’t dance. Out of the question,” Kiara stammered, trying to still her trembling hands enough so she could set her glass aside. “You know that.”

“Ah, but you’re an angel who goes along with Heaven as far as you can,” Lilian pressed. She leaned forward, her hands clasped together and a mischievous gleam in her eye. “You’re dining with a demon, drinking the once-forbidden wine, and you’re worried a tiny dance will do you in?”

The blonde met Lilian’s gaze. “Just a little one?”

“With a song,” the demon pressed amusedly, no doubt enjoying Kiara’s discomfort.

“Fine,” Kiara sighed, rising uncomfortably to her feet. She tugged at her bodice, straightening out a nonexistent seam.

Lilian leaned back, her dark glasses sliding down her nose so her view of Kiara’s torment was unobstructed.

The angel cleared her throat and pushed her hair back from her face.

“I was wrong, I was wrong,” Kiara sang lightly, doing a small parody of something she’d seen in a ballroom. The way her hands and feet moved felt unnatural and foreign as she did a small pirouette. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

She ended with a deep curtsy, spreading her arms as if they were her wings, and lifted her head to meet Lilian’s eyes. “Satisfied?” she asked sardonically while she straightened.

“Immensely,” the demon purred, reaching for her wine. She tried to hide the smile on her face with her glass, but Kiara saw it.

She couldn’t suppress the small titter that escaped her lips.

~*~

Kiara smiled giddily as pedestals and easels moved away from the center of the shop, clearing a wide space.

“You’re up to something, Angel,” LiLi drawled as she watched from the staircase. She strolled over, her hips swaying exaggeratedly.

“I’m merely putting a plan into action, LiLi, as we’ve discussed,” the blonde soothed. “Something sure to make Nina and Maggie fall in love.”

She ignored her friend’s suspicious gaze as she pushed away the chairs and side tables strewn around the shop to clear the center.

“I can’t believe you’re going through with this,” Lilian muttered, looking out the shop window.

“If you’re going to complain, you can at least be useful and go make sure Maggie and Nina are coming. We’ll be starting any minute,” she ordered lightly. Her smile grew when Lilian rolled her eyes and slid her glasses on her nose. As Kiara heard the chime of the bell above the door that signaled the exit, she raised her hands and coaxed the miraculous chandelier down from her rafters, the wrought-iron arms dripping with cystals. She lit the candles and pulled out several freestanding candelabras.

An actual ball, here, in her gallery – Oh, Jane Austen would have been delighted at the scheme, orchestrating the perfect atmosphere for the blossoming beaus to recognize their feelings for each other.

“Ah, Mrs. Sandwich! Welcome to the meeting of the shopkeeper’s association,” Kiara greeted as the first guest stepped through the door. The rather ... abrasive woman looked around, eying the décor warily.

The woman had not noticed the way her outfit had transformed from that leopard-print lounge suit to the sequined-covered clothes she now wore. If Kiara were willing to put just a little bit more strength to her miracle, her guests could have been decked out in full regalia fit for a regency soiree, but she’d have to settle with the language and dancing – no use arousing too much suspicion from Heaven for a miracle she technically was supposed to have already performed.

“I’m a bit confused as to what I’m doing here,” the woman scoffed as the bell’s chime announced another arrival. “We’re about to hit the after work rush and the girls are left alone.”

“I’m sure they’ll manage just fine on their own,” Kiara assured her with a wide smile. “I’ve been meaning to ask, Mrs. Sandwich, what do your girls do?”

“As the government says, they stand on their own two feet,” Mrs. Sandwich explained with a … lecherous smirk.

The angel frowned slightly as woman departed and Mr. Brown slid in to fill her place. “Ms. Scuro, where are the chairs I dropped off this morning?”

“In the back, we won’t be needing them – they’ll only get in the way of the dancing,” the angel answered brightly, brushing past him. “Now excuse me, I have to get the hors d’oeuvres.”

She slipped away, the smile back on her face as more guests filtered in, slowly filling the room. “Jim, come help me, please!” she called out as she went into the backroom.

Gabriel was quickly at her side, buttoning up his powder blue blazer over the ruffled shirt. “What can I do?”

“Help me serve these?” Kiara asked, not waiting for a reply as she set a platter in his hands. “Just offer them to our guests.”

“These … aren’t books?” the amnesiac angel said in confusion, looking down at the tea sandwiches.

“No, no – its food, for our guests to eat,” she explained, arranging the vol-au-vaunts on a silver platter. “Thank you, Jim.”

Gabriel wandered out, still looking befuddled.

She heard the strains of the piano being tuned and she smiled pleasantly. The dancing would be starting soon and she still had guests to welcome.

As she stepped into the main room, she spotted one of her targets looking around the room and she brightened.

“Ah, Nina!” she called, weaving between the groups of conversing shopkeeps, using the tray as a way to clear her path in cases where the guests weren’t as quick to move. “I’m so glad you’re here! The dancing is about begin.”

“Ms. Scuro, what is going on?” Nina asked, her brow furrowed as was customary for her.

“Is Maggie here yet? I heard she never misses one of these meetings,” Kiara deflected as she set down her platter.

“I know I’m really upset, but I don’t feel upset. Why is that?” the coffee shop owner pressed.

“Ah, no long faces tonight,” the angel ordered jovially, the command deceptively light considering she had made that part of her miracle. “I just want to see you young people enjoy yourself.”

“Dancing?” Nina supplied incredulously.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a shopkeepers’ association meeting without dancing, would it?” the angel answered.

“Have you ever been to one of these meetings? Because meetings don’t usually go like this … this is far too much dancing.” The woman wrapped her arms around her midsection, closing in on herself. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but your friend said something dangerous was happening, and I’d be safe here – what did she mean by that? What’s going on?”

Kiara waved her hands dismissively.

“Oh, LiLi is always pessimistic about things like that, but she’s right about one thing. You’re completely safe here,” Kiara assured her. She nodded toward one of the few chairs that had been kept in the gallery – some humans couldn’t stand for long periods of time, she knew, and the night would only be a partial success if her guests didn’t have a good time. “Now, why don’t you sit for a spell? I’m sure Maggie will be here soon.”

She picked up the hors d’oeuvres and bustled away, occasionally stopping to greet a guest or offer a vol-a-vaunt.

Kiara felt practically effervescent as she watched her favorite shopkeep made her way over to Nina, who’d secluded herself as much as she could in the open chamber. She tittered when Maggie offered her hand to the coffee shop owner.

“What are you doing?” Lilian hissed, appearing at her shoulder.

“I told you!” the blonde reminded her, nodding toward the scene. “Jane Austen. We’re having a ball!”

Lilian clenched her teeth. “I’ve got to talk to you. It’s important.”

“I’m afraid I’m hosting a business meeting. I’ll be with you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,” she promised before offering the platter to the temptress. “Have a vol-au-vaunt.”

She left the hors d’oeuvres in her friend’s hand, moving between the guests. With a gleeful grin, she gave Mr. Arnold a thumbs up and moved out of the way of the dancers.

Her smile split her face as she saw Maggie and Nina join the first few couples line up for a cotillion. It wasn’t as lively or energetic as the gavotte she’d learned more than a century ago, but she quite preferred the intimacy and intricacies of this one – the way the dancers subtly pushed and pulled at each other, their hands linking them through the notes.

If she was being honest, more than once when she was lost in one of Austen’s tomes, she’d imagined Lilian facing her, the room slowly revolving around them as they circled. Their hands would clasp, accompanied by the pleasant tingle she always felt when she touched her friend. And in her daydreams, her eyes never left Lilian’s, unencumbered by the dark lenses so the sapphire hues were apparent.

“Making it rain is one thing, but a ball -” The demon cut herself off as she realized her voice was raising slightly. She glanced furtively around at the people who were quickly migrating to the dance floor.

Kiara snapped out of her reverie, giddy as a new idea formed in her head.

“Look, something is wrong,” Lilian told her, sounding a little exasperated with the angel. “Very, very wrong.”

“Well, perhaps you can tell me …” The blonde turned to face LiLi, practically reverberating out of her skin, “while we dance?”

She could feel Lilian’s piercing gaze behind her glasses. “We don’t dance. YOU don’t dance,” the dark-haired woman reminded her, with a note of incredulity.

With a nervous giggle, Kiara grabbed her hand and pulled her into the line.

#Kiara Scuro #Lilian Moros #Ineffable AU

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