"Do you have anything to wear for the benefit?"
"Uh, yeah, totally, for sure."
"Are you just saying that?"
"...Maybe."

The day of the charity benefit quickly arrived, and Azriel arrived at Charlie's apartment about three hours before the event. That was something notable about Azriel; she was never on time. She was always either early or late. In this case, it was early.

Charlie had not been expecting the woman to appear so clean and, well, put together. Usually, Azriel appeared at her door with greasy hair and adorned in stained jeans and murky sneakers. So it was quite a shock when the tall woman showed up in an expensive-looking suit with a single, red rose in her hand. The bags under her eyes were still present, but less noticeable, and concealed with a constant smile playing on Azriel's lips. When Charlie sized her up, she noted that the muddy sneakers remained, even when she had ditched her usual attire.

Accepting the rose with a gracious smile, Charlie's first words to her companion were, "Did you take a shower?"

Azriel cocked her head as an amused expression played on her face. "Nice to see you too, sunshine."

Quickly sniffing her friend's hair, she snickered. "Raspberry shampoo?"

"Jesus Christ, how did you know that?"

"It's a superpower," Charlie observed as her friend plopped down on the sofa, running a hand through her shaggy and choppy pixie cut. She had to admit, Azriel looked gorgeous in a handsome sort of way. It was strange, she always felt something when she was in the presence of her guardian angel, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. All she knew is that whenever they hung out, Charlie was always left wanting more, wanting to continue to be in her presence. She was almost addictive, her entrancing half-smiles, her messy hair, her always-relaxed composure. The redhead couldn't get enough.

Stretching her limbs, Azri sighed. "So, when does the charity thing start?"

"Seven."

A groan emitted from her throat. "Ugh, it's only four! What am I supposed to do until then?"

A shrug is what she received in response. "Start on watching the Star Wars movies?"

"Fine."

☼ ☼ ☼

Time, once the future, lingered briefly in the present before escaping to the past. It went barely noticed by one resident of the Bradbury residence, but painfully experienced by the other.

With her particularly dark themed appearance, Azriel seemed out of place in the bright and playful living room. Twenty minutes into The Empire Strikes Back, air rushed out of her nose in the form of a sigh. The sun had begun to crawl its way down the sky to collapse into its bed while the moon was only just rising from a restful sleep. A gaze out at the sky strewn with a spectrum of colors caused the angel to wonder what her siblings were doing currently. She hadn't visited heaven in a while; she feared that her superiors might have found out about her involvement with her charge, and she was certain that she did not want to receive the punishment that was issued for that sort of infraction. It was a punishment that put her in this situation in the first place.

It was not long before Charlie emerged from her bedroom, wearing the dress she had chosen the day before. Along with the outfit, she wore light eye makeup with soft, mauve lipstick. A few strands of her ruby hair were pinned back to create a sort of crown of hair on her head. It was fitting for her.

At a loss for words, Azriel shut her gaping mouth and nodded. Clearing her throat, she smiled nervously. "You look... nice."

"You don't look so bad yourself," said Charlie as she hurried to gather the few items she was going to place in her sparkly clutch. With a definite hum, she scanned the condo to be sure that she had done everything she needed to. I could really use a Remembrall, Charlie noted to herself.

Turning to her date for the night, Charlie nodded once before relaying her thoughts. "Ready to go?"

"Of course," promised Azriel as she got to her feet promptly, shoving her sweaty palms deep into her pockets.

"Then let's-a-go."

With a nod, the angel hurried to open the front door for her companion. With a toothy smile, Azriel mumbled a "M'lady." This received a laugh from Charlie in response.

☼☼☼

The ride to the location at which the charity benefit was being held was brief. Azriel was, well, anxious. This was the first time she was going to be interacting with a massive group of people in, well, at least a century. The last time was probably in the mid-1800s when she took the vessel of a male entrepreneur with big ambitions. Again, that was nearly one hundred and twenty-five years previous to her immediate situation. Things had changed, and by things, she meant, well, basically everything had changed. Acknowledging this did little to soothe her tense demeanor.

While drowning in her thoughts, Azriel had failed to notice that the car had parked and Charlie was attempting to catch her attention. With realization, she uttered an, "Oh, sorry," and exited the car. Opening the driver's door for the redhead whom she was accompanying, the nervous mess of an angel escorted her friend to the event.

When they entered the beautiful home in which the gathering was happening, Azriel was in awe of the beauty of the place. The first room they entered was an enormous one, triple the size of the average living room. Many bodies milled about, some dancing, most chatting, either business or personal conversation. An enchanting, golden chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Servers hovered around guests with platters filled with refreshments. As a waiter passed them with champagne glasses, Charlie easily snatched two off the tray and handed one to Azriel.

"Thank you...?" Azriel's confused expression was brief as she sniffed the bubbly, alabaster liquid. Raising her eyes, she noticed three people who approached Charlie and immediately stepped to her friend's side. There were a few reasons that caused her to do this: protection, instinct, and also, well, fear of abandonment in unknown circumstances, though she wouldn't admit it. Azriel was anxious to be left alone.

"Oh, guys! This is my date, Azriel. Azriel, these are my friends from work." Charlie excitedly introduced the angel in a suit.

Date? Azriel's mind raced. Was this technically a date? How was she supposed to react to that statement? Did she even like Charlie? Was Charlie just saying that or did she really mean it? Was she overthinking this? Yes, probably. Shut up, be cool. She's introducing you to her friends. You need to make an impression.

"Azriel? That's definitely an... unusual name." One of them commented.

Don't be awkward. Say something funny. "Yeah, well, you know, my parents are kind of jerks, actually. I always have to spell my name out for everything now." Azriel shrugged with a sheepish smile, exchanging an awkward glance with Charlie, who met her eyes encouragingly.

They laughed. Azriel released out a subtle sigh of relief and grinned. A conversation ensued.

"So, Azriel, what do you do for a living?" One of Charlie's companions questioned curiously. With wide eyes, Azriel quickly thought of an excuse but came up blank.

"Uh, real estate." Charlie quickly covered for her. The angel relaxed slightly and sent a grateful look toward her date.

"Oh, really? Interesting." She could hear Charlie let out a gracious breath of relief from beside her and cover it with a nod and a fake smile.

Deciding she needed to escape before she was faced with any more questions, she excused herself to go hunt down some food for Charlie and herself. As she hurried away, she closed her eyes briefly, trying to regain some composure before being once again confronted with having to socially interact with others.

She honestly didn't know what had come over her. She was usually so adept at communicating with others. Little did she know it was the overwhelming need to impress the people Charlie associated herself with. And that little 'date' thing wasn't helping at all. If anything, it threw her off her game in the first place.

Charlie spotted Azriel sitting alone on a couch, downing a glass of champagne. She excused herself from the people she was conversing with and approached the angel. A giggle tumbled from her mouth as she saw Azriel's disgusted expression after tasting the drink. Plopping down beside the angel, Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You alright? You seem a little out of place."

Azriel scoffed. "A little? This is way out of the spectrum of what I'm used to. Last time I went to a ball was in, like, 1787 in France."

Charlie put a hand on her guardian's shoulder. "You need to loosen up. Come on, dance with me. Maybe you'll relax a little that way..?"

Her eyes widened and darted around the room nervously. "I haven't danced formally in several centuries. I'm a little rusty, to say the least."

With a laugh, the ginger grasped Azriel by the hand and led her to the dancefloor where only two other couples were dancing. The angel gulped as she placed her hands on Charlie's waist. Pull yourself together, she told herself sharply. You'll look like a fool if you screw this up.

The pair swayed gently to the music playing. Looking her companion in the eyes, Azriel felt a serene composure wash over her. It was as if only Charlie and she were the only two people in the entire place. Everyone else faded away.

"Why did you call me your date?" Azriel murmured softly, staring her friend in the eyes with strange intensity.

Looking up at her, the beautiful woman cocked her head to the side. "Did I? That's sort of just a thing you say about someone you come to one of these events with, I think."

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, the angel nodded. Then a question nudged into her mind. "Wait, but your friends didn't find it strange-- wait, I mean, I think what I'm asking here is-- Charlie, are you into--"

"Am I a lesbian? Yeah. You really hadn't realized that until now? Wow."

Azriel's wide eyes must have been extremely noticeable. She blinked, shaking her head. "That's, alright. Wonderful." She had been so off-put by this simple statement that she couldn't coherently respond.

Charlie suddenly decided they were done dancing and took Azriel by the hand, leading her off to a quiet area of the room. "Wait, you aren't weirded out or anything because, like, the Bible, and gays, and--"

Eyes widened, Azriel hurried to mend the situation. "No! No, god no. I don't give a shit about that. Besides, everyone misinterprets the Bible anyway, but that shit is fucking confusing anyway, so it's understandable. I was just a little shocked, I don't know how I didn't notice. Also," she inhaled deeply, having rambled without stopping. "I know I'm kind of a genderless being, but I've always felt more comfortable in women vessels, and I--" she stopped, running her fingers through her hair and licking her bottom lip with a quick swipe of her tongue. "I've always felt attracted to females too, I guess."

Having finally said it out loud, she let out a breath, feeling a certain weight lift off of her chest. She didn't know why she had been so nervous trying to get that out. "Wait," she paused, looking off into space. "Did I just come out?"

With a laugh, Charlie took Azriel's hands into her own. "I think you just did."

"Wow. That's a new sensation. Uh-- okay." Azriel stared at her feet. She felt an overwhelming urge to step forward and hug Charlie. So she did.

"Oh! Okay." Charlie squeezed her friend back with admiration.

"Do you want to get out of here?" The angel whispered her friend's ear, suddenly feeling the overwhelming urge to sink into the couch cushions at Charlie's apartment, pile up with thousands of blankets, and watch Star Wars until four in the morning.

Charlie snickered at her friend's sudden boldness. Stepping back, she kept her hands on Azriel's biceps, meeting her eyes. "Sure, I just have one more person I need to talk to before we do. I'll be right back, okay?" Azriel nodded and watched as she walked away.

Azriel nearly collapsed onto the wall behind her when she was left alone. She laughed so joyfully she thought tears were going to fall and never stop falling. Running a hand through her shaggy hair for nearly the fiftieth time that night, she started toward the door, deciding that's where she would stand until Charlie was done. The sooner they could get out of the suffocating environment, the better.

Her eyes searched the crowd for her redheaded companion, stopping only once she found that beautiful face among the others. She was talking with-- Azriel squinted. She didn't recognize the person, and she didn't recognize their aura as any certain species. Not human, not a demon, not an angel or vampire or werewolf. Suddenly, Azriel was filled with a burst of protectiveness. She waded through the sea of humans until she reached the two people she had her sights set on.

"Hey, Charlie. Who's this?" Azriel butted in. The creature took the form of a human woman with long blond hair and piercing eyes. Her smile was devious and grew at the sight of Azriel, staring at something behind her. Probably her wings, which instinctively curled around Charlie, hovering to protect her from sudden attack. Whatever this being was, it must be an ancient one, one so old that an angel with decent memory and many lives experienced would not recognize.

"Oh, hey. This is Rhea. She's one of my good friends and co-workers at Ro--"

"Yeah, okay, could I talk to you for a moment? In private?" Azriel shot a look of urgency to Charlie.

"Uh, sure." Both of them walking several feets away from 'Rhea,' Charlie quickly questioned, "Okay, what's up? You seem a little shaken."

Azriel had been staring at Rhea, who only stared back at her, her smile unwavering. Snapping out of it, she eyed Charlie. "Yeah, I don't think your friend," she spat the word friend. "is completely human."

Charlie appeared confused. "Wait, Rhea? No way. She's one of my closest friends at work, she's definitely human. There's no way she couldn't be. Why are you saying this?"

"Look, all I know is that her aura isn't human, it's something else. Something I can't recognize. Something old and evil."

Looking unconvinced, the redhead shook her head. "I don't understand-- wait a second. Are you jealous? Is this because you realize you aren't my only friend? Or because you aren't the only person I devote my time to?" A little smile crept onto the woman's face. She was obviously teasing the angel.

"No! What the hell, Charlie? I'm trying to protect you here since it's my job to, and you're acting like this is a joke? I think I chose to be in the situation, being a guardian? Hell no, I was meant for much more than this, but I'm trying to do my job right, get it done, because as soon as you get killed, it's my ass on the line. So I'm telling you, you can't be around 'Rhea' anymore." Before she knew it, all the harsh words had flown out of her mouth into the open air. She seemed to be outside of herself, watching the entire thing happen. She tried to stop herself, that's why she stuttered through the whole thing, but she couldn't. She watched as Charlie's face changed from amused to devastated to furious.

Knowing Azriel was about to get put in her place, she braced herself. Charlie opened her mouth and once she had started, she wasn't going to stop until she was done. "You know what, Azriel? Screw you. That's all I am to you, a job, an assignment, a punishment? Just another fleeting human to watch over, oh, so annoying, a waste of your time. Oh, that Charlie, just have to keep her from killing herself all the time. Well, screw you. And who the hell do you think you are to tell me who I can and cannot be with? I will hang out with whoever I want to because my decisions are my decisions and you don't get to make them, you don't get to control my life. That's my choice. It's my life. So just leave me alone, okay? Just-- leave."

Azriel could tell Charlie was on the verge of tears. Azriel was too. "Please, don't." The angel's voice broke as she watched Charlie turn around, wipe her eyes, and march right back up to Rhea.

Picking her head up, she stared at the room around her. Their argument had evidently been concealed by the noise of music and conversation, considering no one looked like they had noticed. Azriel hurried to the bathroom and into a stall, and only once she was there and she knew no one was looking did she fly away with wet eyes and an aching heart.

☼☼☼

WC: 2881

A/N: Damn this was a long chapter. Unedited because I'm lazy and just want to post it already. The next chapter is when we get into the actual Supernatural plot!