Fallen

Max wakes up from another night of smoking and drinking, the street smells of rain and the air is cold. His head is throbbing and he's a little sensitive to the bright light of the cloudy day but none of that stops him from going to get breakfast, he takes a whiff of himself first.

"Oh, gross. Take out will do just fine," said Max.

He stumbles about for a bit before he manages to get his footing back and can walk somewhat normally. He takes out a cigarette from his coat pocket and puts it to his lips but before he can light it, he's stopped by a redheaded woman who noticed him walking.

"Oh, honey, you didn't make it home," said the woman.

"What?" asked Max.

"You poor thing, let me take you inside and get you cleaned up," said the woman.

Knowing that this is an opportunity that Max can't say no to, or better yet, he won't say no to, he decides to take advantage of this so he can try and piece some of the previous night together before going on his merry way.

"Okay," says Max as she takes his arm and wraps it around her while she holds him by his hip. His walking goes from somewhat normal to a little better.

"What happened last night, honey? I thought Simon was picking you up," said the woman.

Max looks at her like she found out a secret that she never should've known, "How do you know about Simon?"

"You told me about him. You sounded devastated over a woman and Simon took care of you after it happened," said the woman.

Pieces of the night come back to him and he realizes the woman he was devastated over, it was Karen. He thought he did a forgetful spell on himself after she left but clearly, it didn't work. He's feeling devastated all over again but he doesn't want to talk about it. They walk up to the door but before the woman can turn the doorknob when she places her hand, Simon pulls up in a new car and honks his horn. Max quickly covers his ears while he collapses to the ground.

"Let's go, dollface! We're burning daylight!" exclaimed Simon.

Max signals him to shush while the woman helps him to his feet, "Is that your sweetheart?" asked the woman sarcastically.

"No, it's a parasite," replied Max.

Simon flips him off while the woman helps him to the car. When they get to the passenger side of the car, Max caresses the woman's shoulder to let her know that he can get in the car himself. She takes a step back while Max lets himself fall into the seat when he opens the door, he adjusts himself before groggily buckling himself in. The woman approaches the window and leans in to talk to Max.

"You better not be a stranger next time you're in town, mister," said the woman.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be sure to do that when I see you again," replied Max. She bites her lower lip suggestively, she's dying to kiss him but she doesn't want his breath so she nibbles on his earlobe. It wakes Max up almost immediately and he exclaims in excitement, she stops and kisses him on his cheek before she steps back from the window. Max is back to his groggy self and they wave to each other as Simon drives off.

"Max, you need to stop this and forget about her," said Simon.

"What're you talking about, mate?" asked Max.

"You know damn well WHO I'm talking about," replied Simon.

"Come on, man, I haven't thought about her since you just brought her up," countered Max.

"Bullshit! Why have all this sex with the same start of the morning?" asked Simon.

"They all haven't been the same. There was that one time with Rose and the other time with Melinda," replied Max.

Simon punches Max in the arm, "Melinda was with me, you jackass!" yelled Simon.

"Okay, then! I think it was Ilsa!" replied Max.

Max digs around in his pockets to find a cigarette. He pulls out an empty carton, looks at it sadly, and tosses it on the floor. He slouches in his seat while he rubs his arm before he falls asleep. He dreams about Karen and the relationship they had after they dealt with Gabriel, it was in a different place than when they first met and when they were getting used to each other.

In the dream, Max and Karen are sitting in a park on a blanket while Karen reads a book and Max is people watching. She stops reading for a bit and looks at him before diverting his attention by directing his head to turn to face her and caresses Max's face lovingly before she plants a tender kiss on his lips. They smile at each other but Max knows what happened later on and he wakes up, Simon is pulling up to a bar and restaurant that's like a saloon.

"Figured you could use a bite. You've been sleeping for a while," said Simon.

Max sits up in his seat, he pats Simon on his shoulder twice as a friendly thank you. They unbuckle their seatbelts and get out of the car, Simon looks at Max so he stops him for a minute. "Wait a sec, mate, hold on. You gotta change your shirt," said Simon.

"What?" asked Max.

"We gotta look normal," replied Simon.

"I do look normal," said Max.

"Not in here. Sure, you look normal every day but you gotta blend in," retorted Simon.

"What do you mean, 'blend in'?" asked Max.

"We gotta look like we're part of the crowd, mate. Someone might want to approach one of us that's not too friendly," replied Simon.

Max looks at the sign to see the name of the place, it says "Lady Luck Saloon" and it clicks for him. "Simon, give me the keys," demanded Max.

"What?" asked Simon in a remindful way.

Max sighs exasperatedly, "Simon, can I have the keys, please?"

"Yes, you may," replied Simon. He gives Max the keys, Max goes to the trunk of the car, and opens it. He takes his coat and button up off, grabs a plain black t-shirt to put it on, and changes his dress shoes to sneakers. After changing, he closes the trunk and Simon approves of his casual look so Simon gives him a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's chow down," said Max as he tosses Simon the keys.

Simon barely catches them, "I hate it when you do that, goddamn it!" exclaimed Simon while they're both walking in.

The music sounds country and it's loud, the atmosphere is friendly but it can turn at any point, and the food smells good. Max and Simon get a booth together, a waitress approaches them. She's a little older than Simon's age but she's attractive, "Hello, my sweetums, my name is Kasey and I'll be serving the both of you tonight. Take all the time you need to look at our menu but while y'all do that, what can I get for y'all to drink?" asked the waitress.

Max looks at the drinks on the menu for a minute, "Can I get a strawberry lemonade, please?" asked Max.

"You most certainly can, honey," replied Kasey as she writes down his drink.

"I'll have a... a... Hmm....." said Simon while he thinks.

Max puts Simon's menu down, "My friend will have what he usually has when he goes to a restaurant. He'll stare at the menu for about 2 minutes, get ready to say what he wants but he'll pause to see if he's sure, stare at the menu again for a minute and a half, and say that he'll have water since he can never make up his mind," said Max.

"Sounds good. I'll be right back with your drinks, fellas," said Kasey while she writes the order down and goes to the back.

Max looks at the menu to order something to eat, he's not all that hungry but he can eat something. Simon worriedly looks at Max while he occasionally glances at his menu, Max makes his choice with his food and puts the menu down. "Alright, Simon, something is up. What's bugging you about me?" asked Max.

Simon looks at him for a few more seconds before putting his menu down, "You miss her?" asked Simon.

Max knows who he's talking about but he doesn't want to talk about her, "Who?" replied Max.

"Come on, mate, you can't hide your feelings from me," said Simon.

Max picks up a butter knife from a rolled-up napkin and fiddles with it. "No, I don't," said Max.

Simon taps the table twice, Max looks at him while he continues to fiddle with the butter knife. "Max," said Simon sternly like a parent.

"What? I don't," said Max.

"Max," said Simon with a rising inflection.

"I promise you, I don't. She can get dragged to Hell for all I care," said Max.

"Max!" exclaimed Simon.

"Fine! I do, okay? I miss her, what do you want me to do? You want me to cry over her?" asked Max.

"I want you to be human," responded Simon.

"With what I deal with, I'm hardly human. Hell, I was barely human when I first met her," said Max.

"Then what're you doing every night binging? Last time I checked, you're still human. Granted, you're not going about it healthily but still," said Simon.

"Yeah but it's a way, so get off my back," said Max.

The silence between them fills the air while the restaurant continues to be full of life, Max puts the butter knife down. Kasey comes back with both of their drinks. "There ya go, fellas, are we ready to get some grub?"

Max is about to answer but Simon jumps ahead of him, "Actually, we still need a minute."

"Alright, sweetie. Let me know if you want a refill but take your time and I'll be back when you're ready," said Kasey.

Kasey goes back to the back while Max and Simon sit in silence. Max is getting impatient with the silence so he breaks it, "How long was I asleep?"

Simon hesitantly answers, "...I don't know, you were out for a while."

Max doesn't want to say so he goes to reach for his cigarettes but he remembers they're back in the trunk so he lets out a sigh and a brief word, "Shit."

Simon waves down Kasey, she happily comes to Max and Simon and she's ready to write down what they want to have. "Alright, we're ready to order?" asked Kasey.

"Yes, please," replied Max.

"What're we having tonight?" asked Kasey.

"I'll have your chicken strips with fries," said Max.

"Any sauces with that, dear?" asked Kasey.

"You guys have any barbecue sauce?" replied Max.

"We most certainly do, would you like some with your strips and fries?" asked Kasey.

"Absolutely, Kasey, that's all for me," replied Max as he finally takes a sip of his strawberry lemonade.

"Sounds good, we'll have you all set for that and anything for you?" asked Kasey as she finishes up writing Max's order and looks to Simon.

"This water is going to be fine with me. I'm not hungry, thank you, though," replied Simon.

"That's fine, honey. I'll be back with your order, dear," said Kasey as she finishes up with Simon and looks to Max before she goes back to the back.

Max is ready to eat something but the silence is still there until Simon says something to him that he already knows, "It's not your fault, mate."

"I know," said Max.

"She made her choice and you had nothing to do with that," said Simon.

"I know," said Max.

"You miss her?" asked Simon.

Max is about to answer but he lets it die inside of him, "Max Williams," said a voice. It sounds like a male's voice, it's deep and there's a smoothness to it but Max knows this voice. He turns around and it's an angel who's half-human.

"Azriel," said Max.

"How's my favorite human doing?" asked Azriel.

"Better, now that you're here because that means I can put your sorry ass down," said Max as he stands up to meet Azriel eye to eye but Simon holds Max back.

"Not here, mate," said Simon.

Azriel smiles at Max while the duo sits back down, he stands at the head of the table. "Max, Max, Max," said Azriel with a sarcastic sigh. He clicks his tongue at him like he's Tom from Tom & Jerry when Spike had to be on a leash. "You gotta keep your impulses in check, man. The red-haired girl that you were with had better check than you did."

"Don't mention her around me or I'll clip your wings and cook them," said Max.

"Whoa. No need to get so violent, I'm just pointing out your flaws," said Azriel.

"Yeah, well, I'm just about ready to shut your holy ass up," said Max.

"In other words, mate, what're you doing here?" asked Simon.

"This is one of my favorite places to eat. I'm not like the other angels, remember?" replied Simon.

"So you say," said Max in disbelief.

"Oh and Max, before I go, best of luck to you about Karen," said Azriel before he leaves.

Max is about to charge at Azriel but Simon holds him back again. He sits down after about a minute and Kasey comes back with Max's food, "Here ya go, sweetheart. Chicken strips with french fries along with barbecue sauce. Enjoy," said Kasey before she leaves.

"Actually, Kasey, can I get a to-go box? My friend here will have the check," said Max.

"Absolutely, sugar," said Kasey. She grabs a to-go box by the cash register and hands it to Max.

"Thank you, Kasey," said Max as he takes it and goes back to put his food in the box. After he puts his food in the box, he leaves the restaurant and gets in the car without changing his clothes to his normal stuff. Simon, back in the restaurant, is on his way out and he just paid for the check. Azriel approaches Simon for a quick conversation.

"Hey, Max's lackey, what's wrong with him?" asked Azriel.

"He's just going through a lot and he doesn't know how to deal with it," replied Simon.

"Well, I hope he feels better soon. I want him at 100% when the war goes down," said Azriel.

"Why should we be involved in your war? You practically took away everything from Max and wherever he goes, I go with him," said Simon.

"That's the thing, I don't want you guys to be in this war either but like it or not, Earth is going to be the battlefield and Max is the best on the planet to defend it," said Azriel.

"Well, at least tell me what this war is so I can tell him," said Simon.

"You guys will figure it out," said Azriel.

Azriel goes back to his table while Simon leaves the restaurant and gets in the car with Max. They sit there in silence for a bit, "So it turns out that there's a war that's going to happen and Earth is going to be the battlefield," said Simon.

Max looks at Simon and with exasperation, he says, "Son of a bitch."