"You can, you know, lie there for a while if you're worn out," says Phebe. "I suppose you don't have anything else to do while she's off proving to everyone how important she is... Let yourself out whenever," she shrugs. "I'm going to go get note-perfect on the Requiem."

"Mmm... not that worn out," he decides, and rolls out of bed and gets dressed.

"As you like, then," says Phebe, and she waits until he won't scandalize passersby before she opens the door and sweeps out, white fans of her wings held regally behind her.

Micaiah goes and gets a snack, and returns to Isabella's room, and curls up in her bed, and cries quietly.

Angela's back on schedule, looking tired. She goes looking for her Micaiah.

Her Micaiah is in the practice rooms, singing that one mass, and putting more emotion into it than usual.

Angela comes in at her next pickup, closing the door quietly behind her.

His voice catches, and he breaks off and turns and hugs her, burying his face against her shoulder.

She falls silent when he stops. "What's wrong?" she exclaims. "What happened?"

Angela wraps her arms around him automatically. "Phebe - the angel, right, not the angel-seeker who works in the laundry?"

He nods.

Her wings go around him too, overlapping behind his back. "I - I didn't even know she had a problem with me," she murmurs. "But it's not your fault - it's okay -" She hugs him tightly.

"I've never had a lover who was even pretending they didn't want me with anybody else," he says, clinging a little. "I didn't think of it until she started talking about throwing it in your face."

"I - I'm afraid I can't exactly sign up for a harmonics slot and improvise an explanation in soprano-tenor for everyone's ears. It'd be - It's not uncommon exactly, for angels and people around angels to be... imperfectly constant? Is there a nicer word for that? But it's generally very discreet if there's any kind of relationship instead of just dabbling with angel-seekers. There would be... consequences, to announcing it. ...And now if Phebe does want to hurt me, I can only hope I can think of a way to act hurt after a private revelation instead of having to come up with a reaction to a public declaration."

"I don't want you to have to act hurt."

"If I don't, she'll find a way to tell everyone in a way that will actually cause me problems. Delilah in particular I don't think would think much of it if it weren't for anyone else, but there are some people she listens to who would."

Angela swallows. "Here's what might work best. I go find Phebe, today. I tell her that you confessed and you feel terrible and I forgave you, and then I tell her I forgive her. I act completely unconcerned about public opinion, I make it sound like it's just a matter between me and her to me. She won't have a chance to try making it general knowledge without hearing from me and if I can pull off sufficient - I don't know, serenity - then she might think it's not worth it to try."

"I love you," he murmurs.

"I love you too. - Can you think of a better plan? Because if I'm going with that one I had really better not wait."

"No." He kisses her cheek. "It's a good plan."

"Okay. - Will I find you here or in our room, after?"

"Here," he decides.

"Okay. I don't think this will take longer than half an hour, unless I can't find Phebe," says Angela, and she kisses his forehead, and unwraps wings and arms, and slips out of the practice room.