It was true that Cal had teased some things out of Oliver in the last few years that he hadn't previously known he even had in him. It was also true that, despite how he might protest sometimes on principle (to maintain his air of heavenly authority, obviously), Oliver enjoyed it.
After all the years he'd spent with his head firmly buried in books and for the most part avoiding any unnecessary human interaction on purpose, as cheesy as it sounds, meeting Cal was like waking up from a deep sleep. Somewhere along the way, Oliver had forgotten to actually live. It had been a key component in at least one or two failed relationships, most certainly, as well as getting in the way of him making any real, lasting connections beyond the people he saw every day at work. Too focused on his career, as important as it still was, and not much else.
Of course, becoming the reincarnate of an angel who was going to live this side of forever only reinforced Oliver's mostly subconscious resolve not to try to connect with people. What was the point, if you were just going to outlive all of them? Dark, but not untrue. At least that's what he'd tried to tell himself for awhile. Oliver had thought he was already well used to loneliness after the years he'd spent as a young outcast hiding in the closet, but becoming a reincarnate was a whole other kind of lonely feeling that he hadn't been at all prepared for at the time.
Meeting Cal had challenged everything he thought he previously knew, but it was the changes that happened more slowly over time that really took Oliver by surprise. Cal had opened up new doors for him, opened his eyes to a world he'd been walking through his entire life but never really seen. As much as the angel was reluctant to admit, there was more to life than academia. Potentially. Sometimes. Within reason.
He'd also made Oliver realize certain things about himself, such as the fact that occasionally, once in a great while, Oliver did really enjoy a good cigarette. That didn't stop him from scolding Cal about his smoking habit the rest of the time (despite the fact that neither of them had to worry about cancer anymore, it was for the benefit of others!), but sometimes Oliver just couldn't resist the smell. Oliver also liked a shocking amount of Downstairs music (or maybe it wasn't so shocking, considering it was undeniably true that Hell got all the best composers).
For someone as allergic to change as Oliver Chase, he had managed to grow rather accustomed to all of the various and rapid changes that had taken place just in the short time that he'd jumped into a relationship wings first with Cal Price.
But perhaps most shockingly? There was a part of Oliver that privately enjoyed taking advantage of his boyfriend's penchant for indulging him. Not very angel-like, all things considered, but it wasn't exactly tempting. No, Oliver would be exceedingly bad at tempting if he actually tried for it in earnest. That was a demon's game. No, his smaller schemes were altogether harmless, though Oliver of course still felt the appropriate amount of guilt directly after (angel, hello).
"Am I?" Oliver smiled, blushing faintly as he relaxed into Cal's hold on his wrists without protest, something as simple as a brush of thumb over skin was enough to electrify every part of him and the angel had to fight to keep his breathing even. He hid this by brushing an innocent kiss against Cal's earlobe, before craning his neck at an angle so that his green eyes finally met Cal's piercing blue. Oliver quickly continued.
"You know, you are right. It is so much better without the books taking up all that space, and think of all the ways we could enjoy this sofa in their absence. It's just too bad that they'll eventually have to go back, what with no other place to put them... Shame about the back rubs."