Chapter 23
Gabriel
Gabriel had only a moment to panic at being ripped away from Levi, and then he was standing in a spacious office with dark mahogany walls. The carpet was dark and incredibly plush, and there was an attractive man in a black suit sitting behind the desk.
“Lucifer,” Gabriel announced, rather shocked.
He’d met the devil before, but he’d only ever done so because the devil had been in Yah’s presence. He knew the two worked together, but he had never been called forth by the devil himself.
Lucifer gestured to a plush chair across the desk from him.
Gabriel sat. What else was he supposed to do?
There was an odd painting behind the devil—it looked almost like a window with lava flowing down a cliffside, and there were pretty trees with what looked like snow on top of them.
Gabriel didn’t think there was such a place in heaven or in Limbo, but it was beautiful.
It also really looked like the lava was moving.
Gabriel dragged his eyes away from that, though, to look back at the devil.
Who was smiling at him.
“You may call me Luce,” the devil announced.
Gabriel had no response to that. What was he supposed to say? He’d been in the devil’s presence, but they had never spoken before. He had no idea why they should be speaking now. They stared at one another for a few moments, and Gabriel refused to look away.
“You’ve changed,” the devil finally said.
Gabriel didn’t know what the devil was speaking of, but he did know it would be rude to just leave, if he even could. Nevertheless, he really wanted to get back to Levi.
His demon was probably worrying about him.
Gabriel cleared his throat. “Why am I here?”
Lucifer smiled. “Didn’t change too much, though. Straight to business. Interesting that someone who is so business-oriented has teamed up with someone who has not reported for duty in… What was it? Almost six centuries now?”
Oh, heaven. Lucifer was talking about Levi. The devil had no authority over Gabriel, but he did have plenty of authority over Levi.
Gabriel didn’t think the leadership team could actually break them up, even if they had dissolved the partnership. Lucifer, on the other hand… Yes, the devil could certainly make sure they didn’t work together. He could assign Levi anywhere.
Including hell, where Gabriel couldn’t go.
Gabriel tamped down the frisson of panic that threatened to overtake him. “What can I assist you with?” he asked, trying to sound conciliatory.
The devil smiled. “I see we understand each other, then.”
Gabriel simply stared.
The devil laughed in response. “Oh, you have spine, that’s for sure. It’s quite a treat to see.” When Gabriel didn’t answer, the devil continued. “I need you to find someone for me.”
Gabriel couldn’t keep the surprise off his face. Why in heaven, or hell for that matter, would the devil need him to find someone? That made no sense.
“Why?” Gabriel asked. “You would know where everyone is.”
“Not this particular angel, I’m afraid.”
Ah, so it was an angel. He would be worried about overstepping, but Gabriel knew for a fact that there was no animosity between god and the devil. Furthermore, it being an angel should have had no bearing on whether or not Lucifer could find them.
“You want me to find an angel for you that you can’t locate?” Gabriel asked, still unsure that such a thing was even possible.
Lucifer nodded.
Gabriel looked at him thoughtfully. He could find anyone, as long as he had a message to deliver. He certainly had a message for this angel, too. The devil was looking for them, and Gabriel was glad to give them a message letting them know that. So finding them shouldn’t be a problem.
He looked at the devil thoughtfully. “Leviathan and I are in a Professional Development Partnership.”
“You were in such a partnership, but my understanding is that the leadership team has dissolved that partnership.”
“Yes, I suppose they have. However, if I’m going to be stretching the boundaries of my job description by finding an angel for the devil, I will surely need extra assistance in message delivery,” Gabriel reasoned.
The devil laughed, and Gabriel could tell he was genuinely amused.
That probably wasn’t a good thing.
“Are you trying to bargain with the devil, Divine Herald?” Lucifer asked, leaning forward in his seat.
“Yes,” Gabriel answered, “I am.”
The devil smiled, folding his hands in front of him. “Well, then, let’s get down to it.”
Cute little angel dude.
Gabriel couldn’t even get a name—only “cute little angel dude” as a description, and apparently that had come from Arioch (because of course it had).
Without thinking, he transported himself to Levi, because they were a team, after all. (The fact that he already missed the demon had nothing at all to do with his urgency to get back to him.)
Levi must have been transporting as well, because it was almost like they had a mid-air (mid-spacial-folding?) collision, and they literally ran into one another and plopped down in the middle of a cushy library type room in Limbo.
After their initial oomph, Gabriel barely had time to look around before Levi was pulling him into a hug.
Gabriel enthusiastically returned the hug, grasping onto Levi and holding tightly. “I’m okay,” he reassured his demon.
“Did god pull you away? Are you delivering a message for them right now? There’s no reason I can’t go with you, even if the leadership team did dissolve our partnership, right?” a frazzled Levi asked, still gripping Gabriel.
Gabriel rocked him a bit, rubbing the demon’s back. He should feel terrible that Levi was obviously upset, and he did, but he also felt kind of… warm and fuzzy? He had been missed, and it was nice to be missed.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly god. We need to talk. I was on my way to find you,” Gabriel explained.
“I was on my way to Lucifer to try and find out where you were,” Levi told him.
“A few seconds earlier and you would have run into me there.”
Levi pulled back at Gabriel’s words, and Gabriel sighed. It was probably time to get back to business, although the extended hug had been very nice.
Gabriel looked around. The area of Limbo they were in seemed empty, but one could never be too careful. “Let’s head home for this discussion,” he told Levi.
Levi positively lit up, like the sun was shining inside of him, and before Gabriel could do anything, he was enfolded in tentacles and they were whisked away to the kitchen.
Levi gave him one more tight hug before motioning him to a chair, then heading over to fix some kind of lovely drink for them. (Gabriel hoped it was the hot chocolate one with marshmallows, because that was one of his favorites.)
“You saw Lucifer?” Levi asked, getting the milk out of the fridge.
“Yes, I did. And I made a deal with the devil.”
Levi stopped pouring the milk into a pan, which was really unfortunate, since Gabriel was pretty sure this was going to be hot chocolate. He turned and stared at Gabriel instead.
“Are you making hot chocolate? I really do love that drink. Especially if it has marshmallows added to it.”
Levi laughed and turned back to pouring the milk. “You and your sweet tooth. But I want details or you aren’t getting a drop of it.”
Gabriel sighed dramatically, then he launched into all the details while Levi made their delicious drinks from scratch.
He told Levi about Lucifer, the office (which Levi said sounded just like Lucifer’s office in hell, but that obviously wasn’t possible since Gabriel couldn’t go to hell), the discussion of their partnership, and the mission Gabriel was on.
“So, you basically made an exchange with Luce—we remain in a partnership, and you find this angel dude?” Levi clarified, pouring the drink, which was finished, into two large mugs.
Gabriel had a sudden worry sneak into his thoughts. He hadn’t asked Levi what he thought about their partnership. He had, in fact, done all the negotiating without Levi present.
“Yes, well, if you don’t want to continue the partnership…” he started, sounding awkward even to himself.
Levi jerked his head around, almost dropping the now empty pot (luckily a tentacle snuck out and grabbed it in time).
He walked over and pulled Gabriel up, looking him in the eyes.
“Buttons, I was worried sick when you disappeared. I knew you didn’t want to go, and I didn’t want you to leave.
I was willing to go to Lucifer and agree to whatever I needed to so I could spend more time with you. I don’t want you to go anywhere. Ever.”
They both leaned forward at the same time, and their lips met in a gentle kiss, soft and warm, their hands clutching one another. Gabriel’s wings came out and enfolded them both, almost as if to shield them from the world. Levi’s tentacles reached around Gabriel’s waist, pulling him even closer.
They stayed pressed together, gently kissing, their tongues occasionally peeking out for a tiny taste.
Finally, Gabriel pulled back the slightest bit. He was a messenger angel. He gave messages all the time, and Levi deserved words from him now.
“I love you, Leviathan. I didn’t want to leave. I will never leave you willingly. I will stay with you, work with you, and check items off our bucket list for as long as you want me.”
“Oh, Buttons. I’ll want you forever, you silly angel. I love you, too.”
Tears sprang to Gabriel’s eyes, and Levi wiped them away as they slipped down his cheeks. How human of him, to cry. He’d never done that before.
“I suppose I can check tears off the bucket list,” Gabriel laughed wetly.
Levi laughed with him, and his own eyes glistened. Perhaps his demon knew the same loneliness Gabriel had. To be together, to have someone, after so much time alone—it was a blessing Gabriel had never expected.
He laughed again as a thought occurred to him. “You know, in all my eons of delivering messages, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone deliver a message right back.”
Levi smiled, and then they were kissing again. Yes, they had to find some angel dude for Lucifer with very little information, but perhaps they needed to take a quick break together first. When Levi started pulling Gabriel into the bedroom, he knew his demon had the same exact idea as him.
They really were perfect for each other.