Chapter 24
Levi
“Cute little angel dude?” Levi asked again.
Gabriel hummed in agreement. They were snuggled up in bed, and they’d both just had fantastic orgasms. Levi was thinking about business while his messenger angel was basking in the afterglow.
Perhaps Levi should have checked on hell—maybe it was all ice down there right now. He hadn’t been there in a few centuries, after all.
“What are you thinking?” Gabriel mumbled.
“That hell probably froze over, because I’m worrying about work and you’re not.”
Gabriel blinked his eyes open and stared at Levi, and Levi couldn’t help but chuckle at his angel’s adorable frown.
“I love you, Buttons.” He leaned in for a kiss, and Gabriel hummed in happiness.
Eventually, they broke apart. They did have work to do, after all.
They got up and donned clothes, although Levi wasn’t sure why it was even necessary, but Gabriel liked that sort of thing.
He put his adventure buddies shirt back on along with some artfully ripped black jeans, but Gabriel was in his leisure wear of white linen pants and a white button down linen shirt.
Levi had the random thought that he would definitely need to come up with a reason for Gabriel to wear that t-shirt. It would be too cute.
They made their way back into the living area and sat next to one another on the couch before Gabriel answered. “Yes. All I got was ‘cute little angel dude.’ No name. No description. Although my powers are extraordinary, I need something to go on.”
“Luce couldn’t give you a title, either?” Levi asked.
“Nope,” Gabriel answered.
“So what information, other than that vague descriptor, did he give you?”
“Do you know anything about soulmates?” Gabriel asked.
Levi hummed, waggling his hands back and forth. He’d heard rumors about it all, and he knew some of the mated pairs. He didn’t really know what it entailed or what it meant, though.
“Okay. Where to start.” Gabriel blew a breath out. “So, the universe is apparently… cracking. Maybe. That’s not at all official, and you didn’t hear it from me.”
Gabriel looked at Levi expectantly, but had no idea what that meant, so he just shrugged.
“This, all of this creation, was never really meant to be permanent. So at some point, it would break down, and everyone would be returned to their original form before god. I don’t really know what that means, and I’m not sure if god knows either.
They had to be created from something, too.
” Gabriel shrugged before continuing. “Anyway, it started with a demon and a misplaced human soul in hell. It turns out that they were soulmates, and both Yah and Luce recognized that. It spread from there, and now there are other demons, and apparently an angel, who have also found their soulmates.”
“Okay,” Levi answered, “but what do soulmates have to do with the cracks in the universe?”
“I’m not really sure. Somehow or another, I think they’re… fixing things? Maybe? Helping the universe stay together?” Gabriel was frowning at his inability to explain things.
Levi put an arm around him. “It’s okay. That’s a lot more than most angels or demons probably know. I’ve never heard a word about cracks in the universe.”
“I’m not supposed to know either, but I do. I am an archangel.”
“And an excellent one at that,” Levi commented, giving Gabriel a peck on the nose.
It got the angel to stop frowning, at least.
Levi wasn’t sure about cracks in the universe or how to fix them, and that seemed above his area of expertise. He also wasn’t sure what all that had to do with finding some random angel.
“Is this angel trying to destroy the universe or something?” Levi asked. That seemed like something some high and mighty, stuck-up angel might consider doing.
“No, not this time. This one is apparently helping soulmates along. In fact, he’s been plotting on saving soulmates for decades at the very least. He works all alone in an office, and the one angel who they know for a fact knew who he was is now…
gone. They were plotting against the universe, apparently,” Gabriel admitted.
Levi rolled his eyes. “Angels.” He looked at Gabriel. “Present company excluded, of course.”
Gabriel smiled, and then they both settled in to puzzle over it. They needed to find an angel who was saving the universe, one crack at a time. It reminded Levi of the dream Gabriel had when they were first together.
That dream. There was something about that dream.
Levi grabbed Gabriel’s hand. “You dreamed about cracks.”
“Yes, that first night. I’ve known about them, even though I probably shouldn’t. I worry about them,” Gabriel answered.
“Yeah, but you were really upset, and then you weren’t. Did you see someone?” Levi asked. Maybe the angel had been there somehow, and that’s why Gabriel had felt better in the dream. It was far-fetched, but Levi didn’t have any other ideas.
Gabriel looked thoughtful, obviously thinking back to the dream. Then he looked over at Levi, a sense of wonder on his face—it was so beautiful that Levi’s breath was taken away.
“You. I saw you.”
Levi laughed a little. “I’m definitely not the cute little angel dude. I have not been working on soulmates for the past few decades. I would’ve told you, Buttons.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Gabriel said, grabbing Levi’s other hand now. “I saw you. You came, and you spoke to me, and then the cracks… they stopped. I realized it at the time, but then I was… distracted.”
Gabriel blushed at the last part, and Levi couldn’t help smirking. Yes, he remembered exactly how they’d been distracted in that dream. He still wasn’t sure exactly what Gabriel was saying, though.
“What do I have to do with the cracks?” Levi asked.
“You saw them forming. Then they stopped. I knew it at the time. I thought it was just you, but it wasn’t just you. Levi, it was us. We stopped the cracks.”
They were sitting on the couch facing one another, hand in hand, and Levi felt something, almost like a current of electricity, pass between them. Was Gabriel saying… Could he mean…? Levi scarcely dared to hope, but Gabriel must have seen something in his face.
“Yes. I think so,” Gabriel said quietly, yet the hope in his voice was unmistakable.
It was like they were both afraid to say the words out loud. As if uttering the word “soulmate” might jinx it all somehow. They were such opposites, but Levi knew that they were perfect for one another.
He looked at Gabriel, a thought occurring to him.
“What are the odds that we were placed together by accident? If we are… you know… Well, what are the odds we just happened to be assigned partners? That seems like too much of a coincidence, and if there’s an angel who’s working to put soulmates together… ”
Levi trailed off, unsure where to go with his thought. Gabriel frowned at him, obviously thinking the same thing—it couldn’t be someone from the leadership team, could it?
“There was an angel and a demon on the team who seemed different. Perhaps—” Levi began.
Gabriel squeezed his hands, an obvious realization coming to him. “It wasn’t the leadership team. I mean, it was, but it wasn’t. Pull up the memo!”
They both reached to get a tablet, but Levi grabbed one first. He thought about the message. It had been to him, so he could see it again. That thought had it appearing on the screen, and Levi read pieces of it out loud.
“‘Leviathian… the management team was impressed with your work… your ability to communicate effectively with the mortals has been noted and approved of by the DoS.’” He stopped reading, looking up at Gabriel. “What’s the DoS?”
“Ummm… I assumed the Department of Statistics? Because apparently they brought it to the leadership team’s attention that my messages weren’t up to quota,” Gabriel answered.
“And that department was also the one who suggested that I be the one to help you,” Levi added.
“They set us up. They used the leadership team to do it, but whoever it is, they gave the information to the leadership team to begin with. If we are what we think we are, then maybe someone from this department is the angel who Luce is looking for. They put the two of us together. Of course, it could still be someone from the leadership team as well. If that’s it, I think we know who we should be looking at.
But if it’s not them, maybe they can direct us to the DoS. ”
“I really don’t want to see the leadership team, but I suppose they’re the logical place to start,” Gabriel agreed, clearly hesitant to go before that group again.
“Maybe I can direct us to the particular angel and demon who weren’t so… insufferable.” With that statement, Levi wrapped his tentacles around Gabriel, and thought about Skull Demon and Flower Angel.
He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to do it, so he was just as surprised as Gabriel when they ended up standing in front of an angel and a demon. Gabriel gave a tiny squeak of surprise and looked wonderingly at Levi.
Gabriel wasn’t the only one to give a squeak of surprise. They both looked over to see Flower Angel and Skull Demon sitting together at a table. The two of them were… eating lunch?
“Oh, is that Thai food?” Gabriel asked. “I just tried that for the first time the other day.”
The demon scowled at them, but the angel smiled. “Would you like some?”
“It does look delicious—” Gabriel started walking toward the table, but Levi gently cleared his throat.
They were here for a reason, after all. And these were still members of the leadership team. Although…
“Where is the rest of the team?” Levi asked.
Leadership team members were never alone. In all his time, he had never seen it. And an angel and a demon didn’t count as not being alone.
Skull Demon scowled even more… and his wings seemed to flare out a bit, as if to protect Flower Angel.
“Ah, well… We’re actually, uh…” Flower Angel started, seeming hesitant.
“We’re in charge of the leadership team,” Skull Demon announced.
“Yes, um, that’s right,” Flower Angel agreed.
“Although they haven’t quite gotten the memo yet on that,” Skull Demon added.
Levi stared at them. They were clearly newbies. Newbies weren’t even allowed to speak, never mind being put in charge.
“So, would you like some Thai?” Flower Angel asked.
“Oh, well, if you have enough to share…” Gabriel said, trailing off.
Skull Demon and Levi looked at one another, and it was as if they shared a perfect moment of exasperation.
Angels.
They were trying to save the world, and the angels wanted to share Thai food.
But both demons sat and ate, listening to the two bright souls discuss pad thai spiciness levels and their favorite dishes.
It seemed both angels were relatively new to trying food (Levi wasn’t surprised—he hadn’t thought leadership team members would even indulge in eating).
Although Levi and Skull Demon shared an eye roll or two, they sat and indulged their angels over lunch.
Yes, they were saving the universe, but Levi supposed a few moments for a little happiness was what made the universe worth saving to begin with.