“Four hours, yes.” Haniel’s expression grew serious. “What did you learn?”
“Not a lot.” Gabriel sighed. “I take it you know what happened?”
“Raziel told me. We all know now. This news of a charm that can hide demons from us is disquieting, Gabriel.”
“To say the least.” Gabriel leaned back against the door. “I still don’t know who’s actually selling the damn things or how they’re getting them. I’ve got one name, some woman in Atlanta who works as a broker go-between sort. I think I’ll get Tzadkiel to check her out.”
“He is good at intelligence gathering,” Haniel agreed. “He is also less likely to burn down the entire city in his pique.”
“You sayin’ I’ve got a bad temper?” Gabriel grinned.
“Yes.” Haniel’s grin matched Gabriel’s. “It is legendary, Gabriel. Come, there is little left to do here; Metatron tidied up before he left with the others. All that remains is for you to lock and secure the premises, and then we shall go to Deep Bay.”
“All right.” Gabriel stood up and turned to face the house. He smiled faintly as he thought of the many happy memories he had of times spent here, even as he touched the building and the boundaries of the property with his power, sealing it against intruders and protecting it from the ravages of time and the elements. After all, he thought to himself, who knew when he would be living here again? It could be decades or even centuries.
That done, he flicked his cigarette butt away into the ether, and turned to Haniel. “Let’s go to Deep Bay.”
Haniel paused a moment. “First, let us talk a moment.”
Gabriel frowned a little, suddenly anxious. “What about? My kids? Is something wrong?”
“No, no, your children are fine. Everything is fine, Gabe.” Haniel nudged Gabriel’s shoulder with his own. “We love them, too, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” Gabriel shook his head. “I’m jumpy, I suppose. It’s as good a word as any, yeah?”
“Yes.” Haniel paused a moment, and Gabriel regarded him with growing curiosity.
“Spit it out.” Gabriel leaned against the doorframe, gazing at Haniel unblinkingly.
“Very well, I shall.” Haniel shifted and faced Gabriel squarely. “You are in love with Michael.” It was not a question.
Gabriel choked on the inhale of his fresh cigarette. “You said what now?”
“Gabriel,” Haniel rolled his eyes as he spoke, “I am the Archangel of Love. I do see these things. I am not making it up for my own entertainment, I can assure you. Believe me, watching you and Michael dance around each other as if you’re both still two thousand years old might be endearing to you, but it is not to me. I have seen such behavior before and no doubt will again. So because you and I are the same, because we are a Brotherhood, I am cutting to the chase. You, Gabriel, are in love with Michael.”
Gabriel gaped for a long moment then sighed, deflating. “Aye.” He nodded. “I don’t… it just sort of snuck up on me.”
“Love does that.” Haniel smiled wisely. “It can hit you all unawares.”
“I’ve always been fond of him,” Gabriel went on, as if he hadn’t heard Haniel, “he’s always been my favorite—no offense—but I had no idea just how much I cared about him, how much I missed him, until I saw him again.”
“None taken.” Haniel nodded. “So then you saw him at the meeting and realized that there was more to your affections for him than you first thought?”
“Sort of?” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. “It’s really hard to explain. He and I, we’re the oldest, yeah?” As Haniel nodded, Gabriel continued. “And we’ve seen a fuck of a lot. Done a fuck of a lot too. And for all of that, he’s really the most innocent and naive of us all, and I find that really bloody adorable. For all that he’s lived in the world and among humanity, he ain’t very worldly at all. It’s… God help me. It’s cute.”
Haniel laughed. “Cute isn’t an evil word.”
“It is, aye it is; it comes from Lucifer.” Gabriel sighed and gave Haniel a wan smile. “I know, I’m being dramatic, me.”
“Perhaps a little.”
“I ain’t going to lie—hell, even if I could, I wouldn’t. But fuck, Hani, Michael is hot. That innocent naivety is gorgeous. His personality is like honey to a bee to me. He’s wise and he’s sweet and he’s kind… and he’s a bloody holy terror with a sword, and that’s really hot. And his body, fuck me. So many muscles. Fucking hell, he’s sex on a stick.”
“A stick?” Haniel laughed again. “Your choice of words is remarkable. So,” he added slyly, “you’ve seen him naked?”
“No! His clothes are sometimes tight and… you know what, I’m not saying anything else on that subject, you bloody great perv.” As Haniel laughed at him, Gabriel sighed once more and continued, running a hand through his hair. “So yeah, yeah, I tell it like I see it. I’m a plain speaking Archangel, me.” Gabriel waved a hand. “Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and then he shows up at the meeting, and bam. He could’ve covered himself in magnets and still not gotten my interest nearly as fast as he did. And I don’t really know why, except that it’s him. It’s Michael. He’s gorgeous, he’s adorable, he’s gentle; he’s kind and sweet and compassionate. And he’s a primitive, violent warrior creature, the only one older than me that ain’t God or the Son. At our cores, we’re still pretty primeval. Michael gets that. Michael gets me.”
“And you still wonder as to the how of things? I think you explained it fairly well to me.” Haniel smiled gently.
Gabriel shrugged. “Maybe. He might not get modern verbiage or slang or anything like that, but he understands me where it counts. He ain’t going to coddle me for any ridiculous reason.”
“Just when you get injured in a fight.” Haniel grinned broadly. “He frets over you to great degree, Gabriel.”
“Goes both ways.” Gabriel took a long drag of his forgotten cigarette. “I’ve known him forever—obviously—but seeing him at the meeting was the first time in centuries. I’ve missed him. And realizing how much I missed him made me realize just how much he meant to me. So aye, maybe I have been in love with him for longer than I thought, but hindsight makes us wise, and so seeing him, I knew. I wanted him. And more than as a casual fuck.”
“I do not need to tell you to be gentle, do I?” Haniel asked.
“No, fuck no!” Gabriel shot him an offended look. “I’m not a total barbarian. I know he’s not worldly, I said so. I’m including sexually in that.”
“Good.” Haniel’s gaze was unwavering and unblinking, and Gabriel couldn’t help but squirm a little beneath the weight of it.
“Why the attitude about this?”
“Because, Gabriel, you have been around the block more times than I can count, and I can count very, very high. Michael has been around the block perhaps twice.”
Gabriel gaped. “In how long?”
“Forever.” Haniel’s voice was serious. “He knows the mechanics, Gabriel, and he understands the concepts. But real, passionate love, the kind of love that goes hand in hand with who and what you are—fire, impetuousness, heat, want, lust, complete adoration—he has not had that kind of love. Don’t burn him, Gabriel.”
Gabriel frowned, sulkily. “I wasn’t going to. I just said that I love him and want him.”
“I know. I am reiterating; it is what I do.” Haniel clapped a hand to Gabriel’s shoulder. “Come. We should go to Deep Bay and the rest of the Brotherhood and your children. I know they will all become anxious if we do not appear soon.”
“Yeah, okay.” Gabriel was deep in thought. “Haniel?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be telling Michael we had this chat?”
“No. There is no need to. Michael is aware of things more acutely than you are. He does not want to disappoint you or let you down. He does not want his inexperience to be a disappointment, particularly in the bedroom. He loves you more than you think, Gabriel, and he will do anything for y
ou. You may brush this off as the hyperbole that is mine to use in the realm of love, but Michael truly does not believe he deserves your love. He does not think he is good enough, handsome enough, kind enough, and most particularly, he does not think he is sexually experienced enough for you.”
Gabriel frowned. “That’s all bullshit, though. None of that really matters. His soul is what attracted me from the first, and that ain’t got no shape or form. All the rest? It’s icing on the cake of wonderful that is him.”
“Tell him that, not me.” Haniel squeezed Gabriel’s shoulder. “You two are very well suited to each other. You are fire and he is ice. You are the moon and he is the sun. You are silver and he is gold. You are the left hand of God, he is the right. Together, you are unstoppable. Together and in love, in a relationship, you are formidable. Love him, Gabriel. Love him with the intensity that you do everything—wholly and completely. And tell him often that you do not exaggerate your feelings or your observations.”
Gabriel was silent for a long moment, digesting Haniel’s words. “Okay,” he said finally. “I think I can do that. It ain’t going to be easy, though.” The last was more to himself than to Haniel.
Haniel smiled, a small, serene smile. “Nothing worthwhile ever is, Gabriel. And is Michael not the most worthwhile being to you?”
“Definitely,” Gabriel answered without hesitating. He squared his shoulders then and stood, flicking the long burnt-out cigarette butt into the ether. “We should go to Deep Bay.”
Haniel stood as well. “Yes, a good plan.”
“I’m still not telling him about this chat,” Gabriel said as he unfurled his wings.
“I would be surprised if you did.” Haniel inclined his head. “See you at Deep Bay.” With that, he was gone.
Gabriel took a moment to compose himself. Shaking his wings, he took a deep breath. He was Gabriel, Archangel of War and of the Moon, Left Hand of God, God’s Rage and God’s Vengeance. He was not a shy, retiring wallflower who fled at the first sign of trouble, or someone who quaked in terror at the thought of hard work in love. No indeed, Gabriel thought, and Michael was worth more than anything he could think of. Determined now, Gabriel stretched his wings to their full span and turned his face up to the sun, closing his eyes.
He was in love with Saint Michael the Archangel, and he was going to woo him and win him over no matter what.
Fuelled by determination, Gabriel took wing and left Wisconsin for Deep Bay.
Gabriel was pleasantly surprised when he and Haniel arrived at the house in Deep Bay. The Archangels had been busy, unpacking and putting things away so that, as Gabriel walked through the house, he saw it was no longer a house, but a home. He smiled to himself as he walked through the rooms, followed by Haniel, who made approving noises. Together, they headed out to the backyard.
Everyone was sitting on the deck, either in chairs or on the wooden floor, talking contentedly. Some of his Brotherhood were drinking beer, Gabriel noticed, and Mira and John nursed sodas as they sat in deck chairs. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxed, and Gabriel smiled fondly as he looked at everyone.
“All settled in, then?” he asked as he sat down on the deck between Michael and Uriel.
“Yes.” Michael smiled. “It was an easy task.”
“Thanks, guys.” Gabriel looked around at the Archangels. “I really appreciate it.”
There was a chorus of “Don’t mention it,” “It was fine,” “No problem, Gabe,” and Gabriel beamed. He couldn’t help it. The whole move had appeared to have gone smoothly, right down to John’s horses, which were grazing in the paddock without any concern whatsoever.
“So what do you kids think of this place, then?” Gabriel looked at John and Mira.
“I love it,” Mira said softly. She smiled at him. “John let me have the bedroom that overlooks the sea. It’s perfect. Thank you, Papa.”
“Nothin’ to thank me for, sweetheart.”
“I took the room that looks over the yard.” John nodded at the horses. “I wanted to be able to see the horses easily.”
“Of course you did,” Gabriel said. “You both like it here?”
“Yeah.” John smiled. “Smelling the sea is great. Plus, it’s a really small town, and that means less people to worry about.”
“He means to be suspicious about,” Mira teased, and John rolled his eyes theatrically. “Seriously though, Papa, it’s lovely.”
“Good, I’m glad.” Gabriel looked at the other Archangels. “And where’s my beer?”
“Typical Gabe,” Raphael laughed, handing Gabriel a bottle. “There, Grumpy-bum.”
“Thanks, Guv’nor.” Gabriel saluted with the bottle, and everyone laughed.
“Language,” Michael said with a sigh, but even he, Gabriel noticed, couldn’t stop the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
IT WAS just after midnight, and Mira and John had gone to bed. Gabriel wandered into the kitchen to talk to Tzadkiel about his earlier little excursion.
Tzadkiel was quietly putting empty beer bottles into a box to put out for the trash, and he flashed Gabriel a small smile. Gabriel nodded his thanks as Tzadkiel continued to clean up and got to the point.
“I went to check some stuff out,” he said. “Found a barn full of demons, and they gave me a name.”
“Oh yeah?” Tzadkiel paused and quirked an eyebrow. “Is this a name I can follow up on about those charms?”
“Aye.” Gabriel leaned against the kitchen sink and lit a cigarette. “A woman in Atlanta who works for a textbook warehouse. Name’s Lia Darguill. She’s not the one sellin’ ’em, but she’s the contact.”
“The go-between? Interesting.” Tzadkiel mulled that over, his expression thoughtful. “All right, I can work with that. I’ll go check it out first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks. Keep me posted, yeah?”
“I will.” Tzadkiel gave Gabriel a quick salute. “If it’s not me, I’ll send one of my Ophanim to report.”
“Appreciate it.” Gabriel quietly left the kitchen and returned to the backyard.
He noticed immediately that Michael wasn’t there, and he frowned, looking around for him. He had not felt or heard Michael leaving—at least using his power and teleporting away—so Gabriel reasoned that Michael must be nearby. He looked around once more, pausing as his sharp eyes spied a lone figure standing on the beach. Without a word, Gabriel started toward the sea, his gaze never leaving Michael’s form.
Michael was looking at the moonlit water, his handsome face calm. As Gabriel joined him, Michael smiled and Gabriel smiled in return.
“Is everything all right?”
“Aye.” Gabriel nodded, turning to face Michael. “The kids are asleep, and Tzadkiel were cleaning up the kitchen. I told him ’bout what I learned, and he’s going to follow it up in the morning.”
“I am glad to hear that.” Michael nodded. “You have chosen to settle in a beautiful spot, Gabriel.”
“I thought so.” Gabriel hesitated briefly, not sure what to say next.
Michael looked at him for a long moment and then took a small step closer. Gabriel held his breath, hands twitching at his sides as he forced himself not to grab Michael and kiss him.
“Gabriel,” Michael said, his voice very soft and full of emotion, “I fear I have a confession to make.”
“Oh?” Yes, that was an intelligent answer, Gabriel thought wryly.
“Yes.” Michael took a deep breath and another small step closer. “I apologize for having looked at you in an inappropriate way.”
Gabriel took a step closer this time, aware that now only the barest of millimeters separated them. “How d’you mean?”
“I do not wish to speak in base terms.” Michael’s voice shook a little as he spoke. “Yet I find myself regarding you in that fashion. I apologize.”
“Nothing to apologize for.” Gabriel moved even closer. “I hoped you were. I thought you were, but I’m glad to have it confirmed.”
“You a
re not angry?”
“No.” Gabriel laid a hand on Michael’s hip and felt him trembling beneath his palm. “I have always cared for you, aye, Michael, perhaps more than I should. My feelings for you have grown since that recent meeting in the caves.”
Michael’s eyes widened. “Truly?”
“Yes.” Gabriel leaned in, his lips brushing over Michael’s in the lightest of kisses. “Yes.”
“Gabriel,” Michael whispered, moving closer and pressing his lips against Gabriel’s own.
Emboldened by Michael’s response to him, Gabriel slowly deepened the kiss, the hand not on Michael’s hip reaching up to cup his cheek. Michael made a small, desperate noise into the kiss as their mouths opened to each other, tongues gently exploring, probing. He pressed against Gabriel and Gabriel groaned, sliding his hand around from Michael’s hip to wrap around him, palm resting against the small of Michael’s back.
He felt Michael’s arms wind around his neck, felt Michael melt into him, and Gabriel tightened his embrace, kissing Michael with all the passion and skill at his command. When the kiss finally ended, Gabriel rested his forehead against Michael’s. He realized they were both shaking.
“I want you, Gabriel,” Michael said, so softly that Gabriel had to strain with his power to hear him. “More than I have ever wanted anyone before.”
“I want you too,” Gabriel answered.
“I… are you… I am not a terribly sexual being.” Michael sounded nervous, and Gabriel could tell that he was blushing as he touched Michael’s warm cheek with gentle fingers.
“That’s okay.” Gabriel leaned up to kiss Michael’s forehead, although privately he thought that if that kiss was anything to go by, Michael was more of a sexual being than he gave himself credit for. And Gabriel, whose life had been full of extreme experiences, from violence to war to sex, couldn’t wait to explore every facet of Michael’s sexuality.
“I do not wish to have a purely sexual… affair, I suppose is the term,” Michael was saying. “I do not approve of such things for myself. They are… inappropriate and disrespectful.”
“Okay.” Gabriel gazed fondly into Michael’s eyes.
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