Chapter Text
“Please, Gabriel! Please!” a random eight ball pleads as the doors to Gabriel’s Eyrie slam open and an angel with black hair with blue highlights walks into the room. His blue wings with empyrean steel running along the main ones and red tips flutter.
“Silence!” Gabriel shouts as he, with one swift motion, snaps her neck. Furiad shouts in shock as he takes a step forward with one of his hands reaching toward the angel as Gabriel lets her body fall to the ground with absolutely not a care that he had just killed one of his own. “Next time, I emplore you to think about your actions before you take them, Furiad.” He says, his eyes narrowing.
“Archangel, forgive me, but I have news.” The angel with the black and blue hair says, bowing to one knee with his head bowed. Gabriel looks at him with anger.
“You dare to interrupt me!” he shouts, turning from Furiad to look at the other angel.
“Forgive me, Archangel Gabriel. I have news from Vega.” He says, making completely certain to keep his head and eyes pointed toward the ground.
“Michael….” Gabriel mutters before turning to look at Furiad again. “Leave us. NOW!!” with a slight bow, Furiad walks swiftly out of the room. As soon as the door closes, Gabriel turns to look at the other angel. “Now, speak, and it had better be worth me staving my hand, or you shall be taking his place.” He says, walking forward and making a circle around the still kneeling angel.
“I have just returned from Vega. The Archangel Michael has entered the healing sleep, but I was unable to heal him. The wound is in too compromising of a position. They have moved him to a place they call the stratosphere. He is there now with some….woman.” he says, daring to look up at Gabriel.
“A woman, huh? Guess brother has really downgraded his standards. Now, you said he’s in his healing sleep?” Gabriel questions, looking at the angel. “Elijah.” Gabriel says after a few moments of now answer. The angel, Elijah, looks up at his name.
“Archangel?” he asks, his eyes refocusing on the angel standing in front of him. He shakes his head in an attempt to clear his head of the summons. “Forgive me. And yes, he’s in the healing sleep. They removed the blade without realizing just what it would do to Michael by doing so.” Elijah says, daring to slowly get to his feet. Gabriel watches his every move.
“Eli. You should know not to let yourself go as much as you have!” Gabriel says, his eyes widening when he sees the blood that’s slowly leaking from the other angel’s side. Elijah shrugs, shaking out his wings to get rid of the need to go for a long, relaxing flight.
“I’m fine, Archangel. It’s just a slight scratch I got from the walls of Vega.” Elijah says, looking at Gabriel.
“You should have used the flame.” Gabriel says, shaking his wings free of their restraints. He reaches behind himself and pulls free one of the smaller feathers. Elijah takes a step away from Gabriel.
“No, Archangel! You mustn’t!” Elijah says, raising his hands toward Gabriel.
“Elijah, stay!” Gabriel says with the full authority of his position as Archangel. With a grunt, Elijah freezes to the spot, lowering his wings in surrender. Gabriel nods. “Let me see your wound.” He commands, fishing through his pocket for a lighter.
“You’re not going to be able to heal it, Archangel. It’s too deep.” Elijah says as he pulls his shirt off, revealing a long and deep gash that runs from the side of his neck all the way to his waist about an inch wide and deep. He pulls in a shuttered breath as Gabriel touches the wound.
“How did you get this wound again?” Gabriel questions, looking up at Elijah with a strange glint in his eye. “Without leaving anything out this time. No lies.” He says, using the feather to lightly run along the wound. Elijah bends slightly in pain, attempting to decrease the amount of skin exposed to the Archangel.
“I…got attacked when I was attempting…to flee from the city to report…back. Apparently they have…created new weapons that are even…strong enough to inflict this kind of wound…I’m sorry, Gabriel. I tried.” Elijah says, lowering his eyes once again. Gabriel shakes his head as his eyes narrow.
“Come.” Gabriel commands, turning to walk toward the entrance to the lower levels. Elijah sighs before following. They go down a few levels before reaching a set of double doors. Gabriel slams his left palm against the center of the door, forcing the doors to slam open, hitting the walls behind them with how much power he puts behind it.
“Archangel?” Elijah questions, looking at Gabriel with raised eyebrows. Gabriel grabs a hold of his arm, forcing him into the room before turning and locking the doors. He turns to Elijah.
“You know what I told you about calling me by my name in here.” Gabriel says, pushing him back toward the bed a few steps at a time.
“I know, but with the mood you’ve been in lately, I really didn’t want you to decide that you no longer needed me.” Elijah says, sitting down on the end of the bed. He hisses out a breath when the pain flares in his side again.
“Oh, love. You know I could never do that.” Gabriel says, kneeling down between his legs. Elijah looks at him with a slight smile.
“Oh, and by the way. You should be happy.” Elijah says, placing one of his palms against Gabriel’s cheek. “The angels that were sent to attack Helena have reported back. It appears that, that wretched city is well on its way to destroying itself without any interference on our part. It appears that mother nature herself has it out for them.” He says as his eyes close in pain as Gabriel pushes the Holy Ash into his wound.
“Easy.” Gabriel says, placing both his hands on Elijah’s thighs to keep him in place. They jerk once and go still. “That’s it, breath.” Elijah sighs as the pain slowly lessons, causing his body to release the stress it had been holding. Elijah leans forward onto Gabriel’s shoulder and passes out.
“Archangel! You mustn’t!” a clearly younger Elijah says as he steps directly in between both Gabriel and Michael. “You mustn’t mourn the way that you are meant to. Do not raise your sword against the human.” Elijah says, taking a step toward Gabriel with tears in his own eyes.
“Eli.” Gabriel whispers as he brings the one other being besides Michael that will ever truly understand him into his arms. “You don’t have to be so strong, you know. I know you miss him just as much as I do.” He says, tightening his hold around Elijah’s waist.
With a sharp jolt, Elijah wakes up and bolts to a sitting position. He takes a few deep breaths before he’s even coherent enough to realize just where he is.
‘Gabriel?’ he questions, sending the thought out through the link he shares with Gabriel. It’s quiet for a moment before he gets a curious feeling filtering from the other side. ‘Where are you? I need you with me right now. I…I shouldn’t be alone.’ Elijah says with a slight note of hysterics filtering with the thought. A note of alarm comes across.
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. I had a situation arise that required my attention. Just give me time to get back, and don’t do anything until then.’ Gabriel sends through the last part containing enough of a command that Elijah feels his body freeze in response.
‘Yes, Archangel.’ He sends across. He feels Gabriel nod through the link.
‘Almost there now.’ He hears before it goes silent for about ten minutes. The door slams open, causing him to jump, having not even been paying attention to the things going on around him. Gabriel enters the room and closes the door.
“What happened?” Gabriel demands as he makes his way to the bed. Elijah sighs in relief when the familiar feeling of Gabriel’s wings covering his own spreads through him.
“I’m sorry. I was remembering the past and woke up in a date. I didn’t know where I was.” He says, curling into the wings and the comfort and shelter they offer. He yelps when the wings grow barbed.
“What aren’t you telling me? I haven’t heard that kind of tone from you in centuries.” Elijah whines in the back of his throat at the sudden pain invading his wings.
“Please, Gabriel. Please.” He mutters, trying to pull his wings away out of instinct. A deep growl emerges both out of Gabriel’s mouth and through their link.
‘No! Stay!’ Gabriel commands. Elijah looks up at him.
‘Please let me go from your wings! You know I’m not going anywhere!’ Elijah pleads. He completely freezes when the wings begin to shift, and the barbs retract.
‘Explain, now.’ Gabriel demands. Elijah lowers both his head and wings in submission.