Chapter Text
Gilbert awoke with a start. The small chime in the corner of his and Harvey’s room was ringing which meant-
“Harv, wake up. It’s raining.”
The room was dark, but Gilbert could still see his husband shift next to him.
“Huh?”
“Boiling rain. We’ve gotta go put up the shield.”
Harvey groaned, pushing the warm comforter off of himself. “Of course,” he grumbled. “What time is it?”
Gilbert checked the clock on his nightstand. “2:43.”
“Dammit.”
Gilbert sat up and walked over to the closet, where he grabbed both of their robes. He slung his dark brown one over his shoulders, and handed his husband his worn out green one.
“It’s cold.”
“Well maybe if you replaced it like I told you to, it would be warmer,” Gilbert shot back. “But seriously honey. We really need to get out there.”
Harvey tied up his robe and glanced out the window.
“Wow, it is pouring out there. Hope that hasn’t been going on for long.”
Gilbert pushed open the door and found his way into the hall. Harvey was right behind him, and Gilbert glanced back. “Why don’t you take the back, and I can start on the front.”
Harvey hesitated. “Are you sure? I can help you with the front. I know it’s harder to cover.”
Gilbert smiled and cupped Harvey’s face. “I’ll be fine. I just want to get this done a little more quickly so we can go back to bed.”
Harvey leant into his husband's hand against his face. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
They split up, Harvey disappearing into the kitchen while Gilbert turned left towards the front door. When Gilbert gingerly pulled open the door, he was pleasantly surprised to see that the porch had remained nearly dry, despite the boiling rain assaulting it from above. He had just done work on the roof, and it clearly showed.
Gilbert wrapped his robe around himself tighter, the icy cold night wind biting into his skin like a swarm of fairies. He raised his right pointer finger, and began coating the house in a thin layer of stone. He knew that somewhere in the backyard, Harvey would be doing the same with a stockpile of abomination goo.
Listen, they couldn’t all be the owl lady with her fancy force fields. After all, the Parks had their sigils.
As Gilbert was carefully finishing up the roof, he happened to notice something abnormal in the sky.
“Who in the Titan is flying in the rain?”
Gilbert did his best to peek out from the confines of the stone roof, nearly burning his shoulder on a few stray drops. A flash of white and gold flew across his line of sight, before vanishing into the trees just beside his house. Gilbert did his best to see what could have possibly been soaring through the literal boiling water pouring from the sky. He considered getting Harvey, but there was no chance that he just saw a witch, on a broom, flying in the rain. Maybe it was a heatproof demon of some sort.
Just when he thought that he had been going crazy, and that there really was nothing hiding in the trees, he caught a glimpse of white again.
And moments later, the Golden Guard himself stepped out of the trees.
Gilbert was so shocked, he nearly caved the ceiling in on itself. He quickly set up a support beam and turned back to the tall figure readily approaching him.
“Um,” Gilbert called to the guard. “Hello. Do you need a place to stay for the night?” The Golden Guard clearly didn’t hear him, as he didn’t even look up. His gaze was locked on the ground, and for some reason his hands were gingerly floating in front of him, rather than at his sides.
The Golden Guard said nothing until he was about 20 feet away, when he let out a choked sob. He had a red cardinal palisman on his shoulder, and as he slowly approached the Park household, Gilbert noticed that the soldier was limping.
Once the Golden Guard was within about ten feet of Gilbert, he looked up and froze in his tracks.
“Oh—um—hello Mr. Park.”
Gilbert stared at him warily. “How do you know my name?”
He could've sworn he heard the Golden Guard curse under his breath, but the rain was still thundering down, so he couldn’t be sure.
“It’s, uh, part of my job to know as many citizens as possible.”
“Oh. Um, do you need to come inside?”
And that brings back the point: how was the Golden Guard still standing in the boiling rain? How did he fly through it?
Shockingly, the Golden Guard visibly deflated. “Please.”
Gilbert stepped aside and the Golden Guard headed under the protection of the porch roof.
The soldier turned to face Gilbert. “Is it alright if I go inside?”
Surprised that the literal leader of the Emperor's coven was even asking for his permission, Gilbert instantly nodded. “Y-yes, of course.”
The Golden Guard slowly headed inside, making sure to not leave Gilbert’s line of sight, which he appreciated. Gilbert quickly wrapped up the rest of his stone shield, and hurriedly followed the scout inside. He shut the door behind himself, and turned back to the soldier. Any sleep that had still been clouding his brain was gone at this point.
“Let me go get my husband really quick. He’ll want to be here for this.”
“Of course.”
Gilbert swiftly left and returned moments later, practically dragging Harvey into the hall.
“What do you mean the Golden Guard is—oh.”
“Hello Mr. Park,” the Golden Guard began. “I apologize for intruding so late at night, but I got caught in the rain.”
Harvey quickly shook his head. “No, no, we were already up. It’s no trouble for the Emperor's right hand.”
The Golden Guard winced, but so subtly that neither of the Parks noticed. “Yes, well, I am still sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
A moment of silence fell over the group of men, before the Golden guard cleared his throat. “I really do have to tell you both the real reason I’m here. I need to speak to Willow Park,” he murmured.
“Please.”