Chapter Text
The first order of business, once they were out of sight of the other archangels and the remaining members of the Dark Council, was to find better clothing. They miracled their way to a sidewalk in New York City, in front of a building made mostly of glass, with sets of windows displaying dozens of mannequins dressed to the nines.
“Too short notice to get something completely tailored,” Gabriel sighed. “But for now it will do.” He clasped their hand and beamed at them. “You can tell me what looks best.”
Beelzebub thought that what they would like Gabriel best in was absolutely nothing at all, regretting that they missed getting to see his jaunt down to earth with their own eyes. But there would be time for that later. They returned the smile and pressed a hand to the softly worn sweater vest that he was still wearing. “Something with a touch of purple, like before with your tie. It brings out your eyes.”
It didn’t take too long for him to pick out another gray suit and for Beelzebub to select a variety of ties in shades of purple that seemed more suitable to them, along with extra shirts in both white and purple. Thought it did not fit as well as the suit he left behind in Heaven, the close fit of the collar, the clean lines of the jacket, the pressed seams of the pants, gave him a feeling of relief as he slid them on and buttoned them up. These were more like his clothes, the elegant raiment that Gabriel would wear, not the castoffs Jim accepted when there was nothing else available. Seeing his own reflection in the fitting room mirror, cleaned up and familiar, was reassuring. After quickly modeling for Beelzebub to be certain they approved, he paid the human clerk for the vestments at a counter in the store, letting them remove the tags so that he could wear the suit out. The clerk nodded and folded up the additional shirts and ties, putting them in a bag, before going to add his old clothing in there as well.
Gabriel lifted a hand, about to stop them. They could as easily throw them away, he thought. Those were Jim’s clothes. He wasn’t Jim, he did not need Aziraphale’s castoffs, to be clad in that angel’s idea of what constituted appropriate Earthly attire. But the words died in his mouth and he said nothing as the clerk handed him the large shopping bag with the store’s name plastered on the side. He took it with a brusque thanks and stepped away.
“Did you want to get anything?”
“Do you think I should?”
Gabriel paused then shook his head. “Not if you don’t want. I like you dressed like that. It’s very distinctive.” He looked around. “And I suppose if we go out to the stars, there won’t be anybody else to see anyway.”
Beelzebub locked an arm with him as they stepped back outside. “And is that where you want to go? Where Crowley suggested?”
“We could. Alpha Centauri sounded lovely. But…”
“But?”
“But I don’t suppose there are many jukeboxes up there,” he thought aloud. “Or any hot chocolate for that matter.”
They nodded. “No probably not.”
“Also. It’s a bit ridiculous…”
“Yes, angel?”
“I, well. I got used to sleeping while I was staying at Aziraphale’s.” He thought back to him wandering to the shop at all hours of the night, until an exasperated Aziraphale gave him his own room, complete with bed and pajamas, and told him to lie down. “And it’s been an awfully long day.”
“We can find a place here,” they agreed with a little smile. “It’ll be like a honeymoon.”
“What’s that?”
“A human thing. After committing to each other at a wedding, they go off to a fancy place and shag like rabbits.”
“Oh.” He frowned. “Why rabbits? Why not like humans?”
They laughed. “Turn of phrase, angel. They go and have a lot of sex. People sex.”
“Is. Is that what you wanted to do?” Gabriel felt a nervousness rise in him, caught between wanting to make Beelzebub happy and not fully knowing what this ‘honeymoon’ and human intercourse would entail. From everything he’d seen of Adam and Eve, it was an unpleasant endeavor.
“Not if you don’t.” They rubbed the back of his hand with their thumb. “We can stick to sleeping if that’s what you want. I’m not unfamiliar with the custom.”
“But it could still be our honeymoon?”
They laughed. “Of course. It will be ours. What we make of it.”
Reassured, Gabriel miracled them into another part of the city, this time in front of a brick building with a fancy black and gold entryway. A few intimations at the desk that it was their honeymoon, along with a slightly larger than minor miracle, and they were on on their way up to the penthouse suite.
“They said that it has five bedrooms,” Gabriel boasted and held up his hand, spreading his fingers to emphasize the number. Beelzebub pressed into his side and laughed again as the elevator slid upward.
“Five! We only need to sleep in the one.”
“I know. But it’s the best. And I wanted you to have the best.” He beamed down at them.
“Angel. I know you aren’t ready for everything. But, would you let me have this?” They grabbed his tie and tugged him down, pulling his face closer. “Can I kiss you, my darling angel?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “Yeah, I think I’d…”
He was cut off by Beelzebub pressing their mouth against his. A buzzing sound filled his ears and he wrapped his arms around them, pulling them together more tightly. The elevator dinged to signal they’d finally reached their destination, but they did not separate. Instead, Gabriel lifted them, carried them inside, still pressing kisses to one another.
“Do you like it?” He asked when they finally paused and he looked up.
Beelzebub continued staring up at him. “Love it.”
He pressed another kiss to them. “I mean the room. Look at the view! Not as high as Heaven of course, but it’s impressive, isn’t it? What these humans are able to build.” He went to one of the windows and peered through.
“Anything is better than a waterlogged basement” They joined him by his side. “But it is impressive. Been a while since I’ve been up this high.” They looked out at a lush expanse a short distance away from where they were staying. “Look how green it is there. Maybe tomorrow we could take a walk through wherever it is?”
“Whatever you want. It’s your honeymoon,” he agreed.
“And yours. I know you like your jogs.” They started tugging him through the foyer and the dining room, towards the bedrooms. “Or we can curl up and rest for as long as we like. Nobody has our time after this, ever again. If you want to sleep all day, we can do that too.”
Gabriel let them lead him and as soon as they were in the largest of the bedrooms, started undoing the clothing he’d purchased earlier. Once he was down to his undergarments, light purple boxers and a white tank, he flopped into the bed next to Beelzebub. They had similarly stripped to black silk boxers and mesh tank top that let their breasts peek through. Gabriel pressed his body against theirs, feeling them through the thin fabric.
A few more miracles between them and the sheets were cocooned around them. There were already a number of pillows on the bed, but more appeared to build up a plush barrier between them and the rest of the world. Gabriel nestled down into it and closed his eyes. Sleep was something he’d never even considered in Heaven, but now it felt like an indispensable luxury. He’d wondered that he’d gone so long without recognizing the value of it.
This close to Beelzebub and he could smell a coppery tang and earth scent, with just a whiff of rot. It was their scent and odd as the mix might have been, it soothed him. Some part of his mind could fall asleep more easily, knowing that they were near him. He remembered the first time he tried to sleep, staring up at the ceiling endlessly until he’d had a mug or three of hot chocolate. Though that hadn’t been him, had it, struggling to sleep his first real night on Earth. That was Jim.
Here, next to Beelzebub, exhausted from the days events, Gabriel fell readily into slumber.
Somehow, he’s in a room. Not the hotel, but somewhere else. It feels familiar and foreign all at once. Like he knew the place a long time ago, but has not been back to visit in a while. Tall cabinets and shelves line the walls and he’s fully dressed again, not in the suit he bought earlier, but in the tailored garment he wore in Heaven.
Dreaming, he thinks. He’s dreaming. Did he do that when he’d slept before? There’s a noise ahead of him but it doesn’t wake him. Instead he realizes he’s no longer alone.
“Hey there! Look. The furniture is back!” It’s him, but not really. The figure before him waves and smiles, still dressed in the worn garments Aziraphale had conjured for him. “But I can’t find my mug.” He sticks a hand out toward Gabriel, but he doesn’t take it. “I’m Jim, by the way! Are you Jim too? You look like me so I was thinking maybe you are. That’s usually how you know who someone is.”
“No,” he snaps. “I’m Gabriel.”
“Some people call me Gabriel, too! Maybe you really are a Jim. It’s short for James, you know. Which is short for Gabriel.” He tucks his hand away, not daunted by the refusal, and goes back to perusing the shelves and opening up drawers. “Maybe you forgot, like how I forgot where my mug is.”
Gabriel feels nauseated; had he been this bad once his memory had been removed? He’d tried not to think about it too much, to put the entire experience behind him. Now it’s bumbling around in front of him.
“I should ask Crowley where it is. He’s great with answering questions. I had so many for him! But I’m not sure where he’s at either.” He plants his hands on his hips and looks around, as though the demon might be hiding behind the shelves or inside a wardrobe.
“Crowley? The demon? What could you want with him?”
“You know him too? Isn’t he nice.” He looks back to Gabriel. “It’s a white mug that says ‘Jim’s Mug’ on the side, that way you know it’s mine. He brought me hot chocolate in it, so I know he’ll recognize it.”
“He’s not nice, he’s a demon.”
“Oh, but he is nice! You must not know him very well.” Jim goes back to opening up doors. “I forgot there used to be so much furniture in here!”
“Stop that,” he demands and Jim goes still. “This isn’t for you to dig around in.”
He steps back, looking chastened. “But how am I supposed to find things?”
“You’re not supposed to find them,” he grits out. “You’re not supposed to be here. You need to leave.”
Worry creases his face. “But I’m not supposed to go outside.”
Gabriel advances on him, closes the distance between them and suddenly finds that he’s gripping Jim by the lapels of the shapeless brown coat he wore over everything. Jim looks at him in panic but doesn’t raise a hand against him.
“I told you to leave!”
He woke up with a gasp and peered around in the dark; his eyes cast a purple glow onto the sheets and the room beyond, enough for him to realize that he was still in the hotel room. Beside him, Beelzebub stirred.
“What’s the matter?” They wound a thin arm around his. “You look upset. Did something go wrong with the sleeping?”
He settled back into the pillows. “Just a dream. I think. I’ve never had one before.”
“Oh.” They rubbed his arm. “What was it about? A bad dream?”
“It was nothing.” He looked over at them. “Bee…what would you have done if I wasn’t in the fly?”
“What?”
“If Heaven wiped my memories for good. Or they got destroyed before I was able to open them back up again. What if you found me like you did in the bookshop and I never remembered?”
They cuddled into his chest. “You mean after I was done tearing everyone involved apart limb from limb and allowing my flies to bloat their corpses with maggots?” They tilted their head up to kiss his chin. “I wouldn’t have stopped loving you, if that’s what you’re asking. I would have tried to help you remember.”
“But the memories would be gone. Eradicated. Nothing left. I wouldn’t even be myself.”
“Maybe. But you didn’t crush my fly in the shop. You knew it was important, even when you hadn’t seen the message you left for yourself. There was some small part that remembered. You would still be Gabriel. We’d just have to make new memories to fill in the blanks.”
But he wasn’t Gabriel, he wanted to insist. He was… whatever the thing that had been living with Aziraphale and Crowley was.
“There’s no use in worrying about it, though, my sweet, silly angel. You saved yourself and you remembered. You’re here with me, safe.” They kissed him again and this time he lowered his head to capture their lips with his. “No more forgetting. Do you still want to sleep?”
“I do,” he said, and closed his eyes, holding on to Beelzebub a little more tightly.
This time, sleep was much longer in coming. But mercifully, when it did, it was dark and dreamless.