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Abel's crush on St. Peter was not unnoticed. Everyone in Heaven knew, well almost everyone, to Peter it was still mystery. Every compliment that Abel gave him was taken as a friendlyness, not really something romantic. Which made Abel kind of frustrated, so he had to look for some other way to tell Peter how he feels. For this opportunity he decided to call over the Master of Matchmaking, Emily.
They went together to the restaurant. Emily ordered a glass of ice cream for both of them and got down to business. "So, Abel, how can I help you?" she smiled.
Abel sighed and pressed his forehead into his palm. "I’ve been trying to get Peter to go out with me, but he’s oblivious to the signs I’m giving him." He continued, his voice filled with panic. "And I’m scared of being direct! What if he says no?!" Emily smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Abel, I’ve been friends with both of you for a long time now. And trust me when I tell you this." She moved her chair closer to him, looking him right in the eyes. "You need to be direct with Peter. He won’t say no!"
Abel let out a frustrated groan. "But how can you be so sure?" Emily let out a gentle laugh, and Abel started to panic. "What?! Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?"
Emily shook her head and smiled at him. "No, no, no. Abel, you misunderstood me." She took his hand in hers. "I will help you out." She winked at him, pulled out her sketchbook and pencil, and said, "Let me help you out!"
Emily drew on the page. 'How to ask St. Peter out,' she wrote down the first step. 'Step number 1: Make yourself a goal,' she said, looking up at him. "Well, Abel, what's your goal?"
Abel sighed. "In a simple way, go out with him," he said, smiling and leaning his head against the table. "But if you asked me on a deeper level, I'd say I want him to have the best time of his life."
Emily clapped her hands and smiled widely. "That sounds amazing, Abel!" She moved another one of her pages. "Okay! Time to go on to step two!" She took a pencil and wrote it down. 'Step two: Go for the vibe of the date.'
Abel put his finger to his lip, thinking slowly. "Hmmm... well, maybe we could go for something romantic, but not TOO romantic!" He looked at her. "Something that screams "I love you," but it's not too much."
Emily nodded and took his hand. "Yes! Got it!" She turned to another page and wrote on it. 'Step three: Ask him out.' Abel blinked and raised his hand. Emily looked up at him. "Yes, Abel?" he asked. She shrugged and replied, "Love has no right order for how to do things, Abel."
"But-" He stopped and nodded. "You're right. You have more experience than I do." He smiled, patting her head. "Keep talking, Em."
"Well, that's all," she said. She smiles, and he blinks. "Really?" she asks, bowing her head. "Yeah, pretty much."
Emily took one bite of the ice cream from the glass, and Abel pointed at it.
"Isn't it melted?" Emily shook her head.
"Not really, still good."
Abel took his spoon and started eating the ice cream with her. "You know, after all of this is over and things work out, you're getting free stuff on my treat for a whole day," he said with a gentle look in his eyes.
She smiled and hugged him. "Deal!"
And just like that, Emily gave him a few more tips on how to handle things. He was running through them in his head: Smile, be yourself, chillax. He may have been a son of Adam, but he was completely lost in this situation. What would he do to have his father's confidence right now? That would save him a lot of time. He'd be charming and win over Peter on the first try.
Just as he was deep in thought, he bumped into Peter. He shook his head and glared. "Hey! Watch it, you-" His tone immediately changed, from annoyed to a gentler one. "Oh! Peter! It's you!" He quickly stood up, a blush covering his whole face. "Hey, Peter!" He let out a gentle laugh.
And there it was, the silence that followed. It was awkward. Extremely awkward.
Abel cleared his throat. "So, Peter! Do you have time?" Shit. Too straightforward.
"Well, actually, no," Peter said. "I’m kind of in a rush. Sera called me in for some reason."
As Abel was about to reply, Peter slipped behind him and said, "Sorry, Abel, maybe later. I’m really in a rush." Peter spread his wings and flew away.
Abel let out a sigh and said with a frown, "It's okay."
Abel went to meet up with Emily in the evening. She flew to him, asking in a gentle tone, "Sooo? How was it? Did you get yourself a date?" She looked at him with a hopeful smile. Abel sighed. "He was in a rush. I didn’t ask him anything." He frowned, which made Emily frown as well, but it disappeared quickly.
"You know," she said, grabbing him by the shoulder, "you can ask him tomorrow again." She cupped his cheeks in her hands. "You have more time to think it all through."
Abel hugged her and smiled. "Oh, Em, what would I do without your positive energy around me?" They both looked at each other, and Abel put on a confident smirk. "You know what, Em? Why wait until tomorrow? I can do it even now!" Emily's eyes started to sparkle, and she nodded. "Yes, you can!"
Abel spread his wings and pointed at her. "I can do it! I will go on that date tonight, no matter what!" Emily gave him a thumbs-up, smiling from ear to ear. Before he flew away, he smiled. "Thanks, Em." And just like that, he disappeared. Emily crossed her arms, smiling. 'Well done, Emily,' she said to herself.
Peter was by Heaven's door, half asleep. Abel flew to him and smiled. "Peter?" Peter's eyes quickly opened, and he looked around. As soon as he saw Abel, he let out a gentle sigh of relief and waved to him. "Hey, Abel, sorry for earlier."
Abel smiled and shook his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. I get it, it's fine." He looked around them and then back at Peter. "Well, do you have some time to spare now?"
Peter nodded. Abel decided to be as direct as possible. He sat Peter down on the altar, right where he usually placed the Book of Arrivals. Abel went down on one knee and pulled out a small flower. "Peter, would you go out with me?" Abel looked right into Peter's blue eyes, the blush on his cheeks evident.
Peter crossed his legs and smiled. "You would want to go out with me?" Abel nodded, smiling. "That's why I'm asking, or not?" His tone was a bit tense, mostly because of panic. Abel's mind raced with all the possible ways Peter could reject him.
Peter stood up and smiled at him. "I'd be more than honored to go out with you, Abel." That smile. That damn, beautiful smile made Abel blush. He tucked the flower into Peter's hair and smiled. "That was less stressful than I thought."
Peter pulled the flower out of his hair and looked at it. "Will I get only one flower, though?" Abel shook his head and whispered into his ear, "You'll get as many flowers as you want." Peter turned to him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Sounds like a plan, but I'm not much of a flower guy," Peter said, looking right into his eyes.
Abel put his hands on Peter's waist and whispered into his ear. "I'll find something else then." Peter let out a gentle laugh, which only encouraged Abel to keep going.
Abel pulled back and placed his hands on Peter's shoulders. "Well, where would you like to go?" As they talked, Emily watched the whole thing from afar, smiling. "I did it! I finally matched these two!"