Chapter Text
Post-mortem was a big question for you during your time on earth. You weren’t exactly religious, but you did sometimes pray to the Big Man when shit was about to hit the fan, like when you hadn’t studied for your college midterms, and your last resort fell into the hands of the divine.
So, when your untimely death did roll around; you were shocked to find yourself standing at the actual pearly gates, which your primary teachers preached tirelessly about in religion class. They were massive, blindingly bright and breath-taking. It was definitely a lot to take in, especially since you had barely processed your own passing.
It had been approximately a week since you first entered heaven. In this time, you had been given a tour, introduced to neighbours and heard and almost been involved in a lot of musical numbers. Currently, you stood in the streets of central heaven where, yet another song had broken out; It was like that medieval ‘Dancing disease’ you had studied once. Thinking of the silly, arbitrary knowledge, a small smile made its way onto your face. You weren’t one for singing; and you certainly didn’t have the confidence to do so publicly. As these angels paraded around singing; you thought about how you used to play bass back on earth. Hell, you barely got to master it before your life was cut short by-
You cut yourself off. All you ever did was make yourself sad by thinking about life on Earth. One of your greatest vices since arriving in Heaven had been reminiscing on human life, your friends who you missed so dearly, your city, your pets and somehow even your family. That small smile which had so gently graced your features was now replaced by a grimace, as you decided abruptly to make your way back to your apartment. One thing you noted was that, unlike Earth, Heaven had no housing crisis, which was a nice change. The apartment was nice, but you hadn’t put your mark on it yet. No posters, fun blankets, trinkets or memories resided within it. Only you, a crazily stacked fridge and your dream wardrobe. You closed the door, immediately dragging yourself to your delightfully comfortable bed and slid down, headfirst. A groan escaped you as your mind wandered. Really, you couldn’t pull yourself out of these spirals once you began thinking of Earth. It was like some twisted mix of mourning, longing and homesickness all baked into a very off-putting and over-cooked cinnamon roll.
“I guess you’re my best bet…” you sighed as you pulled out your phone, opening it to the contact of a kind angel who’d kindly given you his contact in case you needed it. “Abel” you mouthed his name, barely above a whisper as you began typing away. “Yooo.. I think the existential dread is back, you got a minute?” [SEND]. Within less than a minute of you slamming your head back on the suspiciously soft bed, a vibration rang through your head, making you jump. “Yepperoni! OMW now :D” the message read. Your heart began to race, with what you could only assume was embarrassment over the miscommunication, you hurriedly typed back. “NONONNO IMS SORRY IMEANT LIKE FREE TO MESSAGE I DON’T WANT TO BOTHER YOU” [SEND] [SEND] [SEND]. Slamming the send button didn’t seem to make it send any faster, but it made you feel better.
~
You had met Abel on your first day, as he had come to the gates to pester St. Peter. Much to his surprise, the eternal doorman was amidst his work with one very panicked soul at the gate. The Commander’s expression seemed to drop as you were ushered through the gates, to the beginning of the end. Ditching his plan to annoy St. Peter, he introduced himself to you, removing his somewhat menacing helmet and extending a hand. You had a lot of questions for Abel, and he gladly answered to the best of his ability.
“Can I still eat food?”
“Yup! We mostly just have sugar here though.”
“Do I need to find a house?? Pay rent??”
“Nope, that’s all sorted out for ya"
“Why are we humanoid and some others aren’t? Why aren’t I a cool crocodile-human?”
“I.. Really couldn’t tell you?”
“Where is God?”
“On important business as always!”
These questions continued for.. quite a while, until your anxieties had somewhat eased for the time being. Soon, the conversation began to segue into more manageable topics. Like what was the best kinds of shops in heaven, the hidden gems, and where to avoid. Abel took you to his personal favourite sweet shop which specialised in taffy, evidently a favourite of his. Personally, you’d never had much taffy in your lifetime, but the joy on Abel’s face as he ranted about how good it was warmed your soul, and for once a small smile cracked upon your face. He noticed it, his rant fading away as he just smiled with you.
You came back to the present with a firm knock on your door, causing you to jolt. Kicking yourself off the bed, you noticed how warm your face was as you meandered over to the door to let your newfound friend in. “Hello buddy!” He announced, tucking back his golden yellow wings as he spoke with a charming smile. He made his way in, dropping a bag by the couch as he got comfy. He was still in his formal attire, dropping his shako to the table which unleashed his wavy hair. Following suit, you plopped down on the couch beside him. There was a beat of silence before he spoke up.
“So, the blues atcha again?” He questioned with an awkward smile and head tilt in your direction. You nodded in response, a mixture of sadness and embarrassment in your expression. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your day, you didn’t have to come all the way here”. He chuckled, to which you looked over with surprise at him. “Come on, it’s Heaven for Pete’s sake! Flying takes a matter of minutes, and hey, I’d do anything to help a friend in need! Speaking of…” He reached over the arm of the couch, his wings instinctively unfurling to keep his balance. They brushed against your face, making you giggle, but you couldn’t shake the pit in your stomach over the word ‘friends’..
There wasn’t much time to ruminate before the upbeat angel was shoving a bag of his favourite taffy in your face, alongside a big bag of marshmallows and a corny romcom DVD. “You said you liked them, right? God, I hope I’m not misremembering-“ You interrupted his panicking with a loud and excitable ‘thank you’, to which he smiled joyously in return. However, your excitement extended beyond the fact that it was just marshmallows and a DVD, you had the perfect drink idea now, and Heaven was well equipped with the essentials to make it.