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It was another perfect day in Heaven. The winners were chattering, the cherubs were fluttering, the gate had been rebuilt, and no one was thinking about the recent attack from Hell. Thank goodness for that. Sir Pentious, after his announcement to Hell that he really was in Heaven (and that lovely little chat he had with Cherri), had taken to informing the winners about Hell and how it really wasn’t all that bad when you got to know it.
No one took him seriously. Well, except Emily, even after losing a wing to a deranged TV-head demon. There didn’t seem to be anything that could break the seraphim’s spirit. Pentious mused that she was a lot like Charlie in that respect.
Sera was a different matter.
Christmas was supposed to be joyous and light, even down in Hell Pentious could remember the fun and laughter of being with his new friends for the holiday and blowing up Pentagram City with Cherri, and in Heaven it was no surprise that everyone went all out in making it festive. Peter had decorated the gate, Abel was getting the ex-exorcists to help everyone with decorating the rest of the city (and joining in with the carollers), Emily was as bubbly as ever with her Christmas cheer and her ambition to get every single winner the perfect present, and Sera was…hiding, it seemed.
Pentious didn’t have many people to get presents for. Emily had been nice to him, so he got her a little sparkly bauble for her Christmas tree (she had five, so he was sure she’d find somewhere to put it), and he got Abel a book of guitar music since he had his dad’s talent for the instrument (and Abel was happy that it wasn’t rock music, like everyone else had assumed of him – Pentious had seen he was into a different sound), but it was Sera’s present he was the most excited for. The inventor had been careful with it, taking time in searching for and tinkering with things to get everything just right, because he knew exactly where Sera was hiding and he wanted to get her something nice. Something from a friend, rather than family or awe-struck faceless winners. Something she might not be expecting.
The chapel was as beautiful as ever, yet silent, save for the gentle twinkle of the stars that sat high in the rafters. Light glowed faintly through the large stained-glass window, shifting colours refracted across the red carpet covering soft flagstone and looking especially lovely over the pure marble aisle down the middle. It was like the marble itself was shimmering. Pentious felt a sense of peace when he entered, looking around the room for a moment before his gaze landed on the seraphim he was looking for, the silvery grey of her wings and hair standing out in the bright colours.
“Ah, Sera!” he called to her, waving and slithering over. She turned at her name, looking a little surprised that someone had come in after the mass at the beginning of the day. She usually spent the rest of Christmas by herself.
“Hello, Pentious,” replied Sera, a gentle smile on her face, genuinely happy to see him. Pentious knew that others were also usually happy to see him, but after helping with Sera’s recent epiphany he found that she was more open with him than others. He returned her smile easily.
“What can I do for you?” she asked of him, sitting in a pew and patting the space next to her for him to join her.
“Actually, there’s something that I would like to do for you,” he said, sitting next to her. Sera hummed inquisitively. Pentious carefully took a box out from under his hat and presented it to her, eagerly watching her expression. It was surprised, then fond, and then curious about what Pentious had brought her. The box itself was simple, soft baby blue tied with a silver ribbon, but Sera appreciated it all the same and she delicately pulled the ribbon to untie the bow before lifting the lid off the box.
Looking inside, sat in white tissue paper was a snake plush toy, designed to look like Pentious when he was in Hell. It was a little lumpy from the stuffing quantities not being quite right and sections where he’d perhaps used a bit too much fabric and had to fill in the space, and the stitching was simple and visible in places, but it was made with care and friendship. The big eyes made Sera laugh, until she caught sight of what the plush Pentious was holding in his hand: a mini Sera. There were only two wings due to the size of it, and they were lopsided, but Sera couldn’t find any fault in it. None at all.
This was the kind of present she’d missed getting. When Emily was younger and handmade everything, she often got things out of whatever craft was her current favourite – she did still receive such gifts, and the love in them was palpable, but with Emily’s growing skill the novice presentation had slowly become expertly crafted items that adorned the house the two seraphim lived in. Sera loved each and every one of them, and yet she still missed the simpler items and their crude manufacturing. Pentious’ gift was deeply touching.
“Thank you,” she said in a softly awed voice, the frown creasing Pentious’ brows smoothing away when he realised that her silence had been reverence and not horror.
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his wings fluttering happily. “I’m glad you like it, I tried my very best to get all the right colours, and some of the stitching is bulky but I think it’s fetching addition, and–”
Sera’s light laughter stopped him. He blushed softly, having been caught rambling about his creations again, but there was a glimmer of humour in Sera’s eyes that hadn’t been there earlier – Pentious considered that a major win.
“I’m sorry,” Sera hummed, the chuckle petering out of her voice, “please, do continue.”
Pentious blinked. “What?”
“Continue,” Sera repeated, resting the plush toy in her lap and folding her hands delicately in front of it. “I enjoy hearing your inventing process.”
Pentious lit up, his excitement overwhelming as he launched into the steps he’d taken to create the toy. The chapel was privy to their friendship blossoming, and now it was privy to its development too, the two laughing and discussing the human need to create and be recognised for their creations as well as the seraphim disconnect from humanity after all this time. Pentious got the gift of a friend who would gladly (and willingly) listen and Sera got the gift of friendship itself. It was something she hadn’t realised she had been missing.