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«This angel admits it! She called the Extermination to silence the sinners speaking out, empowering each other! You did it to keep us down!»
Your eyes wide in shock, and your nails dipped in your palms to the point they hurt. Your head feels heavy and on the verge of exploding, and you take a step back. Everything is overwhelming to the point of causing you a panic attack. You feel your throat closing, your vision going blurry and your breathing becoming ragged. Vox is declaring war on Heaven. And Abel is up there, his golden wings contrasting with Hell's red and black sky. In his hands, he holds a gift basket he brought along with Emily, Sera and Lute. A cute basket with a teddy bear holding a heart with "sowwy" written on it, a cheese assortment, a bottle of wine and...taffys. Taffys that Abel blabbered about like three times. And when Emily said that they were there to apologize for the Exterminations with gift baskets you couldn't help but take a step back. Towards Vox. You did so inadvertently, but it was inevitable. Because despite the repulsive show he put up earlier, he...was right. How can the angels make amends with a gift basket after the past seven years?
And Abel saw you take that step back, turning slightly to Vox, nodding to what the overlord said, and then looking back at him and the other angels in a mixture of hurt and anger. It broke his heart, to see his girlfriend taking that step back. Just as much as it hurt you to see your boyfriend using a cheap gift to ask for forgiveness. But when Vox openly declares war to Heaven, all of this doesn't matter to you anymore. You just wanna reach Abel, keep him safe, show him that you're there. So you start running, as Shock.wav massive shadow covers you in darkness.
«Abel!» you shout.
Abel looks horrified, clutching the basket to his chest, eyes wide. He's not searching for you, he's transfixed on Vox as he threatens to take over Heaven. You can see him trembling and breathing heavier. You push harder in the crowd, your ribcage tightening as you're pressed in between raging sinners. Tears are prickling at the corner of your eyes. And finally, Abel looks down at you.
«Abel! Wait!» you scream, and your hand reaches for him.
He looks at you, concerned, but he doesn't reach for you. Instead, a portal opens behind him.
«No!» you scream, desperate.
Abel shakes his head, mortified, shocked, disappointed, everything. And then, he turns around, and leaves behind the portal. You fall on your knees and finally break down, hands in your face.
~~~
It's the evening of Vox's rally. You came back to the Hotel a couple of hours ago. Husk poured you a heavy drink, preferred not to ask about the rally, and just offered you a comfortable silence. You went back to your room, took a shower, and then crawled into your bed. You squeezed your phone the whole time, contemplating whether to call him or not. You shouldn't.
Suddenly, a light envelopes your room. You squint, shadowing your eyes with your forearm. It's so familiar. And then, a golden portal takes shape in the middle of your room. You quickly stand up, leaving your phone on the duvet, and Abel is now in front of you with an expression you can't frame. The portal closes behind him.
«Hey...» he murmurs softly, dark eyebrows knitted together.
You bite your lower lip «Hey...».
A moment of silence, unusually uncomfortable, you both look away and then down on the floor. But then, you both speak at the same time as you lock eyes.
«What the fuck was that?» you say in unison.
You look like each other's mirror right now, confused and offended.
«What do you mean 'what was that'? I should be the only one asking here» you say, snarkily.
«Well» Abel looks a bit outraged now «you were the one in the crowd at that rally»
You open your arms to express confusion, bending your knees down a bit.
«You think that I was there to support Vox? And not because well, you know, we're living a pretty tense historical moment and I wanted to see what that shithead had in mind? Have you forgotten?» you gesticulate, annoyed.
Abel looks at you with an admonishing expression «Well, you seemed to be on his same wavelength».
«For fuck's sake, Abel! You came down with fucking gift baskets to say sorry for the Extermination! Are you out of your fucking mind?!» you're now basically shouting at him.
Abel really IS outraged now «Our amends were sincere! And the baskets had taffys in them!»
You drag a hand down your face and grunt in it «Holy shit, that's why Vox was right at the rally. Do you really think sinner's lives, MY life, is worth a bunch of taffys? Uh?! Do you have any idea of what I had to go through these seven years?! And you think taffys are gonna make up for it?»
«See! (Y/N), how can you be on his side?! He declared us war!»
«War is the last thing I want, but us sinners deserve to speak out after what we had to go through».
«And you wanna be represented by that guy? Sera was right when she said that the Exterminations were called for people like him»
«What do you even know about it?! You learned about the Extermination like, 6 months ago! You don't know shit, Abel!»
You grit your teeth, and Abel looks just as furious. You step towards him, fists clenched. There is no trace of the loving relationship you managed to keep a secret from Heaven and Hell. Loving, full of care, tenderness.
«Abel, are you aware of the fact that you've been dating a sinner for months and that you're not dating a girl from Sunday school?!» you hiss.
«And are you aware that you're dating the Leader of the Exorcists?!»
Silence falls in the room, heavy and horrible. You feel like this is just a nightmare and you wish to wake up enveloped in Abel's arms as if nothing happened. The thought of not being with him anymore is too painful. Your voice becomes soft, but so cold.
«You're right, maybe we're too different. We should've considered that more» you say «A filthy sinner like me and someone who found out today that humans can be evil and doesn't want to come to terms with it. How could we be so stupid to think that things would work between us?»
Your expression is distant, so far away in an attempt not to break down in front of him. Abel looks mortified now, his golden irises are becoming watery and his hand reaches for you.
«(Y/N), c'mon, you know it's not true-» he mutters.
You grow colder, eyes almost closed and razor-sharp, just like your words.
«You're right. You should already know that humans are evil, Abel. You more than anyone else in the universe»
Regret takes over you as Abel quickly retracts his hand. He was about to take yours, but he abruptly flinched back. Your spiteful expression immediately snaps into a mortified one as Abel steps back, away from you. The hand that was reaching to hold yours is now pressed on his head, as he hisses in pain. The scar on his scalp burns and hurts so bad that he groans. Memories flood his mind, flashes of his sheep, the sacrifice, his hands covered in blood, God's praise and then...and then Cain. As soon as the memories flash away, the pain does too.
Still, Abel stumbles back as he looks at you in a mixture of hurt, disbelief and disappointment. You reach for him once again that day.
«Abel- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...» you stutter as your voice breaks. Tears are falling down your cheeks.
«Yeah, (Y/N), maybe you're right. We really should have considered...us...more»
A portal opens behind him, and he walks backwards towards it, his hand still pressing on his scar between his golden hair. Your mortified expression hardens, your eyes squeezing shut and your hands clenching into fists.
«You know what! Good! Go back to your sheltered life made of sunshine and rainbows and taffys! Get out of my fucking room now!» you scream, and you feel like crazy. Your head hurts and your throat too. You feel your cheeks burning.
Abel hesitates for a second, his breath has stopped.
«I said» you repeat, louder, now «get the fuck out of here and never show your face anymore! I don't wanna see you ever again Abel!»
Tears fall down his cheek, hitting the floor in heavy drops. So this is all over. Isn't it? Abel finally walks inside the portal, still looking at you. It closes around his frame, the last thing you could see was his face scrunching in sadness as he kept on crying. You heard him muttering something to you.
«All right (Y/N), goodbye» he stuttered, voice broken.
And, as soon as the portal closes, you stand there in silence for a couple of seconds. And then, your knees give up once again that day. You don't know how many tears are left in you, and you don't care. You break down in loud, uncompromising sobs.