Hours before London was kidnapped…
Gabriel stood on the roof of SVT’s secret building.
Angela exited the stairwell door, smiling warmly at Gabriel. “How did your attempts to woo our Michael go?” she asked in Enochian.
Gabriel flinched. “Do not speak the language of Angels as a human.”
Angela canted her head, studying him in silence. “All right,” she said in English after a moment.
“You keep her here. You and the careless way you live all your lives. Release her. Tell her to come back to Heven.”
“You mean come back to you.”
“Is that so terrible?”
“No. But she should have some say in the matter, don’t you think?”
Gabriel’s hands clenched at his sides. “Don’t. Don’t you dare try to paint me as some abusive monster.” He whirled and stared at Angela. “I tore a hole in reality to try and get you back, because I loved you so much. Too much. Because I loved Heven the same. I know that was wrong, what I did was wrong, it didn’t work, it helped nothing.” The pain on Gabriel’s face was clear. “Michael… I never meant… and you never came back to me. To any of us. Even when you could have. It’s been thousands of years, and the great Lucifer doesn’t give a shit about anything but themself.”
Angela came forward, her brow furrowed. “Is that what you think?”
“What else am I to think?”
“You’re supposed to evolve, Gabriel. You’re supposed to see that our lives, these meat suits, are beautiful moments and in those moments we get to choose who we are, what we experience. My time on Heven was magical. And I carried that love I felt for you into every lifetime I’ve had since then.”
“How nice for you,” Gabriel sneered, the cruel expression on his face merely hiding his pain. “Why is what I want so wrong? Why is it my distaste for them,” he threw a hand towards the open world, “so terrible? Out of all the races in the entire universe, why does Heven have to care so much about people who care so little for not only us but themselves?”
“Because that is what Heven has chosen to do.”
“And what if there are those of us on Heven who choose to do something else?”
Angela smiled. “Then do it. By the Source Gabriel be free. I want that for you, for all of you. Do as you will, love is law.”
“Love… do not speak to me of such a word, Lucifer. Angela. Whatever you call yourself.”
“You think I don’t love you?”
“I think you love yourself and your soul’s journey more. I think I loved you so much I would have spent every lifetime I existed following you, and your dreams. I think I deserve someone who will love me the same. So in a way, thank you, for showing me who you truly were.”
“Gabriel…” Angela came closer still, placing her hand against his cheek. “My beautiful, Gabriel. You speak as though we can never spend another life together. You speak as though your soul is not eternal, that we don’t have forever.”
For a moment Gabriel’s face pinched. For a moment, he pressed his cheek against Angela’s hand. But the sensations were wrong. This wasn’t Lucifer’s hand. It was the hand of a human. He slapped her hand away, taking a step backwards. “Fuck you, Lucifer. Fuck you and your all knowing bullshit. I wanted now. I wanted this moment, I wanted this life. You didn’t. It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll evolve as you say. But I won’t let you taint Michael. She could be great, greater than all of us. She could lead Heven in a way we deserve. I won’t let her be a fool to your dream anymore. I won’t let her stay on this backwater piece of shit planet and waste another thousand years, tearing herself in two trying to be something she’s not just to make you happy. You don’t deserve the air she breathes.”
Angela’s hand hung in the air where Gabriel had slapped it away. “You don’t see Michael as she is. You see her as you want her to be. You see her through your own tainted lens.”
“Maybe. But I’m the only one standing here that wants the best for her, instead of the mediocrity of humans. I’m the one that stayed, waiting for her to come home. I still wait, and I will wait forever. As long as it takes. I didn’t leave Lucifer. You did.”
Angela sighed, shaking her head. “One day Gabriel, you’ll see through your pain. One day you’ll heal.” Angela looked at him again. “For you, I hope it’s soon.”
Gabriel stood in silence, staring at Angela, his hands clenched at his sides. Finally his gaze moved away. “Good bye…. Human.” He jumped off the roof, flying away.
Angela pressed her palms together, holding them against her mouth. “Shit,” she whispered, dropping them and raising her eyes to the sky. “You were right, Lilith. You were right.” She tossed a hand through her hair, and walked back inside the building.
