23. Gabriel

Gabe stared at the empty space where the gray angel had disappeared. If he was even still an angel. Gabe had doubts about that.

But it also gave him some hope.

"Who is Minos?" Gabe asked. Kushiel had mentioned him as someone who had changed.

"He is a demon who is… mated, I suppose, to a mortal soul. None of us are sure how it was done, though, or even what exactly was done. Luce and Yahweh simply said that Adam was Minos's soul. Yet if we have our own souls, I am unsure what that means. All I know is they cannot be separated. Ever. Where one goes, the other may follow," Az replied.

"Can we…" Gabe started, then self-consciousness overcame him. Az was a lust demon, and Gabe was just… well, he was just himself. He wasn't particularly adventurous. Yes, he was more sexual with Az than anyone else, but in general, he wasn't sex-crazed. He had no desire to partake in orgies or anything like that.

He just liked Az. Hell, he loved Az. Az had said he loved him back, but this wasn't a romance novel. Gabe knew that sometimes love really wasn't enough. How could he be enough for Az for all eternity? Maybe he could steal a few years, or if he was lucky, a few decades, but surely someone like Az would tire of him eventually.

He would have to be happy with that. When Az grew bored, when it was time for him to move on, Gabe vowed to himself that he would be thankful for what they had and for all they had experienced. He would let Az go with thanks for the experience and the understanding of himself he had gained during their time together.

Because already he knew himself better, he loved himself better, because of Az's influence. He had more confidence and trust in himself.

For that alone he owed Az so much. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let things go sour. He would let Az go before things went bad between them. He loved Az too much to do anything else.

Az was staring at him, waiting for him to finish, but he stood up and leaned down over Az, kissing him on the lips softly.

"No matter what happens, I want you to know I am so thankful for you. You have given me so much, and I will cherish every moment we got to be together," Gabe whispered.

"Hey, no, none of that. This is not going to be a goodbye. It is not. Do you hear me? We will figure out what Minos and Adam did, and until then, you'll keep summoning me, and we'll be together. We will figure this out. I swear it. I will not be parted from you. It hurts to even think of," Az said, cupping Gabe's face.

Az stopped, searching Gabe's eyes. "Unless…" he began, and Gabe saw him swallow, his face strained.

"No, no. I want that, Az. I want to be with you." Gabe leaned forward and kissed him again. He couldn't bear for Az to doubt his love. "I want that more than anything. If I could, I would be your soul." Gabe laughed then, a little bitterly. "If you could be satisfied with someone like me," he added. He knew it wasn't very confident, but he couldn't help it.

It was Az's turn to gape at Gabe. He pulled Gabe onto his lap and kissed him, and not a gentle kiss like they'd had so far. Az ravaged his mouth, his tongue and teeth attacking Gabe's. Their teeth even clicked together, and they slanted their heads to keep kissing, hands grabbing at one another. When Az sucked on Gabe's bottom lip, they both groaned. It was only a persistent low sound that eventually made them part, both of them gasping for breath.

Gabe looked over to the counter, where his phone was buzzing rather incessantly. Whoever called it silent mode clearly didn"t understand the meaning of the word. He sighed, starting to get up, but Az pulled him down, looking into his eyes.

"I want you. Only you. I will never grow tired of you. I know this, and I don't want you ever to doubt it. You have made me more happy in the last week than in all of my immortal life thus far. I did not know what it meant to love before you. I did not know what it meant to put someone else's happiness before my own. You are all that I desire," he assured Gabe.

Az smirked then. "Besides, we both love to watch. I have every confidence that we shall find plenty of fun together, should we have eternity to explore. We can watch others together, but you are all that I need. All that I want," he finished.

They looked at one another for another moment, a thousand thoughts in their eyes. Oh, how Gabe hoped they would have all of eternity to explore each other. He smirked a little thinking of having all eternity to enjoy a little voyeurism too.

Gabe's phone buzzed again, and he sighed rather dramatically. He did get up this time, walking over and grabbing it with some trepidation.

Ten missed calls? Mostly Michael, but also Grams and Seraphina.

There were only two texts though, both from Michael.

Boring, Bothersome Brother:I'm sorry Gabe. I didn't know what else to do. This isn't like you. I'm out of my depths.

Boring, Bothersome Brother: I called Grandfather.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" yelled Gabe.

Az stared at him, mouth slightly agape. Gabe would have laughed if he wasn't so worried.

He frantically typed back to Michael.

Gabe:You meddling asshole. I ASKED you to JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. You couldn't have waited to talk to me? You had to decide what was best?

Gabe: You have no idea what you've done.

Gabe:When did you talk to him? What is he going to do?

Gabe watched as dots appeared, then disappeared, then appeared.

Boring, Bothersome Brother:I'm sorry, but a demon that powerful is dangerous.

Boring, Bothersome Brother:He's coming.

It took everything in Gabe not to throw his phone across the room.

Az stood up, looking worried. "What is it?" he asked.

"Grandfather is coming," Gabe fumed, starting to pace.

"Alright, surely we can handle that. I know Grams is gifted, and perhaps your grandfather is more gifted, but they are no match for me."

Gabe stopped, looking at Az. He realized that Az had no idea about his family. He had never thought to explain things. Now they were going to be having company, probably at any damn moment, and Az had no clue what he was in store for.

"Ah, well, you know my last name?" Gabe asked, but Az only looked puzzled.

"Everyone calls you Mr. C in class. I don't think I do know your last name," laughed Az.

"Caelius," Gabe said. "I am Gabriel Caelius, and he isn't my grandfather. He is much more distantly related than that."

Az was starting to look suspicious. A last name that meant ‘heavenly' was probably pinging his radar quite a bit.

"How much more distantly?" Az asked, one eyebrow raising.

Gabe sighed. "A few centuries, at least. Maybe longer. I don't really know. But he stops in on occasion; he likes to check in on his family," he finished, lamely shrugging his shoulders. He just felt so tired. All he wanted was Az. Was it too much to ask for? His own happiness? Was it going to be ripped away already?

"Fuuuuck," Az drew out.

Gabe smirked at his reply. "Yup. Pretty much." He leaned back against the cabinet and slid down to the floor, resting his head in his hands.

"Listen, I'm an Infernal King of the Underworld. An angel, which I'm assuming is what we're talking about, is not beyond my ken," started Az.

Gabe snorted, picking his head up to watch his sexy demon. "I love your old-fashioned language, you know," he interrupted. He wanted to let Az know all the things he loved about him while he still could.

Az stood up and was pacing now, almost talking to himself. "I guess I should have realized. You all were immune to my powers. Grams is no lightweight, either. Summoning me like she did, well, that was powerful. Still, I'm not some low level demon. I have a direct line to Lucifer, for demon's sake. I'm sure we can handle whoever it is."

Az stopped then, looking at Gabe. "Who is it, by the way?" he asked.

"Michael's named after him," Gabe muttered.

Az stopped, staring at Gabe. Gabe just nodded his head.

"Yup," he replied. "Grandfather is the archangel Michael."

"Well, shit," Az breathed out, coming over and sliding down next to Gabe.

"Yup," Gabe agreed. "We're fucked."