She glanced at him then, hope sparking in her heart. Maybe she hadn't irrevocably screwed this up after all. Maybe honesty is the way to go
She didn't like the idea, she was a demon, she was supposed to lie, but for now she pushed all that aside, finally relenting to a thousand year old want for some honest genuine friendship.
"Maybe this is what the Almighty intended," she suggested carefully, keeping her tone neutral. "If She doesn't want war, then maybe…this. I…don't mind, if so."
Gabriel smiled softly ,not being able to contain his relief at her response, finally something genuine and not her normal jibes or snakiness. "Eh, a little war is fun now and then, keeps the mind racing." he relaxed against the bench and looked off into the distance. "Do you suppose they'll ever be a time where heaven and Hell can achieve a mutual understanding of each other? where this hatred can be overlooked for something stronger and more fulfilling?" he asked without looking back at her
"Like what?" she scoffed, relaxing back into her usual tones. "Love?"
She shook her head, following his gaze to the horizon. "I doubt they will," she muttered. "But who knows? Given the fact we have to spend the next millenia together unexpectedly with no war in sight, maybe they will."
He shrugged "maybe not that far yet but something close. Maybe just a simple understanding and acceptance of what each other does and why instead of making judgment calls and killing each other." He stood and stretched, his wings becoming slightly visible again "well demon, I do believe it's my time to take off. I'll see what I can find out from the angels. If I hear anything suspicious, expect a message." He bowed slightly to her, his wings flapping behind him "T'il we meet again, bee." he winked and disappeared.
She watched him leave, a slight smirk flitting across her face. He was terribly charming when he wanted to be, she realized. She liked that. And his stupid nickname was starting to grow on her as well, though she refused to admit it.
"See you around loser," she told the air where he'd just been, then stood and returned to Hell, a odd light feeling in her heart that hadn't been there at the start of the day.
(So I had two plot ideas, one is where Bee pokes too deeply into the plotting and the demons attack her, the other is where Heaven and Hell start their first battle and Bee and Gabe interviene, potentially getting themselves into trouble. The second one might lead to the first one, but I'm not sure which one to do first, any thoughts? ^^ And of course if you have any plot ideas, I'm open to suggestions ^^)
(I like the second one leading into the first a lot, can we do that?)
Gabriel made it back to heveans without being seen by anyone. He went to his private study and locked the door. What did he just do?! Did he seriously wink at the Lord of Hell? Him?! He shook his head and sat down, glancing down at the papers left on his desk but not really registering anything on them. He, flirting with the Lord of Hell…an incredible thought indeed
(Okay, sure! Maybe when they get back, they find Heaven and Hell oddly empty, and figure out what's going on? Or would you rather give it a little build-up? ^^ Sorry I'm bombarding you with all these questions lol xDD)
Beelzebub went straight to her office, waving off Dagon who was holding out some papers. Interrogations could wait, she needed to think about Gabriel and sort through what had just happened.
A horrible display of vulnerability that any self-respecting Prince of Hell should never have given in to, that's what, but the outcome had been entirely unexpected. Not only had the angel let it slide without leaping on the chance to smite her, he'd been almost…understanding.
And the wink. Well, actually, a lot of things he'd said and done. He'd seemed flirtatious. An angel, flirting with a demon.
"Awful," she muttered, settling into her thorne and closing her eyes. Awful, and still…He was handsome, and she rather felt they understood each other. Could it really be that bad?
(it's absolutely fine! And maybe have a little build up since they're already in Heaven and he'll)
Gabriel finally had settled down and was working on papers when an angel came in "sir, we need to speak immediately." Gabriel looked up and sighed, setting his own down "what is it farelle?"
The angel sat down with a nod "there…uhm..well there's been rumors of an angel teeming up with demons. Some say following the trend of Crowlet and Azeriaphale."
Gabriel mentally groaned, I'm not following them, i’m just using my resources well. though, calling Beezlebub a resource didn’t sit well with him, she was more than a means of information.
“I’ll look into it, thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
(Yeah, sure! ^^)
Beelzebub's reverie was disturbed by Dagon timidly entering the room and setting down the papers Beelzebub had waved off earlier, cringingly retreating as fast as they could. Beelzebub halted their hasty retreat by raising one finger, Dagon freezing in place.
"Stay a while," she invited, keeping her tone lazy and relaxed. The other demon slowly crept forward, looking decidedly unhappy about this turn of events. Beelzebub tilted her head.
"What's wrong Dagon?" she purred. "Stressed? Tell me all about it."
As Dagon unwillingly settled into one of the chairs Beelzebub kept around the place, the prince of Hell watched them with a smile. Oh, she was so eager to hear all of Dagon's stresses.
Once Farelle had left, Gabriel stood and headed to the window overlooking an extensive field of clouds. He debated whether to call Beezlebub about the rumors but not wanting to bother her with information she probably let already knew. He sighed and sat back down. Since when have I ever given a damn about anyone? Information known is important and doesn't wait for anyone's lessurely time. Instead of calling, he decided to text her, knowing she'd get the message eventually
"Rumors are spreading quickly of Angel/demon alliances up here. Don't know how, might be Michael trying to divert attention. Let me know when we can talk, I'm free anytime. 😇"
Beelzebub finally let Dagon leave, the other practically fleeing. She frowned after them. Normally Dagon was perfectly happy to spend all the time in the world discussing work-related issues. She hadn't gotten as much from the demon as she'd hoped, but there was enough to essentially confirm her suspicions. Hell was up to something, and she wasn't invited.
Her phone buzzed, and she checked it, frowning at the stupid emoji. This angel was insufferable. But she let it go in favor of matching up his information with her own. he realized this situation was rapidly getting out of hand, and with every bit of control she lost, the more dangerous it got for her and probably Gabriel as well. Though they had just talked, she didn't want to wait. They needed a plan, and fast.
Same place, if you're still sure it's safe. 9 pm earth time. I'm getting the same down here. I think we're both very much in danger at this point. 👿
Okay maybe it was childish to engage in his stupid emjoi-ing, but she rather liked that one.
(AawwWwwwWwWw!)
"On my way," He glanced around the halls close to his office before posting a sign "No Entry or I will smite you." and left for earth. He made it to the trail, the night cool and crisp as he walked about, glad that everyone was gone. He flipped his collar up to protect himself from the chill and watched as his breath became visible. He smiled slightly, wonder how long it took for God to come up with visible air. He stopped near a lake and sat at one of the viewing benches with one of those telescope thingy's that made you pay 25 cents to look at the skyline. he rolled his eyes at the joy he'd seen it bring many people to gaze out onto city scapes across the water. he'd rather look at the trees and animals hidden here and there instead of the horrors that mankind did to God's beautiful earth
Beelzebub shivered slightly as she materialized on earth. It was cold in Hell, but she always forgot about seasons on earth and how bitter the winter could be. She made her way over to Gabriel, offering him only a nod by way of greeting.
"So they are plotting," was the first thing she said. "I don't doubt we'll be on the short end of the stick. Did you talk to Michael?"
Gabriel nodded "we most likely will. And no, I haven't been able to contact Michael. Haven't been able to find him lately." He sighed softly and gazed skywards. "Did you find anything else? or much of the same as before?" he asked after a few moments of blissful silence
"Wonderful," Beelzebub muttered. "Well, I tried to talk to Dagon, but they were cagey. Which almost tells me everything I need to know. The most I could get out of them was that 'the workload's been really heavy for everyone lately.' Hardly a confession, but damn if they aren't guilty about something." She glowered into the darkness before shivering again and growling.
"Satan, it's cold up here." It did get much colder in Hell, but her office was on one of the warmer planes, and it rarely got cold enough for breath to fog. She shifted closer to the angel almost before she even realized it, the motion nothing more than an afterthought or instinct to try and get warmer. Still, she didn't move away. She was curious what boundaries she could push, what he would do.
Gabriel nodded "so something is going on but no one's will to risk their necks to say anything or do something but us, fantastic…" He leaned back in the seat, arching an eyebrow as Beezlebub scooted closer. "I never knew a demon to get cold on Earth," he mused with a slight smile. He glanced around carefully before allowing his wings to show. He wrapped one around Beezlebub and then the other close to himself for warmth "better?" He asked
"Shut-it," she growled. It was better. The wind was blocked by his wing, and he emanated heat, warming her entirely. She folded her arms and sniffed.
"I should thank you, but since I'm a demon and we don't do that, I won't," she said, as a roundabout way of actually saying thank-you.
Gabriel chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully "and of course, we wouldn't want to taint that reputation of yours. I'll just imagine you said thank you and move on with my seemingly perfect life," he glanced over at her "Do you demons get sick?" he asked with an intrigued tilt of his head
"Of course we do," she said. "Not like humans do, but we can get ill, even discorperate from it. Don't angels?"
She'd never wondered that before, but was certainly wondering now. Was getting sick just another process of suffering contained to Hell, or was it something all beings experienced, celestial or occult?
"At times yes. When we do it's usually something more than the common cold though." he shrugged and ruffled his free wing. "Usual humane bacteria don't affect us much, at least not in a normal way." He shook his head and looked away, not knowing why he was telling her this. It was information a demon from hell, an enemy of heaven should have no business knowing.
Beelzebub found she was surprisingly interested to learn about this. She settled back against his wing more comfortably, mulling over this new information as she stared out into the darkness.
"Is Heaven cold? I…can't remember." She winced, cursing herself internally for mentioning the Fall or anything before it. She'd been cast away by that life, and she knew there was no getting it back. But part of her had to know. What had it been like?
He glanced down at her, surprised to hear any mention of her previous time in Heaven. "it's does get cold sometimes, we usually follow the temperature patterns of earth. It's never to the extent of cold or heat as earth but it fluctuates." His wing fluttered as wind blew in from the lake in front of them, causing Gabriel's wings to ruffle. "What do you remember of heaven?" he asked, curious as to what she knew of his home
Beelzebub hesitated, her chest tightening. She tried not to think about Heaven much. She didn't miss it, she couldn't miss it.
"There's nothing to remember," she said coldly, her voice sounding distant even to her. "There's no point, is there? It's not like I'm ever going back."
I'd rather not know what I'm deprived of, is what she didn't say. It was the oldest sensation left from the Fall: the hollow ache in her chest where her Grace had once been. She was glad she didn't remember what if had felt like to have it, or she thought she might not be able to bear it.
Gabriel dropped his gaze to the floor at hearing the coldness and hate in her voice, "I didn't mean to bring up such a terrible experience." He said with a bit of bite in his voice. He hadn't meant to say as a jab but he was reminded that the one next to him was a demon, not a friend, not one he should care about. She was his enemy and in any other situation, he'd smite her in an instant. It was her own fault she and her kind were locked out for not following g what God said, for disobeying him.
Beelzebub jerked her head up, whipping around to glare at Gabriel.
"You blame us," she stated, her tone accusatory. "How can you blame us? What did we know we were doing wrong? All we did was ask a few simple questions, and apparently that's all it took. We. Didn't Know. None of us meant to Fall."