I do not own anything, full credit goes to orange-plum on tumblr for her comic "Satan and Me"
In all six of his years, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His dad had truly outdone himself this time. She told him that her name was Anthea. Gabe thought that was the best name ever, and he made sure to tell her so. His chubby hand grabbed hers and she smiled at him. He led her to a corner in Heaven he had claimed as his own. It became their private spot, and the two children adored the secret. Tugging on her hand, Gabe sat. Sitting down next to him, Anthea began to babble excitedly about something, Gabe couldn't remember the topic over his own fierce excitement. He had a friend.
They became inseparable. One of the only times they weren't together was during prayer. Yet, sometimes, to his shame, Gabe's mind would wonder to Anthea. What would they do later today? He wondered if she would come with him to talk to Raphael that evening.
He found himself thinking about her a lot. About her eyes, her hair, her smile. Oh, dad. He could write an anthology about her smile.
His thoughts scared him, and he prayed for forgiveness for letting his mind wander. Standing, he walked out of the temple for prayer and back towards his siblings.
Michael would whine about Gabe liking Anthea more than him. The older angel teased Gabe relentlessly about hanging out with a girl instead of him. Gabe knew Michael was just joking, but he would still apologize to his older brother. The young Gabe was always embarrassed by the attention, calming stating that she was his friend.
The teasing never had the desired effect; Gabe was always too mellow for that. Yet, he couldn't bring himself think of Anthea in the same way as his brother. It was different, somehow.
The adolescent years of the angels were particularly awkward. Clad in only robes, Gabe envied the manly forms of his brothers. Their chests were broad and defined while his stayed skinny and bony. He didn't look a man, he looked like a gaunt child.
At least he knew Anthea was having the same problems. They knew not to worry about vanity, but in the still of the night, the pair would sometimes sit in their private corner and talk about how they would want to look.
Gabe said he would be tall, taller than Michael, taller than Raphael even. Anthea swore she would grow out her hair, and she would start painting her lips like Zadkiel. Anthea always talked about how she wanted to look like Zadkiel. Gabe never understood, he thought Anthea was so much lovelier than Zadkiel, but when he voiced the thought, Anthea's smile looked strange, and she ignored the compliment.
Alone in their corner, Gabe frowned. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wondered why he messed up. He was supposed to be the messenger, but be couldn't even use his words to make sense to Anthea. She left upset, and he felt like it was all his fault. He wondered why that made his heart hurt so badly.
The more she hung out with Felix, the less she was with him. He knew jealously was a sin, but the hot tattoo it burned in his stomach seemed impossible to get rid of.
Retreating to their corner, he sat alone. It wasn't fair of him to expect her to be with him all of the time. Yet, he couldn't shake the swelling emotions in his stomach. He frowned and went to pray. She wasn't his to keep.
Anthea and Gabe had been through many things together, but having her watch him get his tongue pierced was an awkward moment. She tried to hide her giggle behind her hand, and he felt ridiculous. He couldn't smile at her either, which just made her grin stretch wider.
That evening in their corner, he was fiddling with a mirror, trying to inspect the piercing. He tried to explain how weird it felt. Anthea commented that she would like to feel it, and Gabe nearly dropped the mirror he was holding. He felt his face flush at her innocent comment and he turned away from her, focusing all of his attention on the mirror.
He felt ashamed of his thought, but in that moment, all he could imagine was kissing her.
Gabe couldn't fathom why his heart was racing. Anthea had simple placed her hand on his chest during a story, yet it was different. Different than it used to be.
Her hand felt like fire, like she was going to scorch right through his skin and grab his racing heart. Her skin was soft, and goodness. Of course she had always been this beautiful, he had always thought that; but today there was something different.
There was something different in the way she looked at him, and he felt the same difference in his own gaze. The change felt palpable, and both angels felt closer than ever before. He placed his own hand on top of hers and stepped closer. Their shared smile said everything their mouths couldn't.
Gabe did get taller, passing Uriel and Michael, but didn't quite get to Raphael. Lucifer passed him, teasing his older brother when he did. Anthea did grow her hair out, and now her locks fell past her shoulders. Gabe liked it long, but he could never find the words to tell her that; which was shameful, considering he is the messenger.
The first time Anthea painted her lips, she came to Gabe immediately, excitement evident in her face. She commanded he look, demanding his attention.
Gabe was caught off guard with the sudden change, but it wasn't a bad change. He grabbed her by the shoulders to bring her closer, and he tilted her face up to him. He couldn't bring himself to let go of her face. Her skin was smooth under his hand, pliable. He stared down at her, and she looked right back at him. Her lips slightly parted and Gabe couldn't think any more, so he didn't. He pressed his lips to hers, and she responded immediately.
Their lips moved together, desperately trying to learn each other in the new, intimate way. Sometime in the mix, Gabe's arm ended up around her waist, pulling her close to his bare chest. His flushed skin was hot against Anthea, and her hands went around his neck. They worked in perfect tandem, a natural balance found from years of knowing each other.
Gabe broke away first, and looked down at Anthea, his chest heaving wildly. He apologized for his abrupt action, but was cutting off by Anthea. She smiled and wiped away her lip paint that was on Gabriel. He caught her hand that was wiping, and pressed it to his chest, kissing it once. She had no idea how dear she was to him.
Gabe spent the several days after he kissed Anthea avoiding Anthea. He was embarrassed by his sudden action, and he was afraid she wouldn't want to be around him any longer.
Raphael found his distressed brother and questioned why he was so upset. Gabe shook his head, and looked up at his brother with a flushed face. He let Raphael look into his eyes, and the older angel was surprised by what manifested in his brother's heart. His heart was bright red; the young angel was in love. Yet, dark clouds hung over his heart.
Seeing his older brother's shocked face, Gabe turned away, feeling the hot flush spread to his ears. Raphael sat down next to his younger brother. He clapped a large hand on the younger angel's shoulder and assured him that being in love was wonderful. He encouraged Gabe to seek her out and talk to her.
Smiling, Raphael left his brother alone with his thoughts. If anyone deserved love, it was his calm, peacemaking brother.
When Gabe finally found her, she was with Felix. Jealousy disguised as annoyance blossomed in his stomach and he had to bite back angry words. It wasn't Felix's fault Anthea was upset with him, and he would not unjustly snap at someone who didn't deserve it.
He had no logical base for jealously anyway, Felix had proudly declared himself asexual. Yet, Gabe didn't want to even share Anthea's attention.
He approached the two and gently cleared his throat. Anthea's eyes met his own, and Gabe again swore she was his father's most beautiful creation. Stuttering out an apology, Gabe grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest.
Retreating to their spot, Gabe apologized again, but was cut off by the press of Anthea's lips against his own. Her forgiveness came so easily and Gabe wondered why this perfect angel would ever choose him.
She pulled back from the kiss, and he breathlessly confessed his love. The sudden confession surprised him as much as her, but he felt no shame in telling her how he felt. However, when Anthea told Gabe she loved him as well, his heart leapt in joy. He couldn't resist kissing her again, and smiled against her lips. He had never been happier than in that moment.
He tasted metal in his mouth and dimly wondered where the blood was coming from. He couldn't worry about himself, though. All that mattered was Anthea. Black spots lingered in the corner of his vision and he wondered why his wings were surrounding him.
Terror swelled in his heart when he saw the fear in Anthea's eyes and everything snapped into place. Lucifer. Michael. Lucifer was falling. Why did Anthea look so frightened? Why did Felix look so excited?
Wait. No.
Felix was going to fall with Lucifer. And Anthea…she would go with him. Panic as thick as blood rose in Gabe. No, no, no. She couldn't. She couldn't fall, everything would be gone, and it would all be ruined. He would never see her again.
He found her again, and their eyes locked, please, don't go. He wanted to scream, beg, but he couldn't open his mouth.
Love was written in her expression, and the corner of her painted lips rose before she stepped backwards, and fell.
No! I love you.
All he could feel was hollow despair. She was gone.
Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day!