Summary: A meeting in the desert leaves William with the distinct feeling there is something between them he doesn't understand. Pre-Gabriel/William
Red Halo
Gabriel is terror and death, an unbendable will that shatters worlds.
William knows he has every reason to be frightened.
He gazes up at the angel looming while William kneels at his feet on the desert sand, his throat aching from when Gabriel had grabbed him by it and forced him to the ground. The sand is still uncomfortably warm.
Gabriel's black wings flare out with an angry rustle. The dying sun frames him with a blood-red halo, and William can't help but think all the ancient murals got it wrong; it is far more fitting to see Gabriel drenched in the color of blood.
"I just… I… I don't!"
His stammering is feeble and aimless, and the darkening of Gabriel's face tells William he is none too pleased with it, but this is the best he can offer. He doesn't know what he did to enrage the angel. Gabriel had attacked as soon as he landed.
Thudthudthudthudthud goes his heart, its rhythm that of a frantic hare's. Not a lion. Not yet. After all he has done to chip away the weakness, prey he remains.
The angel still hasn't spoken a word.
Gabriel's nostrils flare, and William is reminded of something Senator Thorne had reported on angel physiology. They have heightened senses. Maybe Gabriel can smell his fear. Maybe he likes it. At that thought, his heart stutters and skips a beat.
Emotions flicker over Gabriel's face, too quickly and blurred for William to catch anything but pity. He must be mistaken. Gabriel is incapable of pity.
Gabriel's wings give an impatient flap and another rustle before he folds them neatly behind his back. "You just what?" he drawls, voice mocking once more.
"I'm sorry," William breathes, gaze lowered in deference.
Gabriel growls, showing too many teeth, and hurls himself into the air in a flurry of wings before the red sunset.
An envelope drops to the ground. Instructions, prayers, nothing a messenger couldn't have delivered. Nothing urgent enough to warrant a meeting at all.
All that remains with William is the feeling he missed out on something big.
The End