Arch
Gabriel/Raphael for 30kisses (in no particular order)
Title: Without Warning
List: Beta #14 – Kiss a frog
Fandom: Angel Sanctuary
Pairing: Gabriel x Raphael
Warnings: Happy characters...yeah, in this fandom.
Disclaimer: "Angel Sanctuary" and all related material are property of Kaori Yuki 1995.
Raphael is feeling playful.
He watches his latest 'patient' waltz out of the room. She had been enjoyable. Perhaps she will be in need of further observation and treatment. Perhaps.
Footsteps approach and their even, determined pace tell him who will walk through the door long before the handle is turned. Something about the day feels fresh. He feels young and playful. It makes him daring.
When she enters he sits back, bracing himself against the wall and displaying unrepentantly his condition. She already knows what he has been up to. His unbuttoned shirt and undone belt buckle only serve to reinforce her summation.
From the way her fists are clenched he can tell she is livid. He is delighted. She's most fun when she's angry.
"You – I – how could? I can't believe you!" she sputters, outraged. Her blue eyes are electric. She sets her hands akimbo. "She was a candidate, a candidate, Raphael! She isn't even out of school!"
He smiles. "She seemed perfectly mature to me."
Her gaze narrows, her eyebrows contract, her mouth tightens. Now she's furious. "You will hear about this. I am taking this matter up with Metatron. You cannot continue to treat women this way."
Her voice is calm but deadly. His game is no longer fun. She is serious. He hates it when she's serious. She can suck the fun out of a circus when she's serious. Why can't she feel the day, the atmosphere?
"Stop playing the hero, Gabriel. You," he replies, "are meddling. And most likely you've been spying too. Do you really think I'm that interesting?"
"You? Interesting?" She does not huff often so it a sight to savour. She has lost the dignified air for the briefest moment.
Suddenly, he has an idea. He has always wondered if she finds him attractive. She has constantly been impervious and unreadable. Maybe he can, at the very least, manipulate her enough to have her forget about talking to Metatron. The child eats from her hand, one sour word and he would be confined to some men-only station in farthest regions of Heaven – and probably somewhere north too. He takes his chance.
"I think you're jealous." The statement is plain and simple and a challenge.
"What?" She can't seem to believe her ears. Her mouth is slightly agape. "You can't be serious."
"But I am." He leans forward adopting his most seductive posture. His inflection alters just enough. "I think you want to be one of the girls you're always chastising. I think you want me, Gabriel."
She laughs. Just plain out laughs and it hurts him in a way he didn't expect it to. "Me? Want you? You must still be on a post-coital high because I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life."
"Liar." His accusation doesn't sound nearly as pained as he feels.
She levels a glare at him. "I'd rather kiss a frog."
He smiles because she always makes him smile. He cannot smirk around her. "I highly doubt that. You've probably never even been kissed, have you, Gabriel?"
She blushes and looks away. Credit for not looking down is awarded where due. She straightens her face and looks him in the eye. "I do not need to be kissed."
By now he has walked over to her and stands mere inches away. "Oh yes you do."
And he kisses her. It's a full kiss though brief. He does everything one can do with a kiss in a matter of moments. She's breathless when he's done but he can see her getting angry rapidly. He needs to make his escape.
"Bet you your frog wouldn't kiss half as well." He winks.
She gropes at words. Using her lapse as an advantage, he slips an arm around her waist and pulls her in for a short peck.
He's halfway out the door when he turns back to tell her, "Happy Christmas, Jibril. You did a great job last night."
Maybe she'll hate him even more now. He tells himself he doesn't care.