Chapter 3 - Promise

Ow. OW. For the love of Dad, he hurt all over.

Damn it, it felt like a small atomic bomb had just gone off in his face... which was not an entirely inaccurate description.

Everything was swimming, as Gabriel's eyes fluttered open. There was a deafening whooshing sound in his ears, a distant echo of someone snapping his name in what sounded like irritation. Gabriel didn't know what they were so irritated about, when he was the one who'd just gotten sucker-punched by archangel grace.

Oh damn, that really hurt. If he hadn't been an archangel, or if Lucifer had put just a little more juice into his attack, Gabriel would have just been smote to pieces. He felt like he'd been smote to pieces, but Gabriel was fairly sure he was still too conscious to be dead. Though of course, he could be wrong. What actually did happen to angels when they died? No one actually knew, and Dad had never said. Well, Dad didn't say much, though. Wow, Gabriel was feeling loopy, his thoughts scattered and vague.

"Gabriel, get up."

The voice was more in focus now, and sounded supremely annoyed, with just a flavor of anxiety. Nice to know Lucifer was at least concerned over the fact that he'd nearly killed his little brother.

With a groan, Gabriel closed his eyes, taking a breath to steel himself and hopefully make the world stop spinning. When he opened his eyes again, at least the Hall seemed to be staying in one place, more or less. Lucifer was crouched over him, two fingers on Gabriel's forehead in healing. The older archangel looked pissed, and the glowering Michael in the background appeared no less delighted with the situation.

"You idiot," Lucifer snarled as Gabriel struggled to sit upright. "What were you thinking?!"

So much for concern and anxiety. Then again, that was just how Lucifer showed love: gruff. Still, Gabriel gaped and choked out, "What was I thinking? Look around you!"

None of the lesser angels had moved, though Eleanor was peeking around the wall Gabriel had created with huge eyes, looking desperate to run to him. The two fledglings she had rescued were clinging to her, faces buried in her shoulders and whimpering. The two archangels took a swift glance around now, though, registering the devastation around them.

"Great. That's just great, Michael!" Lucifer spat out as he stood, stepping away from Gabriel. "I hope you've sufficiently punished everyone for not being as perfect as you!"

"Me? Who just attacked Gabriel, Lucifer?! You care for nothing but yourself!"

Except, from where Gabriel sat, that went for both of them. "Uh, guys? If I may just say-" he started to pipe up, but both his brothers spun on him with an irate,

"No!"

Well, then. Gabriel's eyes narrowed, but he didn't bother going on. They were both determined to be dicks, apparently. Meanwhile, though, he was still pissed off. Someone could have gotten hurt. Ellie could have gotten hurt! And over what? Humans? This fight was stupid, and needless! The two ought to be ashamed of themselves, not still trying to play who was most at fault!

Michael at least had the decency to look guilty as he surveyed the damage again. It took nothing more than a wave of his hand to make the walls and pillars whole, erasing the debris as though the fight had never taken place. Lucifer never said a word, nor moved to help put things back together, but he did extend a hand down towards Gabriel.

For a moment, Gabriel was strongly tempted to ignore the hand. He glared up at his older brother, but now there was a look of contrition in Lucifer's gaze that was rarely, if ever, seen in the proud archangel. Though Lucifer would never offer an apology, he was truly sorry for having hurt his brother; Gabriel could see that much.

Gabriel relented. They had stopped fighting now, that was the important thing. Wary of disturbing the tenuous quiet that had settled, he chose to bite his tongue - again - and allow Lucifer to pull him to his feet. Still none of the lesser angels moved.

"I'm going to go talk to Father," Michael announced pompously, a completely unnecessary statement that only served to make Lucifer snort in derision and disappear in the opposite direction with a flap of massive, unseen wings. Gabriel couldn't understand why Michael looked surprised by this. Had he actually thought the remark was going to win Lucifer over with all the warmth and fuzziness? Damn, his brothers were idiots.

Only once Michael had flounced off like a childish prick, and the Host had determined that the fighting was truly over for the moment, did they begin to emerge from the woodwork. Pale, distressed faces gazed out into the Hall, while angels climbed shakily to their feet. Gabriel heard Zachariah telling Naomi that he personally felt Michael should be doing more to control the situation. At the same time, he heard another angel mutter darkly in hushed tones that none of this would be happening were it not for the humans, that Lucifer was right for his objections.

Their opinions meant absolutely nothing to Gabriel, whose eyes sought only one angel: Eleanor.

"Gabriel," she gasped, hurrying towards him now with the fledglings still clinging to her. "Gabriel! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Am I alright?" Something inside Gabriel snapped, his emotions getting the best of him. His voice was harsh and furious as he grabbed her shoulders and shouted, "Forget about me, what were you doing?! I would have gotten the fledglings, Eleanor! You put yourself right in the middle of danger! Don't you realize you could have died?!" He uttered a tense curse, the thought of Eleanor dying leaving him stricken and breathless. They had gotten so close over the years, he just... he couldn't even think about something happening to her!

Eleanor just stared at him, stung, and Gabriel cursed himself again for yelling at her. Now she was going to be mad at him, too, and he couldn't take all of this! The constant fighting, the stench of fear that contaminated his home, his own inability to stop it... the cries of his younger siblings, the terrorized eyes of tiny fledglings caught in the middle... he was so damn tired of this! But it wasn't Eleanor's fault, and he shouldn't have yelled at her.

But Eleanor didn't raise her voice to Gabriel. Instead, she regarded him for another second, then leaned down to start chalking in a design on the floor of the Hall. It was her sigil for soothing the mind, and she set the fledglings gently down inside of it.

"Stay here for a while, alright, sweeties? You'll feel better," she crooned, smoothing Hannah's hair back and cupping Terriel's cheek. They nodded, as Eleanor gestured another angel named Ezekiel over. "Will you watch them, please? I need a word with Gabriel."

"Of course." Ezekiel nodded, shooting Gabriel a sympathetic look that the archangel didn't feel he deserved. There was no time for an exchange of words, as she was already grabbing Gabriel's hand and tugging him along.

It was almost eerie how pristine the Hall was, as they quickly wound their way through the emerging angels. Only moments before, it had looked like a minefield, a war zone; now, it was spotless, undisturbed, as though the fight had never happened at all… like with a wave of his hand, Michael or Lucifer could just cover up the entire situation. Gabriel wasn't sure why that bothered him so much.

"Eleanor, look, I'm-"

"Just come on."

She didn't say another word, and he didn't protest as she led him back to her little office. Inside, she closed the door and released his hand, immediately starting to scrawl some more sigils around the white stone walls. Gabriel didn't try to ask what they were for. He was still trying to think of a smooth way of apologizing, of explaining that he just cared for her too much to watch her needlessly put herself in harm's way. No words were coming to mind, though, and soon she had turned back to him.

"Sound proofing," she explained simply, nodding to the symbols she'd put up. Gabriel was surprised how gentle her voice sounded, given that she ought to be hurt and angry with him. "Is there something you'd like to say to your brothers?"

Gabriel blinked. "Ooookay... not what I was expecting..."

"Gabriel, I've seen how upset their fighting makes you. It upsets all of us, but… you're so much closer to them. But you haven't said anything, and I think you should. Just say what you want to tell them. They'll never know, and I'll never tell."

As an archangel, perhaps it was only natural that Gabriel had quite the ego, and he had never, even once, felt so… so inadequate, compared to another angel. He stared at Eleanor: a simple, quiet soul with very little power but for the power she created for herself with the sigils… but there were none others like her.

"I…" he began, shocked when his voice cracked. Gabriel suddenly felt vulnerable, extraordinarily small; he wasn't used to that. Didn't much care for the feeling, either, and if this had been anyone other than Eleanor, he would have cracked a joke and smiled it all away.

With her, though, there was a feeling of safety and acceptance, like there was no danger in actually feeling what he felt. Every raw emotion, no matter how bad, was respected.

"I just…" With a deep, shuddering breath, he whispered suddenly, "They're my brothers. I love them."

She nodded, eyes sad. "I know you do."

"I can't stand to see them fight this way. They're my family! We're supposed to be a FAMILY! I can't take this!" His voice was rising now, as he spun away from Eleanor and stood rigid, his fists clenched by his sides. "We're supposed to PROTECT Heaven, not tear it apart! Why are they doing this?! How can they just THROW our family aside like it means nothing!?"

Gabriel was shocked to find tears on his cheeks, the rant drawing out emotions that he had buried deep in a desperate attempt to keep some of the peace. But they couldn't hear him here, and he could say whatever the hell he wanted to about them. Gabriel kept shouting, as though he actually was speaking to them, words he couldn't say to their faces without making everything worse.

"You didn't even stop to think, you two jackasses! You didn't CARE who was in the way, you didn't care who got hurt! All you cared about was your stupid argument over the stupid humans! You're destroying Heaven, but all you care about is who's right! You idiotic, arrogant, self-righteous bastards! You could have killed her, you dicks!"

He whipped back around towards Eleanor, eyes filled with an unquenchable, sickening horror. "What if they'd killed you?! You can't just go jumping in their path, Ellie! You can't! You have to stay out of it, promise me you'll stay out of their way!"

"Hey, hey... shhh…"

He might as well have been a fledgling himself. Eleanor was in front of him in seconds, expression gentle rather than angry. The stark comparison between her response to confrontation and Michael or Lucifer's nearly knocked Gabriel back a step, and he knew in that instant that archangels or no, she was a far superior angel.

"Gabriel, I wasn't hurt," she reminded him, the same soothing voice that had calmed the little ones. Her hand took his, lifting it up to settle on her cheek, as though in proof that she was there. "I'm alright. See?"

"But… what if…"

"Shhh…"

"You just had to be all brave and… and beautiful…" Gabriel leaned his head forward until their foreheads were resting against each other. He closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth of her aura, the comfort of her mere presence. That was just who she was: comforting, brave, warm. "You don't understand, Ellie… I can't lose you. Can't live without you."

There was no reply, but he could feel her aura pulse in response to his words, the warmth intensifying. She sighed slightly, as though taking comfort from him instead of the other way around. Her hand on his tightened slightly, and then Eleanor pulled herself in closer, folding into Gabriel's chest. His arms wrapped around her frame as though they had been created for just that purpose. For a moment, neither spoke.

Then, Eleanor's quiet whisper: "For a moment, I was afraid I'd lost you, too." Her body pressed in closer to his, and then, "I… I don't think I could bear that."

But that would mean she felt the same for him as he felt for her, and that was something Gabriel simply could not believe. He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes, questioning. Eleanor smiled at him, such a sweet, lovely smile. Her hands slid to his shoulders, tracing the powerful muscles as lightly as the feathers of her hidden wings.

"So… you should probably not die," she suggested suddenly, surprising a laugh from Gabriel.

"Hmm, tell ya what, sugar," he replied, feeling much more like himself now. "I'll make you a deal. I won't die if you don't. Fair enough?"

Her smile widened and Gabriel's soul fluttered like his Father's newly created butterflies. "Yes, it's a deal," she agreed. "We shall both go right on living."

"You promise?"

She smiled again, nodding. "I promise."

He was starting to feel a little bit better – and that was when guilt hit him full force, and Gabriel closed his eyes again. Shit. What was wrong with him? Why was she the one comforting him, helping him deal? Eleanor could be too damn selfless, always putting others before herself. She'd ignored her own peril in exchange for protecting the fledglings, and she'd ignored her own fear and pain in order to first take care of him.

Well, he wasn't having any of that.

"Now, for the really important question," Gabriel began, stepping back and sliding his hands up so that he was cupping her cheeks at arms' length, squinting slightly in examination, "what about you, sugar?"

Eleanor blinked. "What about me?" But even as she asked, her aura seemed to flicker, dimming slightly in obvious sadness. Gabriel snorted.

"Come here." He scooped her up off her feet, surprising her so that she gasped and quickly wrapped her arms around him. Gabriel grinned, then settled himself down on the marble floor, leaning back against the wall so that he was cradling Eleanor. "Now that I've swept you off your feet," he joked, holding her close, "let's just sit a while. I gotcha."

Eleanor laughed softly, but instantly leaned into him, soaking in his strength. She really had been shaken, he could still feel it in her thrumming grace… but Gabriel was going to protect her and watch out for her. And so help him, if his brothers ever got going like that again, he'd go straight to Dad and demand that He do something about it.

They did get going like that again. The next time, the archangels' fight escalated even more, and by the end of the fight, every angel in Heaven knew that nothing would ever be the same.