"Damn, your fighting skills are terribly rusty. Out of practice, are we?" Balthazar remarked snidely, smirking at Gabriel.
"Oh, I am? I'm surprised you're not too – you've been faking your death longer than I have." Gabriel quipped.
"You're right. Perhaps we should start a club? 'Unruly Angels That Fake Their Deaths To Enjoy The Pleasures Of Earth'. Actually, that sounds more like an unnecessarily long band name. Or a Fall Out Boy song." The smug angel babbled on, talking more to himself than his new company.
"Balthazar, do us both a favour and shut up, would you?" At first, Balthazar thought Gabriel spoke rudely as a joke, but he soon realised the archangel was genuinely upset when he noticed his forlorn expression.
"I suppose I'm sorry… Are you okay?" Balthazar questioned, his tone not entirely sympathetic, but close enough for Gabriel to ignore.
"It's just…" The archangel sighed wearily. "How many more angels have to die before they realise they should leave me alone?"
Both angels fell silent for a few moments, Gabriel because he was deep in thought and hadn't yet been prompted to continue talking, Balthazar because Gabriel's recent words were still sinking into his mind and processing, plus he felt a little awkward interrupting the quiet for once. When it became evident that Gabriel wasn't making any inclinations towards speaking or moving, Balthazar spoke up.
"Look, honey – why don't we head back into the bar? I doubt the bartender will even bat a complacent little eyelid. Humans, eh?" For a moment, the angel appeared to be going to add more to his remark about 'humans', though he bit his lip and resisted, realising it would be a little too insensitive at such a time.
Gabriel gazed upwards at his newfound companion after breaking out of his reverie, his golden eyes wide with appreciation. However, this only lasted for a brief amount of time, as those aforementioned eyes soon narrowed and lines of wariness settled into the skin on the archangel's face. "Thanks, I appreciate your help and everything, but I'm afraid I can't trust you." His blunt tone admittedly shocked Balthazar.
"And why is that? I saved your life, didn't I?" The angel's ice blue eyes glinted maliciously as his voice twisted bitterly; it was obvious that Balthazar didn't take well to being thought of as a traitor.
"Since I got back, I've been to Heaven twice, and out of the angels I've met there – and here – excluding you, two out of three have been working for Raphael. One out of three has tried to kill me. Not great odds, wouldn't you say? So tell me, why should I trust you above those other angels?" Gabriel constructed an extremely valid argument that caused Balthazar to think deeply about before replying.
"Hm. I can definitely see things from your point of view." The less powerful angel paced a couple of steps to stand directly in front of Gabriel before he properly answered, staring right into his guarded eyes. "Gabriel. Look at me. I don't just mean my outstandingly attractive vessel, I mean me. My true angelic essence. Look at it, and tell me what you see, because I can promise you it certainly won't be a traitor."
At first, Gabriel thought that Balthazar's suggestion was simply a way of manipulating him; he'd be staring into his soul one moment, the next, bam! Stabbed in the gut, left to bleed out at the hand of one of Raphael's goonies. But when Gabriel reluctantly peered into the old blue eyes of Balthazar, when he observed that hyperactive angelic grace, swirling in patterns of blue and white purity, intertwining with human blood and bone as it wholly filled up its vessel, grace that had lived for so long, seen so many atrocities and delights, yet burned as fierce as ever, he knew. He knew that this angel was rebellious, that he certainly wasn't perfect, but that was better than some entity that fooled its enemies with pretentiousness. Because Balthazar was right. He wasn't a traitor. And, from this, Gabriel knew that he wasn't working for Raphael, that he never would. Gabriel now knew he could, in fact, trust this angel. That didn't mean he was completely convinced though.
"Okay…" The archangel began cautiously as Balthazar eagerly studied his expression. "So I know who you are, but I still have a hell of a lot of questions for you."
"That's understandable." Balthazar replied, before expressing a startling grin and sticking a hand out to his new buddy. "I'm Balthazar, angel of myself, keeper of hedonism. Though I suppose you already knew that. Anyhow, you, me, pub. Now, preferably." He gestured to the pub door as he strode around the corner, allowing Gabriel to enter first, which he did without comment.
The bartender gave the two men a slightly puzzled glance as they strolled back in, probably due to the fact that the angel that Gabriel had left with had now morphed into a different person entirely. Still, the human neglected to verbally mention it.
Balthazar leaned close to Gabriel's ear. "See, what did I tell you? Humans – they're so polite. And impressionable. With the right wording, a tactfully placed wink here and there, they're putty in your hands. You can essentially bend them into any position you like. And I mean that with all possible entendres." The angel deadpanned, though his monotonous voice was accompanied by a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Gabriel simply rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "It seems I've found myself a rebellious, dirty-minded, sarcastic companion. That could turn out to be either my best or worst decision ever."
"Well, you know what they say, darling. What you look for in others is actually what you're like yourself." Balthazar shot back.
"Hmm, that's given me something to think about. It would be hard to find someone as awesome as me though…" Trailing off pointedly, the archangel observed Balthazar's reaction with amusement.
"Rude." The new angel raised an eyebrow, disapproving in a jokey manner. Secretly, Balthazar was proud that the person he'd found to be his new friend was as humorous and sassy as him, in addition to being one of the most powerful creatures on Earth (and Heaven and Hell, for that matter). Yes, they would definitely have tons of fun together.
"How about these for seats?" Gabriel held out his hand, pointing to a small table surrounded by two comfy-looking cushioned bar stools. He began to sit down before Balthazar had chance to reply, but the angel agreed by flopping down on the chair next to him. Waving flirtatiously at a waitress, Balthazar called her over and ordered drinks – a bottle of wine for himself and a tumbler of whiskey for Gabriel. Once she had gone, the archangel turned to face Balthazar and resumed their conversation.
"Right, let's get down to business. I know you fought with the angel Castiel in Heaven, and that you faked your death during that time. I'm guessing that means you're on Castiel's side in the civil war-"
"Oh no, no, no. No. Honey." Balthazar interrupted, adamant. "I thought you were the one who was accepting of non-binary angels?" When Gabriel looked confused, the other angel elaborated. "The dichotomy of good and evil, just like it was with Michael and Lucifer, and now it's Raphael and Castiel – it doesn't exist. I firmly believe in not conforming to the ideals of any particular 'side', especially in petty civil wars such as this one. I despise binary options. You see, Castiel liberated us all – he tore up the whole rule book and scattered the pages of destiny. Although you may think that would make me sympathise with his cause, it doesn't. Instead, it made me realise how appealing freedom is, and, more importantly, how possible it is. Life on Earth is just so fun!" Balthazar abruptly perked up, his eyes gleaming with opportunity as he edged even closer to Gabriel. "We can do whatever the hell we want! And now you can join me. I obstinately refuse to get involved with the civil war, and I can only assume you're the same. So what do you say? You and I, exploring Earth, jovially imbibing alcohol, probably having a threesome somewhere along the line-"
"Sounds good. Up to the threesome thing. Not really my kind of party." Listening to long pieces of monologue always tested Gabriel's patience, therefore he intervened before it went on for too long. "But it does make sense, the whole 'non-belief of dichotomies' thing. That's one ideology I can relate to. I guess we'll hang out, see how it goes."
"I'm honoured. Now, are you buying this round?" Balthazar immediately reverted back to his usual sarcasm, while Gabriel smirked back at him. The two of them were made for one another.
A/N:
Hey! I just have to say, while I was writing this in the car, I'd just turned my laptop off when 'My Heart Will Go On' played on the radio! It was the best timing ever XD