Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: It seems that about everybody wanted some Raphael/Gabriel. Fine, that is what you'll get. Nothing too graphic, though, sorry -- I'm trying to keep the rating down.

Chapter 6:

Sex and Singing

The moment Gabriel returned to Heaven, he heard somebody approaching him. Turning around with a smile on his lips, he came face to face with Raphael. The redhead was clad in his heavy robes with embroidery in yellow and gold, while Gabriel's attire was still that of a human. A mere thought changed his clothes into similar robes, only his were decorated with shades of silver and heavenly blue.

"How was your visit to Earth?" asked Raphael, coming to stand beside him. "Enjoyable, I hope?"

"Oh, very much so," replied Gabriel lightly. "My dear little brother seems to be truly happy, although he still appears a bit unsure about the whole affair. And, from what I have managed to see, Crowley loves him as well. I don't think I have to worry about those two anymore."

"So you were worried at some point?" chuckled the other archangel. "I thought you supported their relationship from the beginning. Or were you just giving the demon the benefit of doubt?"

"Something along those lines." With another smile, Gabriel then shook out his wings, flexing them a couple of times. Despite how much he enjoyed his occasional trips to Earth, he still loved the sensation of having his wings out and free. "And how is the main choir doing at the moment? Not too badly, I hope?"

"They are heavenly good, as always," Raphael replied with a grin. Then, however, he turned serious. "Your feathers seem to be ruffled up," he commented with a bit of a scolding tone. "Seemingly you still haven't mastered the art of folding them properly. May I groom them for you?"

"Of course, love," replied the brunet angel lovingly. He then turned his back to the other archangel, enjoying the feeling of gentle hands sinking into his wings. Bent feathers were straightened, dirty ones cleaned, damaged ones healed or simply plucked out. After a moment Gabriel was quietly purring without even noticing it consciously, arching both his back and wings to press against his lover's touch.

Raphael leaned forward to speak teasingly into his ear. "Hmm... like that, do you?" His warm breath tickled Gabriel's ear. "You know, we do have a bit of time before anybody's expecting us to be anywhere..."

There was no vocal response. Instead, Gabriel turned his head to meet Raphael's lips with his own. This, of course, qualified as a perfectly understandable answer.

So, Raphael miracled the doors closed, confident that no other citizen of the Golden City would be able to disturb their private moment. Then he turned his attention back to Gabriel, who by now had turned around to face him once again. Meeting the other archangel in another kiss, Raphael started to relieve Gabriel of his robes, getting the same treatment in return. Sure, they could have just simply miracled the clothes off each other, but where was the fun in that?

By the time both of their robes were off, there was no need to "make an effort". Rather it would have been quite an effort to stay sexless. And, of course, they were going to use that fact to their benefit.

Raphael lazily stretched himself over the bed. He was currently sweaty, sated, and very, very comfortable. And he had absolutely no intention of moving another inch for quite some time.

Gabriel seemed to be of alike mind, the only movements he was making at the moment being the caresses his hand was currently inflicting upon his lover's wings. For some time they both just lay in absolute silence.

Finally, though, Gabriel sat up on the bed. Stretching his wings and arms simultaneously, he slowly stood up. "We should get up at last," he said. "Somebody's bound to wonder what we're up to."

"Let them wonder," muttered Raphael. "Besides, who would? Uriel's off sulking, Michael's off smiting, and nobody else would ever question us. I bet we could have sex in front of the whole Host and nobody would dare to even blink." With a smirk, he added, "Sometimes, it's good to be an archangel."

"Only sometimes?" asked Gabriel teasingly. Then he miracled his clothes on. "Now, get up or I'll miracle the bed away." Not that he ever would have, of course; it was about the only permanent piece of furniture in the whole apartment. Angels didn't maybe need sleep, but being an archangel could be occasionally very exhausting, and each of the four had a bed in their apartments for the necessary rest and refreshment. (The one in Raphael's apartment wasn't used very often, though, thanks to the convenient doorways that adjoined his apartment to Gabriel's, but then again, that was nobody's business but theirs.)

Although Raphael did know this, he still forced himself to get up. "Fine, fine, no need to start threatening me," he muttered. "Remind me again just what we have to do today and why can't we just skip it?"

"Well, we have to do some paperwork, supervise yet another practice of the main choir, collect a few overdue reports and send them to Michael for signing, ask Uriel for the latest statistics of demon sightings... and meet Metatron about an hour from now. So, unless you'd like to tell him just why you couldn't bother to show up, I suggest we get going pretty soon."

This, of course, made Raphael much quicker in his movements. In a flash he was in his robes, his wings perfectly arranged, and not a single hair amiss on his head. "Okay, let's get going," he said cheerfully.

"I think it'd be best if we went to Uriel first, since he's closest," Gabriel said as they made their way out of the apartment. "Then we'll go asking for those reports and then head to Metatron."

As Raphael readily agreed to this, they didn't have to go far. As soon as they stepped out of the front door, they turned right, then walked a bit and stopped in front of Uriel's door. The archangels all lived along the same corridor, well away from the usual hassle of the city.

Just as Raphael raised his hand to knock, however, Gabriel grasped his hand. "Listen," the brunet archangel whispered. And Raphael did. His ears caught the faint sound of somebody singing.

Glancing at each other, the two then proceeded to very, very quietly miracle Uriel's door open. And, as they stepped inside the darkhaired archangel's apartment, the singing only got louder.

Raphael's eyes widened. "What in all of Heaven?" he breathed. "It can't be..."

Being careful to stay absolutely silent, they slowly rounded the corner. And there, in front of them, was the source of the absolutely heavenly sounds -- a sight they had never thought they'd see.

Uriel. Singing. And apparently enjoying it a great deal, too

Glancing at Gabriel, Raphael felt a grin spreading on his face. The brunet grinned back. This would have been perfect material for some blackmailing and taunting -- had angels gone for that. As they didn't, however, both could still think of some definitely enjoyable usage to their discovery.

Slowly backing out of the apartment, they then made sure to knock very loudly. The faint sounds that reached their ears through the door ceased abruptly, and a moment later Uriel threw the door open, looking as dark as always. "What do you two want now?" he spat angrily.

However, despite their colleague's obviously foul mood, neither Gabriel nor Raphael could help but grin as they explained exactly what they had come to see him for.

Next chapter:

It's Michael's turn to make an appearance. Crowley could really live without it, though.