AN: Thank you all so much for the support! It is very deeply appreciated!

Theresa knew when the denizens of heaven were avoiding her.

They knew to stay away from her when her glow was as red as it was. Nobody wanted to be the recipient of one of her flare ups. Best not to provoke her by creating an excuse to disappear before she could say anything.

Most of the time, Metatron calmed her when she fell into one of these moods. Considering he was the source of her frustration, this was unlikely to happen. No, there was little anyone could do for her foul mood, so it was best she went off on a cloud to think.

How did she solve a problem like Metatron? Avoiding him for eternity may be an option. With the right planning it could work. All she needed to do was consider the drawbacks. Eternity was a long time, and the space in heaven wasn't as endless as she would have liked in this situation. People teleported with a thought, so it wouldn't be hard for Metatron to find her, assuming he cared. Like it or not, at some point she'd run into the bastardo…

All hell would break loose then.

Pushing thoughts of Metatron aside, she dangled her feet from the white puffy cloud. How were the people of Lincoln Park doing? It had been some time since she'd checked in on the parish bearing her name. It might be wise to do so. The Trinity knew few other people wanted to speak to her, and it would be in her best interest to distract herself from a certain archangel whose name she wished she could forget. Spiritually inspiring a mortal or two could be just the thing to lift her spirits.

"Would you like to share a tequila with me?"

Speaking of spirits.

"I fulfilled our bet. I have the tequila, and a glass nobody has drunk from."

She waved him away, still staring at the ground.

"It's very high end, the best a mortal could afford."

She folded her arms and glanced down at the church. What sorts of things were the mortals praying for? How could she help them?

"Fine, you don't have to share the tequila with me, but you could at least take it along with the glass."

"Just leave them on the cloud. I'll get to them when I'm in the mood," she muttered.

"When will you be in the mood?"

She shrugged.

"I know you're upset with me, but it would be inadvisable to stay that way forever."

"Why?"

"It isn't acceptable behavior for a spirit."

"So now you care about acceptable behavior?"

For a few moments, there was quiet. If she was lucky he was back in court…

"I'm just saying, forgiveness is a virtue," there was his grating voice again. "It's one the Trinity encourages, especially in heaven."

"What are you going to do if I don't forgive you, beg the Trinity to send me to Purgatory?"

"No, but," he paused. "I'll keep coming here until you'll at least look at me."

"Why do you care about some former mortal?"

"To begin with, I would like to talk to someone when I'm between cases."

"It seems like you have plenty of people to talk to. You could pester Dismas about his program, or give Michael tips on how to defend heaven. With your infinite wisdom, you could do everyone's job around here!"

"I know I don't know everything…"

"No, you're just an expert in mortals," she fumed as her glow became a neon red. "You know so much about them! Why wouldn't you spend your time your time interfering in their lives and just forget about the one you were forced to interact with? You have your statue! Why not enjoy it and forget about me since you aren't forced to interact with me anymore?"

"I…"

Her frown deepened.

"I messed up when I was speaking with Dismas."

"You'd better believe you messed up," she spun around, glared at the archangel, and pointed at his chest. "You wouldn't leave Severus and Hermione alone because you couldn't imagine how a spirit and a mortal could be in love!"

"I understand how a spirit and a mortal can be in love just fine."

"Did the Trinity explain it to you once you got your tequila?"

"No, they didn't need to explain a thing to me."

"You talked to spirits who were once mortals?"

"No, I did not. I…" his glow lessened. "I learned it from experience."

Her eyes grew as her glow became white.

"I learned it from you." If her hearing wasn't perfect, she wouldn't have believed he'd said it.

"If you experienced love, why were you so horrible to everyone?"

"You know better than anyone how zealous I am for the Trinity. Most days it serves me well, until it doesn't."

"When does it not serve you well?"

"When I forget how much you mean to me and stick my nose into places it doesn't belong."

"What are you trying to say then?" Her glow was a soft yellow.

"You know what I'm trying to say." His left wing twitched.

"No, I don't."

"Must we do this?"

"No," she replied. "I can take my tequila and glass, and throw you off of this cloud. It might be nice to enjoy some quiet."

"Fine," Metatron folded his wings close to his back. "I'm sorry I interfered with Hermione and Severus. Most importantly, I'm sorry I acted like you were nothing. I'm sorry I implied spirits couldn't love mortals, and made you seem like an obligation. I'm very sorry, and would be most appreciative if you'd forgive me."

"Anything else?"

"I think that about covers it actually." He held up the tequila and the glass.

"Angels." She shook her head and took the tequila from his hands.

"What?" He drawled.

"For messengers of God you aren't very vocal about your feelings."

"We don't feel the need to splatter our emotions everywhere if that's what your'e implying," Metatron replied. "We need a sense of decorum after all."

"Sure you can just be Mr. Stoic." She approached him. "For the record though, I love you too."

He gave her a half grin as she took the tequila from him.

"So tell me," She examined the bottle. "Is this the good stuff?"

"It's supposed to be anyway. I've honestly never had it."

"You haven't?"

"No, the mortal who gave it to me thought I would need something drastic to win back your affections, hence the price tag," he answered. "Given how seriously I'd erred, she was correct in thinking I needed more than something you could find at a cheap liquor store."

"I hope you paid her back well."

"Let's just say I eliminated one serious problem in her life."

"Do I want to know how?" Theresa raised an eyebrow.

"I showed her stalker one of my more alarming forms."

"Ooh, it's been awhile since you've done that." She took the glass from him. "Did you burn down an entire city in the process?"

"No, things didn't need to go that far, or so the Trinity believed."

"Do you think it should gone further?" She gestured for him to sit.

"I have decided to keep my nose out of the realm of the mortals." They reclined on the clouds together. "My latest interference nearly cost me everything. I don't want to push my luck again."

"I don't think the Trinity would have damned you."

"No, but you would've made me wish I had been damned."

"I wouldn't have gone out of my way to hurt you."

"No, but your ignoring me would've been close enough to hell."

"See." She opened the tequila bottle. "Was it that hard to admit you cared for me?"

"It was the most difficult thing I'd ever managed." There was a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't know if I can do it again."

She chuckled.

"Anyway, this is supposed to be high end tequila. You'll have to let me know how it tastes," he continued.

"You should have a sip too. After all, you know more about this than I do."

"Sadly I know more about the cheap stuff." He took the bottle and the glass from her. Before she could object, he poured some for her. "I eagerly await your judgment on this though."

She took the glass and held it up. "Salud."

"Salud," he replied, raising an imaginary glass.

After her initial sip, her yellow glow sprang up like a flame. Her glistening eyes were huge. "I love this! It-it's the best thing I've ever tasted!"

"Really?" Metatron cocked his head as the liquid went through her onto the cloud.

"Yes, try it!" She held out the glass to him.

He put some in his mouth before swishing it and spitting it out. His glow intensified as well. "That is amazing!"

"I could drink it all day." She took another sip, only to have the liquid go through her and into the cloud. "In fact, I feel like arguing with you right now so you'll buy me another bottle."

"Or we can skip the argument and I ask the Trinity for another chance to go to earth."

"Fine," she took another sip.

"We could drink it straight, or I could make you a cocktail," he offered. "I learned quite a few from a book."

"You bought a book?"

"More like got badgered into receiving one," He straightened his wings. "But it was a wise decision to get it all the same."

"Sí." She drank more of her tequila.

A comfortable silence fell between them.

"Theresa?"

She hummed.

"I've missed you these last few days."

"I missed you too."

"I have a little time between cases." He placed his hand over hers until they fused together. "If you want, we could enjoy the moment so to speak."

"Only if you brought the spear," she purred.

"I never see you without it." He pulled it out from his back.

Theresa glowed as brightly as the sun behind her.

Perhaps very few people understood her relationship with the archangel, but this suited her just fine. They were in love. Since heaven was love, they were exactly where they needed to be.

"Cormac?" Ares pounded on the front door. "Cormac?"

Not a sound from the other side.

"Are you asleep?"

Not a sound.

"I know it's early, but we need to discuss the Prophet story. It's worse than we thought."

Nothing.

Ares tapped his left foot and scratched his chin. Under most circumstances he'd walk away, but this was too important to ignore. He pulled out his wand and shouted, "Alohomora!"

The door creaked open, allowing Ares entrance. He called the other wizard's name three more times, but there was no sound. At first the intruder wondered if he should leave, until he saw a shadow huddled in the center of the room.

"Cormac?"

The figure groaned.

Ares rushed over and looked at the other man. "Cormac!"

He didn't answer, even as he was being shaken.

"Wh-what happened to you?" Ares noticed the vacant expression in Cormac's eyes, as well as his wet pants.

"Angel," Cormac groaned. "Angel."

"What angel?"

"Angel," he moaned.

"Cormac, speak to me! What is wrong?"

The Ministry official could not utter a word. Instead, he was staring into space, trapped in his own mind, until his soul made a full repentance, and promised to engage in his sinful lifestyle no more.