Summary: Timewarp. A look at Gabriel's earlier life in Shakespeare's England. No steamy bits I'm afraid, felt a bit wrong putting a huge bit of smut in the middle of this. Still taking requests, if there's someone you'd like me to write about and a specific scenario you have in mind let me know.

AN ARCHANGEL'S TALE

London, England, 1602

Gabriel watched the guests from the safety of a shadowy corner of the large ballroom. Secretly, he hated these big society events; the petty rivalries and squabbling reminded him too much of heaven and the constant chatter of his brothers arguing over unimportant matters. For the most part the guests here were the same type of person he'd seen at countless other events; ugly, spiteful women making small talk with rich, but obnoxious, men.

She had seemed different though and he had been waiting for an opportunity to speak to her. When he'd seen her earlier she had looked happy and over-excited, laughing with her friends. Now, she was dancing uncomfortably with a rather portly looking gentleman, her eyes seeming to avoid his at all costs and her laughter, at his no-doubt awful jokes, seeming clipped and fake compared to when he'd seen her previously.

Seeing his chance to win favour, Gabriel made his way towards the odd looking couple, smiling as her face lit up when she realised he was going to interrupt them. "Would you mind if I cut in for a moment?"

He was rather quickly cut off when another portly, or to be more honest, monstrously fat, gentleman approached him and practically bounced him away from the couple with his oversized belly. "I should say they would mind. Have you no sense of propriety? My daughter is becoming acquainted with the man she is to marry and I will not have her disturbed."

Gabriel raised his hands in defeat, preparing to walk away, when he heard her voice, "Father, what harm will a few moments cause? I don't mind, and I'm sure Oscar doesn't, do you?"

The man turned a becoming shade of angry red, but muttered curtly through pursed lips, "No, not at all."

Before he'd finished his sentence, Gabriel found himself being dragged away, through the crowd and towards the safety of the double doors leading out to the garden. The woman looked at him, laughter in her eyes, "Thank you so much for rescuing me from the most unutterably tedious man I have ever met."

He smiled, offering her his arm, "You're welcome. Although by the sound of it, you'll be spending a lot more time with him soon."

Her eyes fell and she lead them onto the veranda, overlooking the walled garden. "Yes, unfortunate really, but I suppose it can't be helped."

Gabriel leaned against the balcony, looking down at the maze beneath them. He thought her last statement was rather pragmatic and logical for someone so young, though he was surprised that she had nothing at all further to say on the matter of being married off to someone as fat and blustering as Oscar obviously was.

"I really don't want to marry him though, you know. But he has money and so my father thinks that makes us a good match." Looking at her he could see her eyes glistening slightly in the dim light. "The thought of spending the rest of my life with that man, is just…intolerable."

She was pulled out of her thoughts by shouting from the ballroom, "Celia!"

He watched her as she stared balefully back towards the open double doors. She didn't make a move to obey the shout, and instead turned back to look at him, "I'm sorry, I've been so rude. I'm Celia Faircroft."

Gabriel smiled at her, trying to block out the shouts coming from inside, "Call me Gabriel." He bowed slightly and she laughed, finally turning to walk back towards the party. He shouted after her, "Oscar is truly blessed, Celia, to have someone like you as his intended wife."

Again, she laughed a little, now leaning against the doorframe, "You're too kind. But I wish that God had thought about blessing me a little before he went and put this idea in my father's head." She sighed and turned.

Gabriel laughed at that; how fitting that she brought his Father into the conversation. "Celia." She looked back at him. "I'll see you again."

She looked confused for a moment, and then shook her head ruefully, "I doubt that, Sir. Farewell."

Gabriel turned to look back out at the night sky. He felt excited and downhearted at the same time. Perhaps this feeling was what his friend Will was always going on about. Love. Or, certainly infatuation at the very least. He watched the stars twinkling above him, a plan slowly forming in his mind.

(later)

Lying in her bed, Celia became aware of a noise outside her window. The rose bushes near her balcony were shaking more than she would have expected, as the wind was not strong at all. Pulling her nightgown around her, she stepped cautiously towards the window.

"Celia! Celia! Please, can you help me?" She knew that voice, she'd heard it somewhere before. "I know that rosebushes are a good choice aesthetically, but it's making this a lot harder. Ow!" She opened the doors, stepping onto the balcony.

"Please, I'm not joking, I need you to pull me up."

She placed a hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp as she saw the man she'd met at the party hanging precariously from the trellis, which was creaking and groaning under the strain.

"Gabriel? What are you doing? If my Father finds you here, you'll be in such big trouble; I'll be in such big trouble."

With a little effort, and the beheading of many newly budded rose flowers, Celia managed to pull Gabriel over the balcony. He landed in a shower of red petals. Celia was overcome with panic, and started pacing backwards and forwards, hands on hips. "No, no, no. This is not a good idea. Really not a good idea."

Gabriel smiled and leaned back against the balcony, picking a stray petal from his clothing. She stared at him, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and she glared at him, "I wanted to see you."

His matter of fact reaction infuriated her and, in her rage, she hit his arm, standing in front of him, "Who would try to climb through somebody's bedroom window without having an extraordinarily good reason for doing so? Are you out of your mind?"

Seeing that things were not panning out quite as he had planned, Gabriel stepped forward and grasped her arms, "Yes, that's it. I am out of my mind. Out of my mind thinking about you, Celia. I needed to see you."

She pulled her nightdress tighter around herself and looked down so that he wouldn't see the small smile that crept to her lips. Regaining her composure she looked at him, shaking her head, "You are really not like other men."

He nodded, she was perfectly right, of course. Suddenly uncomfortable, not knowing what to say, Gabriel looked down at his shoes. He really wished he'd spoken to Will before doing this, he always knew what to say to women. He was surprised when she stepped closer to him, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him backwards.

"I appreciate the gesture, I really do. But you have to go now. You don't know what they'll do if they find you here." She pushed him until his back was against the balcony, but still she didn't remove her hands.

Gabriel looked down at her, seeing her cheeks glowing slightly pink in the growing pale light of dawn, "I'll go, but I want to know when I can see you again."

At this she did drop her hands, sighing and shaking her head, "You can see me at the church in five days time. That is when I am to be married."

He took hold of her hand and softly placed a kiss against it, "That sounds awfully dull. When can I see you again, alone?"

Celia smiled at him, "Well, I'm not often alone. And, it would be highly inappropriate for me to be with you unescorted after all."

He laughed against her hand, still grasping it firmly, "You're alone with me now, and nothing inappropriate has happened. Maybe I should just stay a little longer."

Completely aware of the magnitude of what she was doing; disobeying her father, she found herself stepping closer to the strange man who had somehow found his way onto her balcony. Her hands found his chest again and she raised her head, tilting her face towards his.

Gabriel stroked her cheek gently, holding the side of her face and leaning towards her, "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Celia."

She felt her cheeks burn, and was thankful for the dim light as it would hide her no doubt crimson face, "Don't say that."

His lips brushed the side of her face, so softly she felt she might have imagined it, "I never felt love until I saw you tonight." He whispered in her ear.

"Don't. Don't lie."

"How can it be a lie, when love is what I feel when I look at you?"

Part of her did not trust this silver-tongued man; a man she had met only once before this moment. The other part encouraged her to rise onto the tips of her toes and to press her lips gently against his.

Pulling away, Gabriel looked at her seriously, "When can I come back and see you?"

Celia groaned in frustration, "Tomorrow. Come tomorrow night." Again, she leaned towards him.

Gabriel grinned at her, and with a quick kiss on the lips he began to pull himself back over the balcony, "Until tomorrow then."

She watched his descent to the garden below, smiling; hands covering her mouth each time he slipped, "Be careful." Finally, he was down and retreating across the garden, to the safety of the taller trees, waving as he went.

Turning and heading back into her bedroom, Celia placed a hand over her pounding heart. She couldn't help but smile as she crawled back under the bedclothes. He made her feel like that everything would end well, despite evidence to the contrary. She fell asleep for the first time in a long time, with no niggling thoughts of her marriage plaguing her dreams; only the excitement caused by thoughts of tomorrow night keeping her awake a few moments longer.

(the next day)

Gabriel seated himself at the table, his eyes twinkling with laughter. "Will, I'm in love."

The man he was addressing looked up momentarily, sighed, took a swig from his tankard and pulled out a notebook, "What did you do?"

Gabriel shook his head; "I met a girl last night. I'm seeing her again tonight."

Will rubbed a hand over his face, nodding, "Yes, and what's her name?"

"Celia Faircroft."

Will waved his hands in the air, looking about them surreptitiously, "Keep your voice down man! Did you say Faircroft? You need to be carerful, Gabe. Word has it she's already spoken for."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "I know that. The question is how does one go about stopping a marriage?"

"Stop it? Are you mad? You can't stop it, and her father will have your guts for garters if you try. Listen, how did you even meet her?"

Gabriel looked around the bustling alehouse; "I met her at a party. That's not the best bit though." Will looked at him, eyebrows raised, quill poised over his notebook, "I climbed onto her balcony last night. Through the rosebushes and everything."

His friend gasped and clutched his chest, barely containing his laughter, "You did what? Oh God, Gabe, I get all my best ideas from you." He scribbled madly in his notepad, muttering to himself in verse.

Gabriel watched him, shaking his head slightly, quite certain that Will was at least a little mad, "But what do I do Will? I love her."

Will gulped down the rest of his ale and stood up, "You stop being so foolish is what you do. She's spoken for, Gabe. Move on." Will moved towards the door, placing a cap on his head, "I mean it Gabe. Be careful. Nothing good can come of this."

(that night)

As he squeezed through the bushes into the Faircroft estate, Gabe's mood was darkened somewhat thinking about Will's words. His face lit up with a smile again when he saw Celia standing on her balcony, dressed in her white nightgown, hair rippling slightly in the wind.

His climb up the rosebush was faster this time, spurred on as he was by the thought of having her near him again. As he approached the top and started to swing himself over the stonework he felt her hands clutching at him desperately, tugging him over and into her arms.

She stood for a while, face buried in his chest, shoulders shaking as she cried silently. He patted her back, and smoothed her hair back behind her ears, "Am I late or something? Did you think I wouldn't come? I mean, I can see how that would be upsetting…"

"Gabriel, father knows you were here last night. I don't know how, someone must have seen you. He's arranged the wedding for tomorrow, and after that I am to leave with Oscar."

Gabriel felt his teeth clench together, Oscar was starting to get on his nerves, "Don't worry yourself about that, Celia. I'll take care of everything." He could feel his anger growing. As much as he had enjoyed fitting in, having a normal life for awhile, he simply could not let this wedding go ahead.

He was jolted out of his reveries of running Oscar through with a rusty dagger by a pounding on Celia's bedroom door. "It's my mother!" Celia was staring at the door, shaking her head, "Please, go. Now. Before they find you."

Gabriel grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him, "Close your eyes."

Celia was confused, but for lack of a better plan she went along with his request, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

He stared at her, one click of the fingers, that's all it takes, he thought. One click and you give up everything that's even slightly normal about your life. Sighing, he raised his hand and clicked.

When Celia opened her eyes, she was standing in a bright white room. She'd never seen so much marble before. In the centre was a huge table, with various ornaments placed on top. The only exit or entrance she could see was a set of double doors at one end of the room. She stared at the man in front of her.

"You're some kind of devil, aren't you?"

Gabriel blinked and looked at her, narrowing his eyes, "No, I'm not, but that kind of thing does run in my family."

She backed away from him, shaking her head, "Oh God, help me."

"I think you'll find he just did. In a way."

Celia could not understand what he was saying, "Who are you really? Please tell me."

He sighed, turning his back and looking at a painting mounted over the fireplace, "I've been trying to be someone different for such a long time now that I'd almost forgotten." The painting showed a winged man, holding a sword, devastating the land and the people swarming beneath him. " I'm still Gabriel."