The Trouble With Roommates, Pt 3 - Gabriel/Reader

“So I was thinking,” you said absently, your eyes trained on the willow tree that stood in one corner of the dog park, “that maybe, if you wanted to, you could come back. We could go for coffee. That place right across from the bakery, not the place I used to work. That would be awkward.” you forced a humorless laugh.

There's a faint barking in the background, some large dog on the other side of the park and the muffled calls of its owner. You ignore it and strain your ears for a response, your eyes scanning the branches of the willow tree for some kind of answer. You received none – though it spoke volumes more than any words ever would.

It wasn't the first time.

You groaned and fumbled with your alarm clock, finally managing to switch it off. With the grating buzzing stopped, you considered staying in bed for a while longer. No. You couldn't do that. You had an interview, today. Ever since you had lost your previous job, you had been on a fruitless search for another.

There were benefits to the situation, though. You didn't really need the job, in honesty. Gabriel took care of nearly everything. He knew well what humans needed, and he provided the necessities and more, when you asked.

To your surprise, your relationship with Gabriel was progressing surprisingly well. You hadn't handled discovering his true identity all that well – and by the time you had finally come around, you were nearly certain he was irritated by your behavior. That wasn't quite true. Actually, it may well have been the opposite. Gabriel was as overwhelmingly amused with your reaction to him as you were when you had finally come to the realization that Gabriel the Archangel was shacking up with a human in a small apartment and had owned a Jack Russel Terrier for nine years. It seemed silly. No matter how you would poke fun at him, though, it only endeared him to you even further.

Gabriel was largely the same as he had been when you had known him as Loki. He was a friend. He offered a shoulder when it seemed like you needed one – he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer until you had leaned on him. He had his own rules, and he much preferred it if everyone else played by them. He was silly, jovial and almost childlike at times – but there was a cruelty behind his actions and his words that prevented you from being completely honest. It was honesty that he had wanted from you ever since revealing himself, ever since being so honest with you. But how could you? He was an archangel, more powerful than the god you had thought him to be – and you had seen him and heard of his ways. You couldn't allow yourself to confide in him, knowing that he could very well trick you, that he could manipulate you and twist your feelings against you.

So really, you mused to yourself as you pulled your shirt over your head, it's his fault for being so intimidating. Otherwise you would have spilled all your secrets to him by now, told him exactly how you felt.

You stretched your arms over your head as you nudge your door open with a hip. Your hair could wait for later. What you needed was a good cup of coffee. Maybe Gabriel could snap you up a gourmet cup of -

Oh.

It wasn't Gabriel that was waiting for you in the kitchen as you were used to.

”Kali – uh. Hi.”

The Goddess looked up at you from over her cup of coffee. Somehow she managed to look fearsome even dressed in only a too-large T-shirt and holding a mug that was spotted with smiley-faces. Your mug, you noted somewhat bitterly. You weren't about to make an issue out of it – rather, you were considering making a run for it.

“Morning.” She droned. She didn't take her eyes off of you as she took a drink from her cup. You were stuck there, jammed in place and too scared to move. Kali could do horrifying things – at least, according to Gabriel. You liked to have all of your organs in working order, personally.

So when the goddess gestured for you to take the seat opposite her, you did as you were told. Sitting stiffly on the edge of your seat, you waited for some harsh remark, some sign of your death. Kali leaned forward, set her elbows on the table and did something awfully strange.

She smiled.

Not a cruel, vindictive smile. Not a smile that promised terrible things. A simple smile. There was no warmth behind it – but there was no hint of maliciousness, either, and considering that the last time you had met she was intent on vaporizing you, you considered this a good sign.

“Would you like some coffee?”

It took you a minute to process the offer, and when you finally did, your mouth was clumsy around the words of your response. “Yeah – Yes, please, ma'am.”

There was a long silence in which neither of you moved. Kali stared at something across the room, her brow knitted in what you can only hope isn't anger, and you're only glad that it isn't you she's staring at. You couldn't take your eyes off of her, though. You were wary, too afraid of the intent behind her dark eyes to move a muscle.

Kali pushed her chair back and stood. You jumped in your seat and just barely managed to conceal a yelp. She paused on her way over to the coffee pot and cast you an inquisitive look, one fine brow arched. She smiled, this time to herself, a sly little twist of the lip. Kali was graceful even in the most basic of movements. She reached to grab a second coffee mug and that was when you realized that she was going to serve you coffee.

“Oh – you don't have to -”

“Relax,” she said simply – and even that sounded imperative. When she turned back with a full cup of coffee for you, the smirk was still present on her lips. She set the mug in front of you and settled back into her chair. She eyed you curiously for a moment, tracing the tip of her index finger around the lip of her cup. You swallowed hard, clutch your coffee with both hands and take a sip to be polite.

“Loki told me that you were skittish.” She mused dryly once you've set your cup back down. “I hadn't thought it was to this degree.”

“He tells you a lot of things, then?” You murmured. Regret slammed into your chest, your stomach dropping out and leaving a sinking feeling of despair as Kali's eyes harden.

“More than he does you.” She replied, her tone harder and harsher. You swallowed hard and turn your eyes to your fingers. The coffee is more bitter than it had been before. You took another drink, hoping the next won't be as bitter. You were wrong.

Without looking up, you could feel her eyes on you. However many eyes she actually had, you had a feeling all of them had been watching, trying to bore holes through your skin. The silence was far from companionable. Your thoughts drifted to the interview, and for a moment you wondered if getting flayed alive was a good excuse for being late. It was, you decided.

“Hey, have you seen my -” Gabriel starts, his tone tempered with sleep. You twisted in your chair to see him, knowing that with his arrival you wouldn't been brutally murdered. The smile dropped from your face as quickly as it did from his. He was missing his shirt, his usual bedhead amplified. Thin red lines trailed down his chest – and you knew well enough what those were and why he hadn't healed them. Trophies, reminders, and –

Your head snapped back to Kali. Oh.

That was Gabriel's shirt.

The smirk on Kali's face, the glower Gabriel wore – none of them were for you.

“Kali. I thought you didn't want to stick around?” Gabriel asked, pacing towards the kitchen table. You fidgeted nervously, not wanting to be caught in the middle.

“I thought I'd stick around. I wanted to see your little pet. Well-trained, Loki – but you were right. A bit skittish. You've still got a bit of breaking to do on this one.”

Bosco, of course, was nowhere to be found – as usual, when Kali visited.

“Give me my shirt and leave.” Gabriel sighed, exasperation seeping into his voice. Kali stood without hesitation, set down your mug, and pulled the shirt carelessly over her head. You averted your eyes out of courtesy – though you had a feeling a being like Kali didn't particularly care.

“Until next time, then.” She taunted, the smirk audible in her words.

She disappeared without a sound, and the silence that she left behind seeped into the apartment. You stared at the tiled floor of the kitchen, Gabriel's toes only just in your view. It should have been obvious when you had first stepped out into the kitchen, you told yourself. There was no reason to be surprised. They were ancient and powerful beings. They could do as they liked. You? You were just a human, destined to live a century, maybe. They would both outlive you. It wasn't fair for you to want to be -

“Don't think like that.” Gabriel mutters quietly. Before you can reprimand him, tell him to stay out of your head, he turns back towards his room.

“Gabriel?” You said softly, the desperation lacing with your voice, stopping Gabriel before he can shut the door, before he can shut you out again. He stayed like that for a moment, his hand on the doorframe, waiting for your next words. “Are you two...together?”

“It's complicated, Cupcake.” He answered after a moment of deliberation. He waited again, as though he expected you to say something else.

The words you said next were never supposed to leave your mouth.

“Why not me?” You asked, the words so quiet you weren't sure he heard them.

He stayed, hanging on the doorframe for a moment longer, and finally retreated into his room.

The silence spoke for him.

“Come on, Gabe,” you whispered to the sky, to the branches of the willow tree that remained unmoving. Your hand clenched around Bosco's leash, furious tears welling in your eyes. “I know you're listening. You're always listening, you creep.”

There were no sounds to respond. The dogs had stopped barking in the distance, no far off noises to feed what remained of your hope, what little you clung to. The only thing that disrupted the silence was Bosco's desperate whine and the rustling of fabric as he pawed at your pant leg.

“Look, punish me all you want, okay? But Bosco's freaked out. It's been days, Gabriel. Come home.”

Your desperate whisper was lost on the willow tree, your words tangled up in the drooping branches and the long leaves before they could ever have any hope of reaching your archangel.

Normally, Gabriel would have let you know when he was going out for a while. He would have left Bosco treats, a little extra surprise and a new toy so that he knew he would be back soon.

This time, Gabriel had left without a word.

You had woken up to find him gone. It was unusual – the archangel usually made a point to be there to say good morning, to make sure Bosco was fed – but it was not unheard of. He was temperamental. He needed his space, sometimes, and you were more than happy to give him that without question.

It was the morning after you had woken up to Kali, though. He hadn't emerged from his room since that incident. You hadn't pressed him, you had thought it was best for him to work it out.

So you thought it strange that he was still brooding, yes. But you didn't press the issue. You didn't knock on his door. You didn't open the door.

This was probably for the best.

A cloud drifted lazily in front of the sun, and still you stood, stock still at the willow tree.

“Where'd you go, Gabe?” You muttered, a ragged breath slipping past your lips. “Come on – the food's running low and I'm...I'm hungry.”

The silence that greeted you was unbearable. You wished for a sound, any sound, to let you know you were still there.

The little bell on Bosco's collar jingled pitifully as he laid down by your feet.

It wasn't good enough.

By the fourth day, you were beginning to panic. Gabriel had never left for this long without a note. You still hadn't managed to land a job, and funds were running pitifully low. You wouldn't be able to feed yourself, soon, much less Bosco.

It was on the fifth day without him that Kali visited.

You found yourself sitting with her at the kitchen table once more, a mug of coffee gone cold in your hands. Again, she had taken your favorite mug. You no longer cared.

“Gone.” You repeated dully.

Kali nodded, not quite looking at you.

“Yes. Gabriel has left.”

“Where?”

“I don't know.”

“Is he coming back?”

“...No.”

You nodded numbly, feigning acceptance.

The silence carried on the conversation without you. Kali was certain that neither of you would ever see him again.

You always could make an excuse for everything, though.

Neither of you had said anything more until Kali stood to leave, her coffee still untouched in that too-cheerful mug. She pulled her coat around her and turned to leave. As though an afterthought, she looked over her shoulder and said,

“He cared about you, you know. A great deal.”

She disappeared without a sound, leaving the silence to fill the spaces she had left.

A bitter smile twisted at your lips.

“You, too.”

“I know you can hear me!” You yelled, shedding any pretense of civility. He was here, he had to be.

“Answer me!” The desperation broke your voice, rending it in two.

“Please...Things can change. Whatever's wrong, I'll fix it. I'll leave, if you want.” Your knees buckled, the hard earth beneath you stinging your skin as you dropped.

There was only silence.

“You could come home if you wanted to,” You whispered, one last desperate attempt. Tears fell freely as Bosco pushed his way into your lap, whimpered, tugged at your sleeve with his teeth – anything to get you to move. “Right?”

For a long, torturous moment, there was nothing. You bowed your head and let out a long sob.

It was the wind that startled you, that got you to pick your face up from your hands. The wind rustled through the branches of the willow tree, pushing the branches outward towards you. Gently, a cluster of slender leaves caressed your face, if only for a moment, and the tree fell back into stillness. Something heavy and familiar hung in the air in that moment, and you clung to it. It surrounded you for the brief time the leaves had met your skin, it gave you an answer.

So you hung your head and wept, until Bosco howled alongside you.