xii.
Silence fell in the hallway for what seemed like a eternity. Gabriel was still in shock, he felt so helpless as he looked at the body of Michael's younger brother, watching the blood soak into the carpets. Tears rolled down his cheeks and occasionally the angel painfully gasped for breath, his throat raw.
He knew what he had to do.
He had made a promise to Michael, so he had to face the other angel and tell him that he had failed. He tried to hold back a sob that came up at that thought as he took his cell phone out, his hands shaking. Every breath hurt, every sob made his ribs ache but he still had to do the right thing and tell Michael what happened even if he wished Uriel could have done it. He fumbled with the phone, nearly dropping it in the process of flipping it open.
In the still silence of the corridor, there was a slight movement as Uriel drew back. Following his prayer, he'd uttered not a word, instead holding his brother together with the adhesive of his arms. A hand drifted up to cover the one Gabriel was using to hold the phone.
"You shouldn't. It isn't safe out here." Not wanting to hear any protest, he took the phone from his brother's fingers, flipping it shut and tucking it into his back pocket. The other hand cupped Gabriel's face, to force him to meet his eyes in the dark.
"Let me get you somewhere safe, and I'll call Michael."
Gabriel didn't resist as Uriel took the phone from him. He just didn't have the strength right now and he looked up at the other angel before slowly nodding. As he met Uriel's eyes, the floodgates broke and the sobs welled up. No matter how much it hurt him physically to cry, he couldn't stop it as he fell into his brother's arms as everything caught up to him .
"I couldn't do anything.." he managed to get out between muffled sobs. He felt worse for crying like this and tried to calm himself down, leaning against Uriel. "I have to tell him myself, I made that promise and despite everything, Kit didn't deserve to die like that. No one deserves that," he said quietly but Uriel was right. It wasn't safe out here but he didn't move just yet, needing a moment to pull himself together.
Uriel was slowly shifting, looping one arm behind his brother's back and maneuvering the two of them in such a way that he could slink an arm beneath Gabriel's knees. Gently and cautiously, so as not to bring more pain, he lifted up the younger man in his arms and stood, cradling him there for a moment.
"Whatever you may think, it isn't your fault," he murmured, wanting to keep his voice low as he took some steps toward the door across the hallway, one they'd already peered inside of for supplies. But even Uriel couldn't believe his own words. He, too, felt that guilt gnawing at him. Kit's life was taken so quickly that there had been no chance to lift a finger.
Brother in his hold, the angel shouldered the door open, believing that whatever that creature had been that'd taken Kit's life could easily be waiting for them.
He wrapped his arms carefully around Uriel's shoulders, resting his head against the other angel's chest. The sobs eventually subsided, leaving a tired, worn out feeling, numb almost. He knew that Uriel was right but the guilt still settled heavily on him. He was not afraid of Michael not forgiving him, he knew Michael would say the same thing that Uriel did but Gabriel knew that he would have disappointed his brother nonetheless.
"A moment more, maybe I could have stopped it..." he murmured tiredly but he knew it was useless to think of 'what if's. What was done was done now and dwelling on the past changed nothing.
Gabriel was lowered down against one of the beds after a quick secondary sweep of the room, and once the other angel was resting on the mattress, Uriel took one of his hands and squeezed.
"Whatever took Kit's life was more powerful than either of us could handle, brother. His throat is destroyed. Neither of us have a weapon, and you're injured. What you need to focus on is resting. There's little more that we can do for him." His voice was soft, encouraging.
He leaned back against the pillows on the bed, more tired than ever now. His eyes felt heavy but he fought the temptation to fall asleep. He felt he should do something after Kit was just killed. He relaxed a little bit though at Uriel's comforting touch, nodding.
"I know. I just....I wish I could have done something, even if it would have been in vain," he admitted, curling his fingers against Uriel's.
There was a squeeze in return. "I'll go back out and get him. In the meantime, rest, Gabriel. Michael will worry if you overexert yourself." As will I went unsaid as Uriel gently lowered his brother's hand, turning to slip back out into the corridor.
Kit lay exactly where they left him, and after a slow, calculated set of glances up both ways of the hallway to ensure that thing wouldn't return, he padded over to the fallen man. Moments later he was stepping through the doorway with the blonde draped over one shoulder, and with some effort, he set the younger man upon the sheets. Wordlessly, the angel trailed over to the closet for an extra set of blankets, and not removing his gaze from Kit's face, laid one over top of him.
[ooc: warning for blood, mentions of death.]