Fic: A History of Heaven (Gabriel/Various Angels, PG-13 for most) 6/59
For full notes and other chapters, please see the Masterpost.
Notes: In this story, before Lucifer fell, his name was Sammael. He was not Lucifer in Heaven.
There is one other canon character operating under an OC name, but I wish for his identity to remain unknown.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 1,196
Chapter Summary: After the disastrous death of the dinosaurs, Gabriel seeks God’s forgiveness.
CHAPTER 6:
Hello Joshua
Gabriel retreated to the Garden as soon as Raphael declared him healed-Michael hadn’t let him go without Raphael’s blessing, and Sammael had threatened to sit on Gabriel’s wings if he hadn’t agreed. Cariel had tried to follow Gabriel, but Gabriel ordered him to stay in his tower and try to restore some semblance of order to their choir. All of his angels had been withdrawn from Earth. Most of them flitted about Heaven uselessly, their graces radiating loss and despair.
In the Garden, Gabriel felt just as lost as his choir. He knelt in the middle, head bowed, wings tucked, and pressed his hands together. He wasn’t praying. He was just waiting.
Other angels came and went in the Garden, as Heaven returned to its usual rhythms, though they gave Gabriel’s silent vigil a wide berth. Michael and Raphael’s choirs barely twitched at the destruction inflicted to Earth, while Sammael’s gossiped blatantly over the channels shared among all the angels. Gabriel was pleased to hear his angels staying quiet, only speaking up to clarify an event when questioned. They were all hyperaware that something had gone very wrong, and their choirmaster was awaiting God’s verdict.
“Excuse me, sir?”
An angel had approached Gabriel, one of the Cherubim, the youngest and weakest of the angels. Gabriel didn’t move, but he did touch a tendril of his grace to his young brother, identifying him. Joshua. One of Michael’s choir, from the feel of his grace. He felt young, very young… and yet he also felt old, very old.
“I have a message for you?”
No Cherub should feel old. None of Gabriel’s Cherubim had this contrast of ages. Something was different about Joshua. Gabriel slowly opened his eyes
“Either you have a message, or you do not. Have confidence in your task, for even the smallest request could have universal ramifications.” His voice was quiet, unused for the entire span of time he had knelt in the Garden. Days? Years? Eons? Gabriel wasn’t sure. Time was measured in relation to Earth, and at the center of Heaven, the Garden was isolated from anything as tangible as time.
“I have a message for you.” Joshua repeated his statement with more conviction this time, and Gabriel had to ruffle his wings very slightly in pleased amusement. Now he lifted his head to meet the Cherub’s gaze.
Joshua was an utterly unimpressive angel. He was smaller than Gabriel, but not the smallest Cherub the Archangel had seen. He had one set of thin, dark wings, tucked in neatly against his back, though a couple feathers were disheveled as if he’d been called abruptly out of flight. His eyes were disproportionately large for his face, glowing with a deep well of love and care, but otherwise, there was absolutely nothing distinguishing Joshua from the legions of his brothers.
Nevertheless, Gabriel softened his grace and gave a little nod to the Cherub. He pulled his hands apart, gesturing stiffly for Joshua to sit before him on the soft grass of the garden. As Joshua moved, Gabriel noted that he stepped very carefully so as not to disturb the plants any more than necessary.
“They aren’t real,” he commented, as Joshua contorted his wings to get under a low-hanging branch without nudging it. “This garden is an ever-changing construct designed to bring us peace and comfort.”
“Just because their existence is fleeting does not make them any less real than you or I, in the moments while they are here,” Joshua answered. “Just because they are born and die at our Father’s whim, in the blink of an eye, does not make them any less deserving of our care and nurturing.”
Was Joshua scolding Gabriel? No, not really, but this certainly was a gentle chiding. Gabriel closed his eyes and ducked his head minisculely. “You’re right, little brother. I don’t often give much thought to the things in Heaven.”
“Your focus has long been on Earth.”
Gabriel nodded. “For many thousands, millions of years, my choir has cared for Earth. We’ve watched it, shaped it, loved it. And now our Lord has chosen to destroy it.”
“Our Lord?” Joshua questioned. “You don’t call Him Father?”
Ducking his head further, Gabriel pressed his hands together again, the words stuck in his throat. Joshua didn’t pressure Gabriel, he just sat with him. In Joshua’s undemanding companionship, the words eventually relaxed and Gabriel could speak them, though his voice was barely audible. “I don’t know if I deserve to.”
“My message.” Joshua reached forward, wrapping his small hands around Gabriel’s clasped ones. “Father has not forsaken you, Gabriel, Messenger of Heaven. Father loves you still. He is not upset at how your choir has handled Earth, but rather, He was upset that the other creatures had choked out those He had chosen to be His greatest; like weeds in a garden, strangling the flowers. He needed to rip them out at the root, so His own could flourish. He… mourns the anguish He caused you.”
“Your message comes from God Himself?” Gabriel lifted his head to stare at Joshua. How could it be possible, that God was speaking through this Cherub? This small, young brother… who radiated great age, because God’s presence was filling him. Gabriel turned his hands to catch Joshua’s, squeezing them tightly. The Cherub did not flinch, did not stop radiating serenity through his grace. God was here. He was here, and He was not turning His back to Gabriel. The force of the Archangel’s relief flooding his grace made his wings tremble. He was glad he was already kneeling, or he might have collapsed from the revelation.
Joshua nodded. “You were, understandably, not the best messenger to use this time. Father thought it best to get word to you through a neutral party. He did not want to hurt you further.” The Cherub lifted one hand, brushing two fingers over Gabriel’s head. “Your spirit is healed, but it is still raw. If Father stood before you Himself, you may take irreparable damage. He would not have you suffer needlessly.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “Thank you.“
“Father loves you,” Joshua repeated, leaning in to brush his grace against Gabriel’s forehead, a gentle blessing. “He would have your choir return to Earth now, to clean up the mess left by His necessary intervention and return to your usual duties.”
“With no further direction?” Gabriel opened his eyes to look at Joshua, puzzled. “How can we prevent this from happening again? I don’t want to incur another incident of His wrath…”
“He will take a more direct role in guiding His greatest creations,” Joshua answered. “Pay attention for signs of His handiwork, and your choir will not run counter to His will again.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel repeated for the third time. “I will return to my choir. We will begin our work again.”
Joshua released Gabriel’s hands and rose to his feet, giving his wings a light shake. Gabriel stood as well, stretching the kinks out of his own wings. “God’s peace be with you, brother,” the Cherub said, dwarfed now by Gabriel’s size.
“And also with you.”
Next...
Notes: In this story, before Lucifer fell, his name was Sammael. He was not Lucifer in Heaven.
There is one other canon character operating under an OC name, but I wish for his identity to remain unknown.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 1,196
Chapter Summary: After the disastrous death of the dinosaurs, Gabriel seeks God’s forgiveness.
CHAPTER 6:
Hello Joshua
Gabriel retreated to the Garden as soon as Raphael declared him healed-Michael hadn’t let him go without Raphael’s blessing, and Sammael had threatened to sit on Gabriel’s wings if he hadn’t agreed. Cariel had tried to follow Gabriel, but Gabriel ordered him to stay in his tower and try to restore some semblance of order to their choir. All of his angels had been withdrawn from Earth. Most of them flitted about Heaven uselessly, their graces radiating loss and despair.
In the Garden, Gabriel felt just as lost as his choir. He knelt in the middle, head bowed, wings tucked, and pressed his hands together. He wasn’t praying. He was just waiting.
Other angels came and went in the Garden, as Heaven returned to its usual rhythms, though they gave Gabriel’s silent vigil a wide berth. Michael and Raphael’s choirs barely twitched at the destruction inflicted to Earth, while Sammael’s gossiped blatantly over the channels shared among all the angels. Gabriel was pleased to hear his angels staying quiet, only speaking up to clarify an event when questioned. They were all hyperaware that something had gone very wrong, and their choirmaster was awaiting God’s verdict.
“Excuse me, sir?”
An angel had approached Gabriel, one of the Cherubim, the youngest and weakest of the angels. Gabriel didn’t move, but he did touch a tendril of his grace to his young brother, identifying him. Joshua. One of Michael’s choir, from the feel of his grace. He felt young, very young… and yet he also felt old, very old.
“I have a message for you?”
No Cherub should feel old. None of Gabriel’s Cherubim had this contrast of ages. Something was different about Joshua. Gabriel slowly opened his eyes
“Either you have a message, or you do not. Have confidence in your task, for even the smallest request could have universal ramifications.” His voice was quiet, unused for the entire span of time he had knelt in the Garden. Days? Years? Eons? Gabriel wasn’t sure. Time was measured in relation to Earth, and at the center of Heaven, the Garden was isolated from anything as tangible as time.
“I have a message for you.” Joshua repeated his statement with more conviction this time, and Gabriel had to ruffle his wings very slightly in pleased amusement. Now he lifted his head to meet the Cherub’s gaze.
Joshua was an utterly unimpressive angel. He was smaller than Gabriel, but not the smallest Cherub the Archangel had seen. He had one set of thin, dark wings, tucked in neatly against his back, though a couple feathers were disheveled as if he’d been called abruptly out of flight. His eyes were disproportionately large for his face, glowing with a deep well of love and care, but otherwise, there was absolutely nothing distinguishing Joshua from the legions of his brothers.
Nevertheless, Gabriel softened his grace and gave a little nod to the Cherub. He pulled his hands apart, gesturing stiffly for Joshua to sit before him on the soft grass of the garden. As Joshua moved, Gabriel noted that he stepped very carefully so as not to disturb the plants any more than necessary.
“They aren’t real,” he commented, as Joshua contorted his wings to get under a low-hanging branch without nudging it. “This garden is an ever-changing construct designed to bring us peace and comfort.”
“Just because their existence is fleeting does not make them any less real than you or I, in the moments while they are here,” Joshua answered. “Just because they are born and die at our Father’s whim, in the blink of an eye, does not make them any less deserving of our care and nurturing.”
Was Joshua scolding Gabriel? No, not really, but this certainly was a gentle chiding. Gabriel closed his eyes and ducked his head minisculely. “You’re right, little brother. I don’t often give much thought to the things in Heaven.”
“Your focus has long been on Earth.”
Gabriel nodded. “For many thousands, millions of years, my choir has cared for Earth. We’ve watched it, shaped it, loved it. And now our Lord has chosen to destroy it.”
“Our Lord?” Joshua questioned. “You don’t call Him Father?”
Ducking his head further, Gabriel pressed his hands together again, the words stuck in his throat. Joshua didn’t pressure Gabriel, he just sat with him. In Joshua’s undemanding companionship, the words eventually relaxed and Gabriel could speak them, though his voice was barely audible. “I don’t know if I deserve to.”
“My message.” Joshua reached forward, wrapping his small hands around Gabriel’s clasped ones. “Father has not forsaken you, Gabriel, Messenger of Heaven. Father loves you still. He is not upset at how your choir has handled Earth, but rather, He was upset that the other creatures had choked out those He had chosen to be His greatest; like weeds in a garden, strangling the flowers. He needed to rip them out at the root, so His own could flourish. He… mourns the anguish He caused you.”
“Your message comes from God Himself?” Gabriel lifted his head to stare at Joshua. How could it be possible, that God was speaking through this Cherub? This small, young brother… who radiated great age, because God’s presence was filling him. Gabriel turned his hands to catch Joshua’s, squeezing them tightly. The Cherub did not flinch, did not stop radiating serenity through his grace. God was here. He was here, and He was not turning His back to Gabriel. The force of the Archangel’s relief flooding his grace made his wings tremble. He was glad he was already kneeling, or he might have collapsed from the revelation.
Joshua nodded. “You were, understandably, not the best messenger to use this time. Father thought it best to get word to you through a neutral party. He did not want to hurt you further.” The Cherub lifted one hand, brushing two fingers over Gabriel’s head. “Your spirit is healed, but it is still raw. If Father stood before you Himself, you may take irreparable damage. He would not have you suffer needlessly.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “Thank you.“
“Father loves you,” Joshua repeated, leaning in to brush his grace against Gabriel’s forehead, a gentle blessing. “He would have your choir return to Earth now, to clean up the mess left by His necessary intervention and return to your usual duties.”
“With no further direction?” Gabriel opened his eyes to look at Joshua, puzzled. “How can we prevent this from happening again? I don’t want to incur another incident of His wrath…”
“He will take a more direct role in guiding His greatest creations,” Joshua answered. “Pay attention for signs of His handiwork, and your choir will not run counter to His will again.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel repeated for the third time. “I will return to my choir. We will begin our work again.”
Joshua released Gabriel’s hands and rose to his feet, giving his wings a light shake. Gabriel stood as well, stretching the kinks out of his own wings. “God’s peace be with you, brother,” the Cherub said, dwarfed now by Gabriel’s size.
“And also with you.”
Next...