Chapter Text
It was one of the last few comfortably warm days of the season. As such, Gabriel was currently laying in the lilac grass not too far from the palace, with the machine running circles around him like it'd chugged an entire pot’s worth of coffee in one go. At least its movement created a comfortable breeze.
Minos had insisted he come out here, strangely enough. It was usually the machine’s thing to drag him outside for fresh air, and to force him to use his strength to move obstacles that it could easily blow up by itself. Its attempt at keeping him ‘in shape’, probably. There was really no need for such, as his body had the blessing and curse of always remaining the way it was. No matter how much he indulged in food and drink or how often he engaged in strenuous activities, his body stayed the same, much to his dismay. He wanted to have a body that was completely his and his alone. A body that he had some control over, instead of… this.
The machine was now repeatedly hopping over him. To his left, then to his right, then to his left again, somehow managing to avoid stepping on his wings each time. What a curious creature it was.
The weather system was pretty out of whack, he guessed, probably due to old age and lack of maintenance. That thunderstorm had been a week ago. After that it'd been sunny for a day, after which came a hailstorm from clear skies, and the day after it had been cloudy all day. Three days ago it'd snowed a little, which then melted two days ago when it was sunny again. And yesterday it'd been so windy he feared the entire palace would take flight.
But today was nice, and that was all that mattered right now. He'd task the machine with fixing the weather system when they got sick of its unpredictability. Just give it a manual and it'd figure things out, he was sure.
…The machine was now rolling down a grassy hill, and somehow managed to roll back up each time just to do it all again. It really was bored, wasn't it?
“Hey, machine.”
It immediately scuttled over, crouching down right next to his head and staring into his soul. The pupil that was faintly visible in its optic --usually the size of a pinprick-- was basically as large as a saucer.
“...Do you want to count how many blades of grass are in this field?”
The machine looked like it wanted to smack him. Clearly it could see the humour, though, as it refrained from doing so. He wouldn't have really minded getting smacked, he kind of deserved it for being so boring.
“No? What a shame, I would've loved to see you count to a billion.”
Sitting down on his chest, it dug out a small monitor from some side compartment of its. The monitor was the size of a page from an average book, connected to it via two thin wires side by side, which he was sure were a pain in the ass to keep untangled. He'd heard it had gotten such a device from a ‘terminal’, whatever that was.
*“I’m not that bored. I just don't see the-”
*“point in laying around all day when we c-”
*“...I dislike this thing.”
The monitor was limited to 20 characters per row and only had two rows for text, so its only real advantage was that it was quicker to write on than paper. Oh, and the machine could change the colour of the text and background. He had deduced it liked to write his name in yellow, Minos’ in light grey, the Ferryman's in turquoise, and preferred a black background. Stylish.
“Maybe you should buy those two additional rows.”
It had divulged that those ‘terminals’ also sold upgrades for things, like getting to customise the colour of all weapons of a single type for a million ‘points’. A waste of good currency, honestly. Though the machine had fallen for that scam, because it'd wanted to have matching weapons with him.
*“Shut up. Anyway.”
*“We should go back.”
“...And why is that?” He would've much rather continued to stay there, absorbing the sunlight with a feral machine running laps around him.
For a while, no text appeared. There were just those three dots, appearing one by one and then disappearing, only to then appear again in the same fashion. It was a neat way to visualise that it was still thinking of its response.
*“Minos. Too much alone time is not good f-”
*“for him. You said it yourself.”
…Oh dear. How many hours had it been? It'd been noon when they left, and the sun was now almost starting to set. Had it really been nine hours already..?
“Why didn't you tell me this like five hours ago?!” He scrambled to his feet, grabbed the machine's arm, and began rushing back towards the palace.
*“Tried. You went right back to sleep.”
“O-oh… Guess it's my fault, then,” Gabriel conceded. “But you could've been more persistent! He probably thinks we left him for good, machine..!”
*“Fair point. Sorry.”
He felt a tinge bad for raising his voice at it, but it sort of deserved it. He also deserved whatever torture would come out of this mistake.
“If we have to somehow pay him for emotional damage, you'll get to do that with your three million ‘points’ or whatever.”
*“Can't. He's not a machine.”
“Ugh… Print some hurt/comfort ‘enemies to lovers’ fanfiction for him, then. As an apology gift.” He couldn't think of anything better on the go. “...And a copy for me, if you could.”
● ● ●
Saying that Gabriel was frantic would be an understatement. He'd gone through nearly every room, with V1 literally dragged along as he would not let go of it.
It didn't quite get his panic. Sure, Minos wouldn't be in the best state of mind if he had to spend just a few days or weeks completely alone, but hours? The man could handle a couple hours alone. He'd been just fine every night when it checked up on him, then spent an hour or two watching over Gabriel, and then checked up on him again. Though it'd never seen him sleep, he was always fine. On the surface at least.
His wings, white with hints of gold and orange, wouldn’t stay still for a moment. Whether it was to help him move faster or just the nerves, it didn’t know. Maybe it was both. He cared, that much was obvious.
They were now stood before the door to Minos' bedroom, and Gabriel was… frozen. Even his wings were still. Why was he hesitating now?
V1 decided to just knock on the door, as that was what people did to alert the other that they were there.
“The door is unlocked.” At least he sounded alive.
…What a warm and inviting response that was. It almost sounded like he wasn't alright in there, but V1 was pretty sure that was simply Gabriel's overthinking infecting it as well. Nonetheless, it eventually pushed the door open and dragged Gabriel inside.
The bedroom looked exactly like it had ever since V1 had ‘moved in’, and it'd probably looked like this before its arrival too. Overall, the room seemed perfectly normal, apart from all the curtains being closed, the mirror above a dressing table having been covered with a sheet, and a dozen paintings sitting in the corner facing the wall. Just like before.
Gabriel seemed surprised by the scene, however. Had he really not seen the inside of this room even once?
Looking around, it spotted Minos sitting in an armchair, with no book or anything of the sort in hand. Just sitting. His demeanour seemed a little off, but otherwise it deemed him to be normal. Nothing to worry about.
“Thou seem… perturbed, angel. Is something bothering thee?”
That was a typical Minos response, coming off as kind and caring, even when he most definitely did not feel like being kind and caring. Why did it get to always deal with the emotionally repressed idiots?
“N-no, no. I’m just a little surprised by the state of this room.” Gabriel appeared to compose himself pretty quickly. “…No wonder you haven't let me clean in here.”
“I will ignore thine insult.”
“It wasn't meant as an insult..!” The white in his wings was replaced by gold, much to its disappointment. He was going on the defensive now, great. Why'd he feel so vulnerable around people he'd known for a while now?
V1 pulled out the small monitor it'd purchased, and shoved it a little too close to the angel's face.
*“BEHAVE.”
All capitals, in red, on a pitch black background. His armour changed to red when he was cheesed off, did it not? That was his angry colour, it’d just copied him.
“...Excuse me?”
*“Stop pissing him off, Gabriel.”
Gabriel simply sighed, and waved it off. How he'd survived the past year behaving like this was a fucking mystery.
“Okay, fine… Let's redo this.” Gabriel took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, before relaxing his shoulders and facing Minos again. “Sorry about being gone for so long, we sort of lost track of time, and… I apparently fell asleep at some point, and this… this thing didn't try to wake me up hard enough, so-”
“Thou art forgiven, as is thy creature.”
Yep, King Understanding and Forgiving was back, or so it seemed. About time. It kind of wanted to get to setting up a surprise date for them --in order to ‘get the ball rolling’, as some would say-- and that would've been kind of difficult if it had to drag one of them around.
It chose to fluster Gabriel a little more to keep him bearable, so it shoved its monitor in his face again.
*“You may now kiss the bride.”
It appeared to work, as his wings immediately became fluffier and gained a pink hue at the tips. Nerd.
“Y-you can't just… You can't say that like it's noth-”
And V1 was out the door.
● ● ●
The smell of coffee, good company, and soft music quietly playing in the background. That was what good mornings were made of. Nice, calm mornings were an indication of a good day ahead, a solid foundation upon which the day's events could be placed.
Two cups --a regular-sized one and another that was around three fourths larger, a metal straw sticking out of the latter-- sat side by side on the counter as he waited for the coffee to drip. He would've been less patient if he'd had to summon the pre-ground coffee this morning. Thankfully Minos had reminded him last night, so he got to sleep through the worst of the ensuing headache.
…I think we're fine right now. He seems happy enough.
Minos was sitting opposite of him, wearing that fluffy white bathrobe Gabriel had gotten very accustomed to seeing. At least their morning routine hadn't changed much in the past year, with the exception of those few days. That was just how life was sometimes. If only he could get himself to believe that some things just were, with no definitive ‘why’.
“Angel.”
…Stars, Gabriel liked hearing him say that, with the exact tone and cadence of a lov-
We are not ‘lovers’. I’m a guest and he's the host, still.
…Surely he's only keeping me around for entertainment and to clean this fucking place. And so that he won't lose it entirely.
“Yes?”
He didn't hate how soft he sounded. They both deserved some softness, even if his problems were nothing compared to Minos’. Right?
“Nothing. I simply wished to say that.”
“You can just… do that? Just like that, for no reason other than to say someone's name or nickname?” He looked over at Minos. “Would they not be annoyed at being called for basically no reason?”
Gabriel found this concept fascinating yet a little strange. Humans just… did that? Wasn't it a waste of someone else's time, taking their attention away from something actually important?
“Wert thou annoyed upon learning I said ‘angel’ for no reason at all?”
Annoyed? Maybe a little, but he'd also been too busy thinking about the way Minos had said it to really care.
“...No?”
“Exactly.”
Was that a way for someone to let the other know that they were thinking of them, and did it make everyone as happy as it did him? Perhaps he could test that.
But not before he got some coffee. Gabriel practically waltzed over to the two cups, and filled them to the top. Minos had recently allowed himself the luxury of putting sugar in his coffee, so Gabriel dropped one cube into the smaller cup, before bringing it to Minos. He then took his own comically large coffee mug, and sat back down in his seat.
He twirled the straw in the cup, the motion creating a small vortex in the liquid. It was too hot to drink for the time being.
“Minos.” Gabriel looked up at him. He appeared to also be waiting for his coffee to cool a little, using a teaspoon to make the cube of sugar maybe dissolve faster.
“Hm?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to say that.” He couldn't hide the grin in his tone, not that he really even tried to.
“...Naturally. I suppose I brought this upon myself.”
Minos sighed a tad too theatrically, a tiny bit too dramatically, for him to really be mad. It seemed he was happy too.
“What, you don't like that?” Gabriel leaned forward a little. “Minos. Minos, Minos, Minos… I have to admit, I quite like saying your name.”
“Thou art easy to entertain, it seems.”
“Alright, alright… I’ll stop.”
He liked this, he liked being cordial with Minos. When he inevitably would start overthinking again, he'd just have to take a deep breath, think back to this moment, and everything would be alright. In theory.
…Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what the machine was up to. It'd been running back and forth between the palace and somewhere else all of last night, seemingly coming back just to check up on the two of them. Was there something nefarious going on?
Now that he thought about it, a candle holder was missing from the main lounge, as was one of those tall crimson candles. Did the machine..? No, that'd be silly. Though he'd also noticed that a bunch of tea lights --those tiny candles that burned for an hour or two at most-- were gone. Oh, and the fairy lights he couldn't be bothered to take down from the second lounge's chandelier after the winter holidays. Those too.
…I think I know now. Either it likes collecting light sources, wants an inconspicuous way to commit arson, or it’s trying to set up a romantic date for us.
He wasn't sure if he was ready for that last option.
● ● ●
It'd found them in the grand library. They were, to its surprise, getting along for once, so maybe it'd done something right. No, there was no ‘maybe’. This guide it'd bought was actually helping.
V1 was currently in the process of dragging both Gabriel and Minos along through the city ruins. The sun was setting, and based on Gabriel's huffs and sighs, it'd deduced he already knew where this was headed. At least he hadn't tried to run away this time. It'd have to handcuff itself to him if he as much as thought about doing that again.
The guide said that ‘falling in love’ was a gradual process and shouldn't be rushed, but it really didn't want them to dally any longer. It had to ease them both, especially Gabriel, into it slowly, almost painfully slowly. Which was really just maybe a day and half. From getting them to talk to each other like people, to arranging a candlelit dinner for them.
…It couldn't cook, of course, but a candlelit dinner didn't necessarily have to include dinner. It could just be ‘getting them drunk as hell’. Alcohol made people more honest, right? Some also became angry or plain sad, or so it'd read, but it mainly made them relax and open up a bit more easily. It might be a slight issue if it turned out Gabriel didn't like the taste of alcohol, however.
“Machine…” Gabriel groaned rather pathetically. “How far away is this ‘surprise’ of yours supposed to be?”
“It hath been a mere half an hour, angel. Patience.”
That estimation was wrong. It'd been an hour, but V1 reckoned such a time didn't feel as long when in good company.
“That’s a long time to walk in shoes that suck utter ass, though,” its angel complained, unknowingly adding an another task into V1’s to-do list. It'd make them fit him properly tomorrow.
“How come thou chose to wear them, then?”
“Because they look nice, and I thought we wouldn't go on a hike through the whole damn layer.”
It had warned him that this trip would take a while. Had he not listened, or had he underestimated how long ‘a while’ would be? He didn't seem to know whether ‘soon’ meant ‘in five minutes’ or ‘in half an hour’, if ‘in a bit’ was longer than the time it took for cabbage casserole to cook in the oven, and apparently now how long ‘a while’ was. It'd just have to be more specific in the future.
“Image over comfort. Thou still art one for appearances, I see.”
That comment appeared to have been made in jest, which was good. It didn't want them fighting now.
“Shush, you. I just like looking decent sometimes, even if there's… really no need for that, anymore.”
“Mh… As long as it sparks joy in thee,” Minos replied. “And I do appreciate the effort. Thou look absolutely radiant every day.”
In response, a bit of gold crept into Gabriel's wings, only for it to soon be replaced by a purplish pink. It was unfortunate that observing visual changes wasn't possible with audio files.
…This recording was simply for its own personal use, even if selling it would give V1 viewing access to the emoticon upgrade it'd gotten for the monitor. Gabriel would never get to see its emoticons, though. Only machines were able to buy and utilise the upgrade, so it was practically pointless.
“Machine?”
Damn, he really enjoyed complaining. It didn't mind, of course, since it was kind of cute to hear an archangel whining and complaining nonstop.
“Will this… at least be worth the journey?” Gabriel ended the question by lightly bonking V1’s head with his helmet. He'd been pretty affectionate lately, which it quite enjoyed.
It nodded, earning a soft chuckle from Gabriel. He was himself. He was… happy, excited, and affectionate. Somewhat confident, rather brave, and as bright as stars in the night sky. This was how he was supposed to be, wasn't it?
● ● ●
The machine had taken them to that derelict mall he'd been to before. It took them right past a pharmacy he'd pilfered bandages from, and the bookstore he'd snatched a few books from as an apology gift to Minos.
Gabriel had managed to avoid most puddles of water, until they came across a flooded corridor. He wouldn't wade through knee-deep water even if he got paid, so he and Minos took a slight detour through the second floor, while the machine just swam right through. How convenient.
The two of them walked by a dozen stores, some worse off than others. There were trinket shops. There were jewellery stores, fast food places, bookshops, cafés, clothing shops… So many places he would've loved to visit if they were still up and running. But they weren't, thanks to him.
And there's no point in rebuilding it.
Who was he to decide what had a point and what didn't? Everything was ultimately pointless to him, him and his cursed infinite lifespan. Someone who actually saw a point in continuing to persist should be the one to decide.
“...Minos.” He didn't want to ruin tonight, but his body would not listen.
“Angel, if this is an another apology, I suggest thou refrain from speaking further.”
Oh, that's a first. He doesn't want me to apologise?
“But if I’m… really sorry?”
Gabriel didn't know why he insisted. Shouldn't he have been glad that he didn't have to apologise further, that he didn't have to wonder every time if he'd actually been forgiven?
“Thou hast apologised three-hundred and eighty-six times now, and I have forgiven thee each time.”
He remained silent, and kept on walking alongside Minos. Everything around him seemed so blurry. His chest ached and his feet were like lead, his hands shaking like leaves in the wind as he clasped them together. Was he seriously going to start crying now? Before their… before that thing that the machine had set up for them?
“And frankly, forgiving thee doth not get easier the more often I have to do it, yet I choose to do so each and every time.” Minos kept talking to him, even if he didn't deserve the time of day. “For the sake of thy sanity, consider accepting that forgiveness.”
He didn't respond, he didn't need to. The only words he had left were apologies and pleas for relief from this… this meaninglessness, and he wished not to push it. He didn't need to talk, anyway.
A blurry blue and yellow shape scuttled towards him, metal scraping lightly against the floor tiles. He didn't want to make it worry about him again.
It took him by the hand, and led him into a seemingly dark establishment. The words on the sign at the front were too blurry to read. The machine sat him down at a round table, before fetching Minos, who sat down opposite of him. He guessed that the blurry white shape was him. Why wouldn't it be?
Seconds ticked by, he assumed, until an orange blur appeared at the centre of the table. A candle, probably. But it didn't matter, not to him. It was pointless. This meant nothing in the face of eternity. Just a day among all the other days, an event among other events.
A hand on his shoulder, and muffled, incomprehensible sounds. Were those even words? He didn't need to understand them to know the speaker was worried.
What the hell was his problem? Today was supposed to be good, but now he'd gone and fucked it up. Like he always did. Calm always preceded the storm, good things came before the bad. And then it'd repeat again. Some said that bad things came before the good, but that was simply untrue.
In the beginning, there was only good. From that good, as pure and perfect as it was, sprouted bad things. Once the bad was banished, the goodness felt pure and perfect again. That good reigned for a time. But then the bad slithered back, and infected the-
After a long bout of bad, good resurfaced from beneath its waves. And then came bad again, then good again, then bad again, and then good again. Then bad, then good, then…
Was him losing to a mortal creation a good or a bad thing? Good, because it made him think. Bad, also because it made him think.
Being a weapon had been a comfortable, familiar role. Orders that he knew exactly how to execute (and which he did execute perfectly), rigid schedules that he easily adapted to (and which he did follow perfectly), love that he could accept (and which he did receive when he behaved).
But once a weapon, always a weapon. A dutiful blade, an unbiased executor, a beacon of hope, an obedient servant, a perfect archangel. A broken weapon was still a weapon. The shards of a shattered blade could still injure, they could still kill. Even unarmed hands could kill.
Okay, okay, okay… Breathe. This is not unsalvageable.
He could taste blood in his mouth, probably from biting his tongue. He could smell… well, he could smell the candle, and he could recognise that scent that was so distinctly Minos. He could feel the warmth of the hand on his shoulder, the fabric of his clothes… the pain from his ill-fitting shoes having rubbed the skin of his heels raw.
He could hear again. His own breathing gradually calming down, a sudden bout of rain lightly tapping against a window, a metallic finger poking his helmet, Minos' voice telling the machine to stop doing that.
…Heh.
His vision was still blurry. So he blinked, and saw a little clearer. The crimson candle was there on the table, and the area surrounding them decorated with those small tea lights. Fairy lights were hanging from the unlit lamp above their table, two bottles of some kind of alcohol stood side by side on a counter with two glasses next to them, and Minos was right in front of him.
Oh boy… Should I say something funny or just be normal for once?
“Uhm… Hi?”
So ‘normal’ route it is.
“Hello, angel.” Minos’ hand moved from Gabriel’s shoulder to gently squeeze his hand. “Dost thou… wish to explain what that was about, or shall we forget about it altogether?”
“Oh, it’s… it's fine. I just thought again.”
Thinking for oneself had so many pros yet just as many cons. It was stressful, yet it was freeing. Some thoughts were shameful, some thoughts crushed his soul, some thoughts made his heart burst at the seams. He had the freedom to choose what to wear for the day, but he had the obligation to choose whether to clean his room and be tired, or not clean his room and feel so filthy just being there. He couldn't say his words came from someone above him when the other party felt insulted, because they were his alone.
“A painful thought, which then made thee spiral?”
“...Mhm.” He couldn't formulate a better response when Minos was… so close. His hands were warm, as opposed to Gabriel's, and the angel almost wanted to lean in and be fully enveloped in his warmth. But that would have to wait.
Their sweet little moment was interrupted by the machine placing the two bottles on the table, along with the glasses. He didn't know much about alcohol, but he could tell it was red and white wine. Where'd it even gotten them, was-
“...Are those from my wine cellar?”
That explains it.
The machine mimicked the reaction one would have when caught doing something slightly bad. All of its hands were behind its back, and it avoided looking at Minos, repeatedly standing on the tips of its ‘toes’ before sinking back down.
“Didst thou at least take these from the older side?”
A small, involuntary laugh escaped Gabriel as the machine frantically nodded. How something made of metal, circuits, and wires could be so akin to those made of flesh was beyond him.
It placed a straw in one of the empty glasses, and pushed it towards him. Then it pulled out that small monitor of its.
*“Red or white?”
“Ah, I don't really… How are they different from each other, aside from the colour?”
I feel like I should know.
*“How don’t you know? You're like ancient.”
Yes, yes, he should've known that. He should've studied the ancient wine scriptures and tattooed the information into his brain.
“...Please just explain the difference,” Gabriel sighed, “I don't need to be age-shamed.”
*“Major Gabriel L.”
‘L’? What the hell was that supposed to mean? It sounded like something undesirable, though.
*“Red wine is made with the grape skins st-”
“Still there, white usually without.”
He learned something new today, even if it wasn't the answer he was looking for. Did they peel the grapes used for white wine? By hand? No, that sounded pretty inefficient, humans often valued efficiency even to the point of driving individuals to burnout. Thank goodness he'd never experienced that. He'd only ever been so exhausted he went into complete autopilot, and later realised he didn't have any memory of those years when he found himself struggling to piece memories together from fragments of text on official documents and rumours circulated by others.
“Not the wine-making process, machine. The taste.”
“Then taste them,” Minos responded, back to sitting across the table from him. He should've stayed a little closer for a little longer.
“But I want to know what to expect so I’m not caught completely off-guard. Wouldn't want to waste a whole glass because it tastes like carbonated cough syrup to me, now would we?”
*“Oddly specific.”
It wasn't like he'd never had alcohol, it'd just been a while. A long while. Maybe four or five hundred years, or perhaps longer. It didn't matter that much.
*“Red tastes like berries, maybe leather.”
*“White tastes like citrus, but...”
*“But also like fresh grass?”
The machine must've found some wine encyclopedia, though it seemed very uncertain whether any of the information was actually true. He found it pretty hard to believe himself that a beverage could taste like old shoes or wet sawdust. What's next, white wine that tastes like dead leaves?
“That sounds so pretentious.” Gabriel shifted in his seat, still not managing to get comfortable. “...No offence, Minos.”
“None taken.”
Gabriel, after a moment of pondering, picked up a wine bottle to read its label. He… couldn't comprehend most of these letters. It was in moments like these that he wished he still had even an ember of His Light left in him, because automatically understanding any language was a very useful skill to have. And he kind of wanted to read books that weren’t in English or Latin.
Is this..? This looks a bit like Greek.
Where would someone even get Greek wine these days? Greece had long ceased to exist (along with every other country humans had decided to make up), not to even mention that they were in Hell of all places. And sure, the bottle looked ancient enough to be a couple centuries old, but still. It felt pretty unreal, to be fair.
…Was it even drinkable anymore?
“Minos? Could you please decipher these mysterious symbols for me?”
He nudged the bottle across the table. Just the sight of the label appeared to bring back some memories, though he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Maybe both.
“Oh, this is the sixth and final one he brought me. ‘Twas a bribe, if my memory serves me right. Although it did not work that time.” There was a hint of fondness in his voice. “I cannot comprehend why he would change the container, though, since I am certain ‘tis not some cheaper alternative. He has taste.”
“...He?"
A pop signalled that the bottle was now open. How Minos had managed to open it with his bare hands was beyond him, but he had to admit it was pretty impressive. And he almost wanted to feel those hands around his throat. Almost.
He hadn't answered the question, though. That was probably intentional, so Gabriel didn't push it. He had a pretty good idea of who Minos was talking about.
“B-but also, ‘bribe’? Are you telling me you could be paid off with a few bottles of alcohol, Minos?”
“Of course not. But I did ‘confiscate’ the contraband --to be disposed of later-- and just so happened to leave almost every gate and door in his way unguarded.” Minos poured some of the brownish-red liquid into his glass, before placing the bottle next to the one containing white wine. He then added some-
Is that water ?! I don’t know a lot about wine, but I don’t think that’s… usually how it’s done.
“That just sounds like favouritism.” He hesitantly poured a bit of the red wine into his glass.
It… does smell pretty good.
“I will not deny thine accusation.”
Gabriel then took a sip. It was kind of like swallowing a burning coal, if that coal was a liquid, tasted like an old and crusty leather shoe, and also made his mouth feel like the roughest kind of sandpaper there is. And that wasn't even how awful it'd taste without a straw.
“Gh…” He kind of wanted to throw up, but as he reckoned that'd be rude, so he refrained.
“Hm? Is it not to thy liking?”
Minos could probably tell that he didn't like this at all, yet asked the question anyway. Was this some sort of humiliation thing? It'd either get better or worse if he admitted that it tasted horrible.
“N-no, no! It's… it's alright. I’m just not used to… this.”
He'd just… force it down to be polite, and to say that he at least tried it. There wasn't too much left in the glass, anyway.
● ● ●
So this was what its angel was like when inebriated. One arm reaching across the table to grip Minos' hand, head resting on the same arm in a way that would most definitely hurt his back after a while. V1 had moved the candle away just to be safe.
V1 itself was sat on a counter off to the side, starting a new recording at regular intervals so it wouldn’t be too difficult to find a specific moment later. It named each clip accordingly. There was one named ‘First sip’ , and another one called ‘Love confession attempt #12’ , though that latter one wouldn’t be considered a love confession by most, nor the eleven previous attempts. It knew what his intentions were, he just was really bad at this.
After that first glass of red, Gabriel had… Well, first he’d forced down an another glass while probably hoping Minos would just open the second bottle so he could taste that too, before deciding to just open the white wine himself. He then… ended up liking a bit too much. Was this his third glass or fifth? It wasn't quite sure, but it sure as hell hoped angels were immune to alcohol poisoning.
“What are your thoughts on, uhh… birds? Like just in general? And I guess angels too, by extension.”
Gabriel had been asking Minos such things for the past hour or two, questions getting progressively weirder as time went on. First it'd been about his likes or dislikes when it came to books or foods, then about his favourite words in the dictionary, before ending up here.
“...I personally would not put angels in the same category as birds, seeing as the only similarity between them is the feathered wings.” Minos stroked the angel's hand with his thumb, before continuing a little more quietly, “and I suppose the size of their brains.”
That last part was most likely a joke, it deduced. It hoped Gabriel got that as well.
“So mean…” Gabriel complained. He was quite ‘cute’ like this, it had to admit. “But… but like theoretically, if birds and angels were basically the same? What'd your thoughts be?”
It wouldn't have minded him being like this all the time, but that'd be catastrophic for his liver (if he even had one), not to mention his sanity. Constantly using only one brain cell would eventually make the other cells conclude they weren't needed, and the only thing left of him then would be but a shell. It liked his silly little personality too much to let that happen.
“Well… In general, birds are quite fascinating, especially when considering the sheer range of various bird shapes, colours, and sizes.”
“Oh, tell me more.” Gabriel's wings --which had been mainly blue with hints of pink-- were now almost entirely pink.
…Was someone showing interest in learning about birds that attractive to him?
“I cannot recall the name, but I find the appearance of a certain greenish-blue bird quite aesthetically pleasing.” Minos began as he nonchalantly moved the half-full bottle of red wine out of Gabriel's sight. “It looks rather similar to a peafowl, though its tail feathers are not as impressive.”
It didn't know whether Minos was concerned about the angel’s alcohol consumption, or if he simply wanted to have it all for himself. A good move, though. Once Gabriel's glass was empty, his hand just so happened to wander to the side, only to find the bottle where white wine had once been. Surprisingly enough, he barely reacted to discovering he'd have nothing to drink anymore.
“Hm… Are its neck and tail feathers like a reddish-orange? ‘Cause I think I know which one you're talking about.”
V1 poured some water into Gabriel's glass, which he automatically took a sip of. He'd probably drink even gasoline if it poured some in, but it refrained. Gasoline wasn't healthy for humans, so it most likely wouldn't be good for angels either.
“Mhm. The feathers on its neck are a darker red, and its tail feathers a bright orange.”
It slowly pushed a water bottle towards Minos from the other side of the table. Sure, his wine was diluted as hell, but drinking some water every now and then was recommended for every single organic being in existence, and he wasn’t an exception.
“Yep, knew it. Himalayan monal,” Gabriel proudly declared. Had he memorised those bird encyclopedias from cover to cover? It couldn’t quite comprehend why someone would memorise something as useless as every single bird species that ever existed, especially since there were no birds in Lust, and it wasn’t sure if any birds on Earth had somehow survived all that fuckery.
“Impressive, angel. Very impressive.”
As Minos stroked Gabriel's hand with his thumb again, V1 could swear it heard its angel purr. He was so easy to please. Just a compliment or two accompanied by some physical affection, and he'd be putty in its hands.
Though… It would much rather let Minos do all that romantic stuff. It didn't want Gabriel thinking it ‘loved’ him in a romantic sense or anything, since platonic ‘love’ was just as satisfying to it. And romance involved too many delicate emotions. It'd just break his heart if it tried, and a miserable angel didn't make for good company.
It'd set up a near-perfect date for them. An empty restaurant, mood lightning, and wine. The only thing that was missing was food, due to the obvious fact that it couldn't cook. Some plain crackers would've been pretty nice, actually. It could be wrong, as it didn't know how they'd taste.
Now that it thought about it, music could've made this even better. Such a shame it hadn't dragged that phonograph out here. An old-timey music player for two people older than it could ever dream of being, limited only by the fact that replacements for malfunctioning parts would get more difficult to find as time went on. But that was in the distant future.
“Have I ever, um… told you how cute you are?” There it was, love confession attempt number 13. “Like… like this isn't a bit. You're so cute.”
A pause.
“Is that so?”
Minos sounded rather unconvinced, and it could imagine why. He looked… very unusual by human standards, it knew, but by angel standards? It wasn't quite sure what those would be. Did angels even have standards?
“Wait… That word's not strong enough.” The angel played with Minos’ fingers absentmindedly. “You're like, how do I put this… you're… Help me out here, Minos. Or machine. Whichever one of you knows words better.”
“...Thy taste in men is appalling.”
That was just plain self-deprecating. Was this really even Minos, or just some impersonator? Surely the real one wouldn't talk about himself like this.
“Aw, don't say that. You're lovely,” Gabriel cooed, casually interlacing his fingers with Minos’. How bold. “You’re like so, so patient, even when you have to deal with my moody and stubborn ass, and you're… surprisingly funny, especially when I least expect it. And you're so much more… I can't even put it into words.”
Yep, definitely drunk. He'd never even dream of saying that when sober.
“Like seriously, you’re so-”
“Art thou perchance lonely?”
It was now quite obvious that Minos had either deemed himself unlovable in this form, or thought that the both of them were too damn lonely to separate the inherent need to be loved from the craving of romantic love. The kind of love that made life bearable, versus the kind that made an already bearable life even brighter.
That was just what it'd scanned from a book once, it didn't know whether that had any merit. Was it like getting a new filter or fan when the old one was busted, versus getting an upgraded one even when the old part worked just fine?
…Emotions were so needlessly complex.
“W-well… Kind of, but this isn't because of that!” Gabriel nearly knocked his glass over when he reached a second hand out to hold Minos’ other hand, but V1 managed to save it. “It's… Okay, maybe it is. I don't know anymore, honestly. My brain's fried.”
“Wouldst thou prefer to talk about this in the morning?”
“Heh… I probably won't have the guts then.”
How self-aware of him. V1 was now seriously considering keeping its angel like this, a bit too happy and more self-aware. But no. It should strive to make him be like that even when not inebriated.
“I shall simply bother thee enough for thee to talk.”
It would hold him to that.
“Fine, but don't get too mad at me if I get defensive again. Promise?”
“I promise, angel.” Minos finished the last of his glass. “Now… Shall we return home?”
Was that his second glass? At least someone here could drink in moderation, without turning himself into a lovesick angel puddle. He should teach Gabriel that skill.
“Yeah, just… give me a moment.”
Gabriel, with a sigh, attempted to unstick himself from the table and stand up. He didn't get too far, as he basically collapsed into Minos. That was a pretty common symptom of being too drunk.
“Guess this is an opportunity for you to carry an archangel again, Minos.”