Darker Angels

Sorry, gang. Too tired to think. Next time. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoy.

***********



Before Gun could stop him Abel had yanked Dietrich out of the room he and Isaak were in and slammed him into the wall.



“Where is she?” he snarled.



Dietrich barely had time to open his mouth when a calm and deadly voice came from behind Abel.



“Exactly what do you think you’re doing with my property, Abel?” Takara asked.



Abel, who still had his fingers wrapped around Dietrich’s throat, loosened his grip enough to let him breathe. He looked over his shoulder at Takara. “Cain took Lilith’s body.”



“Okay. What makes you think he or Isaak know anything about that?”



“They’re his minions. They have to know *something*.”



“They don’t know anything about that, Abel. I can assure you of it.”



“You can’t be completely certain of it,” Abel growled.



“She can’t be but I can,” Circe said, coming up next to him. “Abel, do you seriously think I’d miss something that important in either one of them?”



“Much as I trust you, Circe, you aren’t foolproof,” Abel said, still holding Dietrich by the throat.



“Of course she’s foolproof. She’s mine,” Reicher said, strolling up the hallway toward them. “Plus there are three other master level telepaths who’ve rolled through their heads. At least one of us would have found something like that if it was there to be found.”



Abel suddenly dropped Dietrich and stalked off. Leaving the others to stare after him.



“What the hell was that all about?” Takara asked, helping Dietrich to his feet.



Gun sighed and shook his head. “As you know Lilith’s body was taken from the crypt. Cain had sensors set up that were tuned to Abel’s energy signature so he’d know when he came in and found her missing.”



“Oh that’s just fabulous,” Circe said, rolling her eyes.



“No kidding. I’d better go find him,” Gun said.



Circe sighed and shook her head as she watched her brother walk down the hall.



“That boy has more issues than Ran did,” Reicher said.



“That’s scary, Mater,” Circe said, leaning on her father’s shoulder.



Reicher laughed. “Ja. Be happy you didn’t know Ran when he was Aya. He was *thoroughly* fucked up then.”





“Abel, wait!” Gun called as the other man turned a corner into the labyrinth in the garden.



Abel stopped in his tracks and waited for Gun to catch up to him, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.



“I know it’s stupid, Gun. She’s been dead for centuries. Everything that made her the person I loved is long gone. But I just can’t let him get away with this.”



“He won’t, Abel. I can promise you that,” Gun said, putting his arm around the other man’s shoulders.



“I can’t keep depending on all of you to help me with Cain,” Abel said.



“Sure you can. Come on,” he said pulling Abel out of the labyrinth.



“Where are we going?” Able asked curiously.



“Somewhere that you can relax without having your privacy invaded. It feels like you need some personal space right now to sort through a few things.”



Abel nodded. “You’re probably right about that,” he said, lacing his fingers through Gun’s and glancing at the other man’s face to gauge his reaction. Gun smiled at him as they followed one of the winding paths through the garden and inot the cover of the trees. They rounded a turn in the path and came up on a small cottage nestled in a clearing.



Abel looked at Gun curiously as they entered the building. Gun let go of his hand and went to light the lamps to combat the deepening shadows that were collecting in the small house.



“Sorry that there isn’t any electricity. This place was the original house on the property and Blaze just left it like it was because she liked the feel of it.”



“It’s okay. I think it’s kind of soothing actually to be away from the glare of harsher light.”



Abel wandered through the living room and stopped in front of the stone fireplace.



“Gun, can we . . .”



“Sure,” Gun said, walking over to stand next to Abel for a moment before moving to gather what was needed to start a fire. “There are times when I wish I had point and shoot flame like Taka and Blaze do. It would make lighting the fireplace a lot easier.”



Abel smiled a little as he watched Gun set up and light the kindling then stir the fire to life. Watching the firelight play across the other man’s features made him seem somehow even more ethereal to him, more like the angel that he was.



Sensing he was being watched, Gun looked up at Abel through his lashes and stifled the urge to chuckle when Abel’s eyes skittered away quickly. He shifted and sat cross legged on the rug in front of the fireplace then reached up and pulled Abel down to sit beside him. Abel opened his mouth to protest as Gun’s arm went around him but the words seemed to die before they reached his lips.



“Relax, Abel. It’s only comfort.”



Abel finally sighed and leaned his head on Gun’s shoulder. It had been so long since he’d been comforted by another person that he wasn’t sure he properly remembered it. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, with Gun gently stroking his hair. But he knew that he really didn’t want to move for fear it might break whatever spell this was. He blinked to clear his blurred vision and was appalled when he felt a trail of wetness slide into his hair due to the angle of his head on Gun’s shoulder. Gun’s hand briefly tightened in his hair before he shifted and put both arms around him.



“It’s okay, Abel,” Gun said soothingly. “Everyone has the right to cry.”



“I don’t want to forget her, Gun.”



“You don’t have to forget her, Abel. From what Blaze, Taka and Circe have said, she was a fantastic person. But I don’t think she would have wanted you to put your life on hold for so long because hers ended.”



“She was so good to us. But in the end, I couldn’t protect her from him.”



“Would you have?”



“Of course!”



“Don’t you think she knew that, Abel? She knew you loved her and would have protected her if you’d been aware Cain was a threat.”



Abel shuddered and began to cry in earnest. Gun held him closer, letting him get it out of his system, kissing the top of his head and talking to him soothingly like one would an upset child.



Neither man was entirely certain when the embrace changed from a comforting one to something more. Abel’s fingers were sifting slowly through Gun’s hair, marveling at the texture and length of it. When he looked up into the other man’s face it seemed like he had forgotten how to breathe. Gun’s fingertips traced gently along Abel’s jaw line and up to his cheek, finally burying into his moonlight hair.



“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” Gun asked. He leaned forward very slowly, giving Abel plenty of time to pull back if he wanted to, and pressed his lips softly to the other man’s.