ineffable bureaucracy

together (FLUFF)

summary

gabriel and beelzebub fall in love with each other, but they're not sure if the other feels the same.

"beelzebub," gabriel addressed the demon.

"hello gabriel." beelzebub sat down.

gabriel averted his violet eyes as beelzebub spoke his name. it always made his chest grow warm when the demon said his name. the two had been friends for a little while now. their meetings began after armageddon—or rather, since armageddidn't—and they had grown to be close. it was nice to have someone to complain to about work.

"let's go somewhere," beelzebub said. "how about that little park?"

gabriel nodded. he knew which park they were referring to. it was a place they often went to talk on earth, and it was nice. gabriel liked to jog along the paved pathways, and beelzebub liked to sit and relax.

they both sat down on the wooden bench today, as gabriel agreed to sit down for a little. beelzebub watched him with intense pale eyes. the way the lump in his throat bobbed when he swallowed, the way he spoke, it all fascinated beelzebub. it was a weird fascination, something strange and new, but at the same time... it felt like being home. being next to gabriel, being close to him, it was familiar and comfortable. beelzebub couldn't decide how to feel about that.

the two friends sat on the bench, watching ducks drift lazily in the river, watching the people walk by. at one point, two women walked by, hand in hand. they were talking and laughing, and at one point, one of the women leaned in to press a soft kiss to her partner's lips. beelzebub watched the couple quietly.

"humans are quite ridiculous," the prince of hell began.

"hm?" gabriel said.

"they love. they love each other. isn't that stupid?"

"well..." gabriel started. his violet eyes shimmered.

"they've got so little time in this life. they should do something more productive, like... sinning, killing each other, doing horrible things."

gabriel looked down at the word killing. he shivered with the way the demon said it. he knew how gentle they could be, but they were harsh and cruel sometimes. never to him, though. beelzebub was never cruel to their friend. gabriel admired that.

"you don't know what love feels like then, hm?" gabriel asked softly.

"love? why would i know what love feels like? i'm a demon."

"well... i... it's when your chest feels warm every time they speak, it's every time a door opens you hope it's the person you love, it's... it's having your chest ache at the thought of them getting hurt or feeling sad. it's when you feel a little dizzy in a good way around them. it's..." gabriel paused. something stirred within him.

beelzebub leaned forward and thought about gabriel's words. they almost didn't notice when he paused.

"i, uh..." gabriel began, not knowing where the sentence was going. angels were made of love, but... gabriel had realized that the idea of actually being in love with someone wasn't so far away now.

beelzebub looked up, their eyes wide. they had just realized they too knew what it was like to love someone. they suddenly knew why they felt that way when gabriel said their name, why they felt like that when they were close to him.