Suspicious - Chapter 18 [GabrielxReader]

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Chapter:    18 - "Your Usual Suspect"

Pairing:    Gabriel/Reader

Summary:     Something about your new college's janitor just seems suspicious.

Warning Level:    ●●○○○ Low / Fluff

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Gabriel's damn words still stuck in your head and kept on echoing inside your brain over and over again. The exact words. In his exact voice. It almost drove you crazy and maybe it would have, if this was your only problem. You had woken up that cloudy Sunday afternoon, feeling absolutely awful. Everything was aching, most of all your head. Must have been something you caught in the zoo yesterday. You had gotten up, feeling like a bag full of sand as you carried yourself through the room. The sound of your cellphone had made you snap out of some kind of creepy dream you couldn't remember very well. As you picked the phone up from your desk, you saw it was a message from Margie.

'Hey, I just realized I haven't seen Dan in days.

Have you heard anything from him?

I'm kind of worried now.'

You frowned a bit, thinking about it. He was completely absent indeed, which was unusual for him. In fact, the last time you had seen him was shortly after your little hunting trip with the stake. That thought made your whole body tense up.

Damn it.

Before you even knew it, you had thrown some clothes on, grabbed your jacket and rushed out of the door. Compared to the day before, it was cold outside, but you didn't even notice that the wind made you cough all the way to the college. Since the library was accessible on Sundays, the doors were open too. You ran up the stairs so quickly, you were completely out of breath once you reached the angel's door. Your fists hammered against the wood firmly until someone opened. Gabriel appeared in an undershirt and red boxer shorts, chewing on something that made a crunching sound. He grinned amused and laid against the door frame when his eyes met yours.

»I knew you would come for me soon, cupcake.«

»Shut up, scumbag!!«

You literally jumped at him, angrily bashing your flat hands on his chest again and again.

»What did you do, you damn asshole?!«

»Woah, w-what??« Gabriel raised his hands to fend off your sudden attack.

»Cut the crap, where is he?! Is he dead?!«

»What the hell are you talking about?!«

Now you aimed for his face, but your right wrist was caught an inch before your hand could touch his cheek. Your spare hand tried it again, ending in the same result. Having both your arms, the angel yanked you around to pin you to the wall. His face was somewhere between confusion and annoyance. You stared at him in rage, your lips slightly shaking. This was your fault. Whatever happened to Dan was your fault. The heat inside you began to pound against your ribcage so forcefully, it made your whole body tremble. Gabriel blinked, looking down at where your chest moved up and down from the heavy breathing.

»Woah, hey, sugar...« His voice lowered in an attempt to calm you down.

»Don't... call me... that...«

Ignoring what you said, he let go of your left hand so he could touch your cheek. Then your forehead. When he did, his expression changed in a strange way.

»Are you delirious, sweetheart...?«

»What? S-shut up and don't touch me!!«

You slapped his hand out of your face, but at the same moment some kind of vertigo kicked in, making you topple towards him. Gabriel quickly grabbed you by your shoulders, preventing you from falling. Everything was spinning, but you weren't done with him yet.

»You... you killed... him... didn't you...«

You heard him grunt a bit, before he reached down and lifted you up. The missing ground under your feet didn't exactly make you feel better, but there was no way you could fight him right now.

»... let me... don't...«

»Psshht.«

All you saw now were glimpses of the living room's ugly wallpaper, the wooden ceiling and something white that might have been the dog passing by, as you were carried through the apartment. There was a man talking somewhere and the low sound of chirping insects. Most likely the TV. The smell of tomato sauce crawled up your nostrils for a second and disappeared again. Then everything went black.

The next thing you perceived was a soft, comfortable mattress underneath you and the feeling of cool water, running down your temples slowly. You blinked and tried hard to get your eyes to focus again. At first you just saw something that looked like a blurry, gray star in a dark-brown sky. But it soon turned out to be the ceiling fan. You realized you were laying in a bed in... well... a bedroom.

»Back among the living?«

You moved your eyes to the left and found Gabriel sitting on the floor next to the bed. He eyed you for a moment and then reached for the wet cloth on your forehead to turn it around. The cooler side felt like heaven right now and you finally understood you had a fever. Unable to decide what to do now, you just stared at him, trying to read his face. Somehow you waited for him to fight back now. In a way that's what you wanted. A fight. A discussion. You wanted to hear what he had to say. But Gabriel never did what you expected from him and that didn't change today.

»If that's what happens if I leave you alone for half a day, maybe I shouldn't leave you alone.«

He spoke in a soft tone now and gave you a faint smile, as he reached for your face. The back of his fingers softly caressed your cheek, which didn't exactly help with the fever, but made you shiver inside. Your brain was an empty room again, the sound of your beating heart drowning every thought. Every thought but one.

»...did... you...?« You asked in a quavering voice.

»... did I do what...?«

»... did you... « You felt your eyes watering up.
»...did you kill Dan?«

Gabriel's face was like stone for a moment, then he looked down and chuckled in an uninflected way. He looked back at you as if he was trying to show you how stupid that idea was. But your serious expression made his own change.

»Now why would I do that, hm?« He almost whispered.

You swallowed, trying not to cry.

»... he... almost got you. He's a threat... to you.«

At that Gabriel burst into laughter.

»He is a threat...to me??« He threw his head back in amusement.
»As far as I remember, your little assault on me ended a disaster. For you.«

He raised a brow, looking unimpressed.

»Last time I saw the boy, he was a pillar of salt in the hallway. One of my most famous tricks by the way.«

You thought about that statement for a second, but then shook your head.

»Where is he then...?«

»What do I know?«

»That's not typical for Dan...«

Gabe rolled his eyes.

»Dan, Dan, Dan. What is it with him?«

»He's a friend, okay??« You frowned a bit, putting the cloth away.

The angel snorted in a bugged way.

»And what am I to you? Just your usual suspect?«

What was absolutely not usual was the way he looked now. Not just pissed or annoyed. Rather... hurt.
You had no idea what to respond to that.

»One day you kiss me, next day you scream at me, today you beat me up. And I'm the asshole?«

Gabriel turned his head away, teeth crunching. You watched him with this rare behavior and pondered. Have you really been that bad? Were you the twisted one? He had always been such a mystery, that you hardly ever considered his feelings. Could he really care about you that much? You opened your mouth to say something. Anything. But before you could, he stood up and turned around.

»...w-where are you going...?«

»...«

»... Gabriel...?«

You had said it loud enough, but he just went out of the room and closed the door behind him. That's how he leaves you? Sick and clueless… in his bed? Tortured by your terrible headache and this whole situation, you exhaled and closed your eyes. Somehow you didn't dare to leave this spot, plus, you were pretty sure you wouldn't be able to walk straight again. So you just stayed there and tried to clear your mind. To take a break.

It took about ten minutes until the door swung open again. Archie the dog rushed into the bedroom, followed his owner, holding a plate. Before you knew it, the little Jack-Russel laid on your belly, happily panting.

»Archie just had dinner, and... well he said you should be fed too.« Gabriel stated as he sat down at the edge of the mattress.

»... he said that?«

»... hmh...« He looked down at the plate for a while.
»I guess you won't let me spoon-feed you... as much as I'd enjoy that... so...«

He reached the steaming noodles over to you, barely looking into your eyes.

»... You have... cooked?« You mumbled, as you sat up straight.

The angel just took a short glimpse at you, which you interpreted as a yes. You took the fork to try your 'fodder'.

»... hm....«

»... what?«

»How much sugar is in that sauce...?«

»...uuuhm....«

You had to grin a little, and Gabriel laughed a bit in response. It was edible, in fact, it was quite good, so you kept on eating. He watched you for a while, with a slowly fading smile.

»So... listen.« He finally said.

You looked up from your meal, swallowing the bite.

»I'll help you finding Dan.«

»...really?«

»Yeah. But after that... you'll answer me one question. Honestly.«

His face was dead serious now, and you knew that he meant it. You didn't know what question that would be, exactly, but this was your best chance in finding Dan. Also it meant, that it really wasn't him, which relieved you.

»Okay.«

He nodded a bit, and stood up.

»Oh, and another thing.« He added, about to leave the room again.
»That will be tomorrow. You'll stay the night.«

At that a piece of noodle fell out of your mouth, making Archie wag it's tail pure joy.