Gabriel swallowed, walking along at a brisk pace but still trying to make sense of it all. “Why do you think that was? Why was that your assumption when you first woke up? Was it because of the tattoos? Trust me, I know what it’s like to doubt your own reality.”
Adam wiped his face with the back of his hand, jogging forward with the luggage while Gabriel pushed down the top of the box when Cloud attempted to get out.
“I… I don’t know. The sun wasn’t yet up, but it was already bright, and as I crawled out in that woodland, surrounded by fog, it was just… so obvious to me that I was Abaddon. I think I still knew what I’ve come back for, and my mind adopted a thread that would help me carry out the plan.”
Gabriel took a deep breath of fresh air once they stepped into the cold morning outside. “For all it’s worth, maybe there was a divine power guiding you. We don’t know.” He took a better look at Adam, the man, and even though he wore the same exterior as Abaddon had, he no longer seemed invulnerable, and while his torment had been different from Gabriel’s, it meant that they understood one another on a level most people couldn’t.
After being exposed to drastic imagery in childhood, and forced to do evil things, it was a miracle Adam had turned out so kind. Knowing this only fueled the tenderness in Gabriel’s heart. They might both be broken men, but Gabriel was certain they could support one another when things got tough.
The air outside was damp and felt icy on his skin, but the skies were still dark at least, protecting them from the unwanted attention of whoever might wake up early. The stars illuminated their path through the field of potato plants, but with fog thickening close to the ground, he wanted to be out of here as soon as possible.
Adam hummed after taking his time to chew through Gabriel’s words. “You think God made me believe I was an angel so I’d put an end to all this cruelty?”
Gabriel had his hands full, so he bumped his forehead against Adam’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ve watched too many shows on the paranormal, maybe I’m naive, but we can’t know and understand everything. I want to believe there was purpose to our actions, that maybe something, God or the universe, was looking out for us.”
He looked back at the orphanage, silently saying goodbye to the only life he’d known. He was frightened to be out of this ungodly womb, but with Adam there to guide him, he’d learn to breathe on his own. He’d miss Mrs. Knight, the kitchen, and bringing smiles to kids’ faces with delicious pastries, but if he wanted a chance at a future, he had to say goodbye to the past.
Adam opened the passenger door and leaned against it. In the rising fog, his smooth hair floated in the soft breeze, as if the world wanted to tell Gabriel that there had in fact been something supernatural about his presence here. “I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”
Gabriel made sure Cloud was safe in the box as he placed it on the floor between his legs, but spoke as soon as Adam got in from the driver’s side. “It matters that I met you,” he said with his heart in his throat. He’d already confessed his love to an angel, but did Adam, the man, still feel about him the same way? He had an address, and some kind of life all the way in North Carolina, and that person who remained a shadow might not have chosen Gabriel of all people with all his flaws and baggage.
What if Adam had someone in his life already?
Just thinking about it turned Gabriel’s heart into a toxic wasteland, but he kept his face neutral until his man pulled him close with a protective gesture.
“Yes. You’re the only one who could ever understand what I’ve been through.”
Gabriel clutched him, inhaling the scent of Adam’s hair, which at this point felt like an elixir of peace. “I loved being with you. Not just because of what I believed about you. You’re still the same in my eyes. My angel.”
The heart drumming against his ear sped up, and as he breathed in his lover’s scent, the beating in the powerful chest might as well have been hot stones falling into a pile. He wanted to always feel their warmth.
“I still love being with you,” Adam uttered and rubbed his face against Gabriel’s head.
“What if I can’t adjust to the outside world?” Gabriel asked, stroking Adam’s back and unwilling to let go even though they should be driving to the pyramid. What difference would this minute of reassurance make?