Clint continued to stay clear of Tony. Natasha caught Tony one time as he was leaving the workshop so she could explain in a low tone that it was just until Clint was less likely to lash out in a fit of anger. Her small nod at the end signaled she understood where Tony was coming from, and he could see in her thoughts images of a man with a robotic arm and a sniper rifle.
Thor hung around and took great joy in the cell phone Tony gave him to contact Jane. The first one he used was fried within seconds, but after some adjustments, there were no further problems. Loki split his time between Thor and Tony, occasionally asking the latter some existential questions or poking him about his own time as Loki.
Steve’s habits didn’t change, although halfway through the week he spent a lot of time dealing with Fury as the man figured out something else was up with the lull. Bruce continued to remain a quiet lab partner for Tony and at one point told him quietly that he could understand why he’d made his decision.
Rhodey called daily, concerned and ready to kick someone’s ass if need be. Tony’s reassurances didn’t help much, but Pepper managed to keep Rhodey in line by also reassuring him that everything was handled.
Aside from that, everything was practically normal. If he ignored what was happening around him (fat chance of that), he could almost pretend nothing had changed. But there were his own worries to deal with, too.
Would Lilith take the offer where Azazel hadn’t? To be honest, Gabriel didn’t think so. Lilith had a lot more hurt and anger stored than Azazel, and she’d been cast out long before the Fall.
Then again, people always ended up surprising him. Lilith was no longer a demon. Although Gabriel doubted it, she could’ve changed. Maybe not for the better, but enough so that she could take his Father’s offer. Of course, Azazel hadn’t changed much beyond being able to use technology (but not build it; he stunk at that), and he’d been human like Gabriel.
And hadn’t Gabriel changed? Compared to billions of years as a divine being, thirty-seven as a human wasn’t even a blink of an eye. It didn’t even register. And yet he had been changed.
He hadn’t used to care so much. …Okay, that was a lie. He’d left Heaven because he’d cared too much. But he hadn’t done anything about it, and now…now he was willing to stick his neck out and do things. Without being kicked in the ass by Dean.
He felt more than he had before. Human emotions were terribly deep and expressive, and even though he was himself again, he still had his human emotions. It often made for a disconcerting contrast when he allowed himself to be Gabriel and not just Tony, because when human emotions suddenly interfered with his usual calmer state of being, it left him unable to deal with the outcome.
Gabriel had thought he’d be “normal” when he’d regained his Grace, but the truth was he wasn’t. At least not what his family would call normal. Like Castiel, he was irreversibly altered due to contact with humans.
So considering he had changed, why wasn’t it possible Lilith had? And why not Azazel? They had the chance, so why not?
Regardless, Azazel had his chance, and he’d thrown it away. Now it was Lilith’s turn.
And Gabriel would be waiting for whatever she decided.
It was a week and a half of waiting in painful suspense before anything happened. Even then, it wasn’t Lilith. Doctor Doom had decided that now was the opportune time to try and take New York for himself since Reed Richards had been sucked away to another world the day before when one of his machines had decided it had had enough. It had also taken the rest of the Fantastic Four and the building itself with it, so their absence was noted by the entire city. Tony was already working on getting him back by not using Grace (because Reed would need an explanation and “I’m an archangel” wouldn’t do).
