The Confectionary Chronicles || HP/SPN

Lollies and Loki- CH4

CHAPTER FOUR

Reuniting with Morgana on the Enchanted Isle- the island the woman practically ruled, populated as it was with disciples of the Old Religion- had been, much as Gabriel had anticipated, a true delight. The High Priestess had welcomed him warmly and hours later, once she had fallen into an exhausted slumber following said warm welcoming– one of the many, many benefits to phenomenal cosmic powers was no refractory period– Gabriel used his grace to keep her asleep while he studied just how Hecate had gifted her with her magic until he was confident he could replicate the effect.

Needing time to recharge before travelling through time again, and not in a hurry because he would be returning to the exact point that he left, Gabriel stayed with Morgana on the Enchanted Isle for a few days. On one of the few occasions when they weren't making good use of her bed, Gabriel explained to Morgana the situation with his little disciple– well, he explained a highly edited version of the situation to her that didn't include either time travel or the fact he planned on removing Hecate's magic from Hermione and replacing it with his own.

Morgana was visibly startled and her surprise wasn't unwarranted. The Gabriel of this time had been very firmly entrenched in his role as Loki; like most of the pagan gods and goddesses, he'd had little to no interest in the individual lives of his followers with his own pleasure being the priority. Humans had been sacrificed in his name and he'd done nothing about it, too busy fucking and getting wasted on Asgardian mead in an effort to erase his pain, loneliness and heartbreak to care. He'd been entirely more Loki then Gabriel at this point of his life, so it was only Loki who Morgana was familiar with.

Loki had liked the clever, sly woman, even with Hecate's power tangled around her soul, and he'd never hurt her. He hadn't been particularly kind either, but Morgana wasn't the sort of woman who wanted to be pandered to; she was all teeth and nails and fight. Men had to earn their place in her bed; she liked to submit but she didn't give her submission to just anyone– they had to be powerful enough to hold her down and take her the way she wanted to be taken, and if they couldn't do that then they were all out of luck.

Really, it wasn't surprising that Merlin was her only other male lover; he was the only man who wasn't a pagan god or a humanoid supernatural creature powerful enough to overcome her.

Morgana also happened to be very amoral, which meant she'd never judged any of his past actions. Of course, this was a time where the gods and goddesses were above reproach so even Merlin with his overdeveloped sense of morality hadn't had a problem with Loki.

It had taken him over a thousand years, but Gabriel had eventually found enough of his faith in his Father again that he moved on from the person– well, archangel/pagan god– he'd been at this point in time.

(A hundred or so of those years he'd spent tied to a rock with little to do other then reflect on his choices since leaving Heaven, but he did not think about that specific period of time. Ever.)

The only time he'd come close to losing his faith in his Father again and reverting back to Loki had been in the early 1900's when two devastating wars had rocked the entire planet and shocked every single being in existence. Gabriel had been shaken to his core in a way that he hadn't been since Michael had cast Lucifer into the Cage. Poor Hel had been inconsolable, in tears for the first time since she'd cried in his arms after he'd escaped that fucking rock; every reaper, god or goddess involved with the dead had been worked to the bone and yet had still struggled to keep up with the influx of souls.

He'd questioned how his Father could have ever let something as horrific as what humans had dubbed "World War I and II" happen, how if He really loved humanity He could just let them destroy each other. It had taken Gabriel a long time to look past all the death and the suffering to see the breathtaking examples of humanity that shone through the darkness and brutality of war; to see the bravery of a little girl who hid in a wall with her faith unshaken. The kindness of a Nazi who smuggled a blanket to a dying young man in a death camp. The valor of soldiers who sacrificed their own lives to save complete strangers. The selflessness of the doctors and nurses braving the frontlines to stitch the wounded and dying back together. The gentleness of an old woman who smiled and forgave the young soldier who cried as he took her life. The courage of a child determined not to hate those forcing her to march to her own death and instead be at peace with the world as she left one life for the next. The enemy combatants who, on Christmas Eve, laid down their weapons and for one night shared their food and cigarettes and sang. All of the humans who stood tall and proud for what they believed in, for their faith and for what was right.