Chapter Text
Bree didn't realize she was falling, she had never imagined the concept before as everything topside floated even without the use of her wings. When Lucifer fell, she had watched him writhe in pain and anguish as he ripped the burning feathers from his skin, yet she felt nothing.
For a millennia she had lived as Gabriel, a messenger to the gods, passing on the petty gossip and love messages between the arch angels - but decided a few decades ago to give it up. Plus who needs a nosy angel with smartphones these days.
She floated down to earth in the early 1920's and her first shock was at her own description. Usual misogyny - she guessed but she never did correct the mouth pieces of Him throughout the years, gender was a construct she never really cared much for anyway. She had landed in a small town south of a new country where Christianity seemed to be all the rage and all everyone could talk about was marriage and "purity".
“Fuck me” she thought “If only they knew what would await them at the pearly gates”.
She was one of the few higher angels that had aided Lucifer in his mission to give men free will, she was too craven to show face during the apple ordeal but he was happy enough to take the front of the blame. The others knew she was partly to blame but assumed they turned their blind eye ... for a time. Since then humans have always been amusing to Bree, who knew murder and adultery would be so fun!? She clocked in everyday to watch them live their mortal lives under this new found freedom that she had a small part in redeeming for them. Guilt ate at her as she knew Lucifer was suffering in hell and from what the propaganda construed, it was a horrific place to be.
When Gabriel had made her break to earth nobody noticed, she had been cast out anyway and who would care for the Lucifer loving angel that sat inside to watch humanity all day? She had discovered a love of music, of all types really! Then came the coffee, she was pretty sure it was the gateway to the alcohol and nicotine that she relied on to forget what "paradise" was meant to be. The humans that looked down on her mingled on Sundays to discuss their excitement of the afterlife, yet she knew what awaited them if they even got to see St Peter face to face at their supposed Elysium.
For around 100 years Bree dwelled on earth, she met a lover... or more, but humans are so fickle and their lifespans so short, a night or 2 would suffice but it's hard to be so close when their end is so near. Bree did have a kindred spirit when she first arrived, there was jazz in the air and she swore the man meant to kill her yet they kissed instead. She spent 6 months with him listening to his shows on the local radio and ignoring every red flag as she gazed upon his crooked smile. He died doing horrific deeds and every other lover cut short - no other lover could capture the sting of him.
The 1960's came and Bree was so amused when something called the "satanic panic" hit the streets, she actually joined some of the cults but nobody actually understood. Didn't they know who Lucifer was? What he stood for? The man gave you free will and you squander it on sacrificial lambs and sex on graves. She had tried to tell them to give a nice rubber duck to the cause but was often chased out for being an 'unbeliever'...okay then. The first few decades though she hungered and ached for more, greed & pride came to her easily at every opportunity, she clawed her way into sin to relish in what Free Will truly was and loved every minute of it. Drugs, alcohol, stealing, sex, gambling and conniving her way out of it all - possibly the only commandment she forgot to check off was murder (although she had come close a few times). Bree still had her wings though, surely she could make it back if they asked her too?
That day came sooner than she had expected, it might've been Easter or an equinox, she didn't care anymore. All she knew was one minute she was on her way to a boring library job, 100 years of debauchery to settle for a civil servant post, figures. She then didn’t have time to think as she was basically dropped into a portal to the courtroom. Looking up she had seen Adam sat in his full exterminator gear including the mask as if to hide his plain human face, masquerading as an angel amongst men whilst staring into her non-existent soul. She’d never liked the man, yet somehow he had gained power and influence since his short and shitty time on earth. He had decided due to her love of humans she could die like one...she guessed that's why she was falling.
Bree was screaming before crashing and for the first time in her horrifically long life, felt real physical pain. There was a bright light then only a red tinted darkness as she stared up at the gates, if she focused hard enough she could see Peter making a horrid gesture at her. She didn't know how long she lay there, her wings retreated like they did on earth and she could feel the ichor draining from her eyes and side.
“That bastard stabbed me in the ribs with his spear!” Bree thought to herself. An honour that she thought was only reserved for the son of God. Soon she heard voices but it didn't matter, she was now a fallen;
“Hopefully Lucifer finds me but if not, I deserve the wrath” she thought
Bree willed it in her power to scream:
“Lucifer”
"That's ... that's Gabriel!?"
"Wait, you don't mean..."
"Oh but I do, get her inside quick, she's a harbinger of bad news"
Had she slept backwards? She was sure she could hear an old timey radio playing the songs that she had heard when she first made a choice to land on earth. At times she caught some conversation but it was fleeting.
"why are they here"
"why would they cast an archangel down now"
"it's only 5 months till the extermination"
"...I knew you once..."
She woke with a start, radio static filling her ears as she made eyes with Lucifer sitting on the end of the bed, jumping she made to grasp him, a familiar face that she hadn't seen since an equinox a few decades before. Sobbing into his neck making choking noises and he soothed her head.
"Gabby, why are you here!?" Lucifer asked
"I guess they finally caught on to my sins" she replied in half a laugh, choking back tears.
He was a familiar scent, a lover from a past time that cared for her and loved her before his marriage to Lilith (and a few times after).
"How long have I been out" Bree managed to ask
"5 days" a voice started
An unfamiliar voice answered, it was kind and held on to her hand as she had asked it, Bree was not fond of touch & the urge to pull away was strong but she felt the warmth seep from their being to her numb fingers.
"5 days Gabby, don't mind my daughter Charlie you crashed at her place, outside the doors actually" Lucifer explained
She had forgotten that Lucifer had a daughter and went to remove her hand but decided against it, anyone in his circle was surely to be trusted. Turns out that heaven had sent a broadcast of them casting out an angel to prove their power so they knew she was arriving, guessing humiliating her on one plane of existence wasn’t enough. Bree had fleeting memories of that last visit to heaven, if she thought hard enough she thinks she had told Adam to fuck off a lot and shouted about the shame he brought about to humankind ... great. She supposed it was due to come out and after 100 years of abusing alcohol to hide it he had caught her on a particular hungover morning.
“Luci I may have pissed off the exterminators…” Bree started to explain what she knew, which was very little besides curse words and a few fireballs.
“HAH wow! Well you held your viper tongue longer than I thought you could” Lucifer chuckled back.
She felt the warmth from his laugh then threw her head back in the pillow staring at the dark ceiling above contemplating. Bree didn't really know hell, she'd been ignorant for years. Ignorant of her friend, ignorant to the suffering and sins of those that dwelled here yet knowing she'd probably be here sooner or later. Heaven doesn't have space for an angel shirting their duties and drowning in substances.
Lucifer decided she needed rest and some food, she had made sure to ask for coffee and deliberately not something stronger, they didn't need to know about the alcohol use, not yet anyway. A small creature with one eye brought in a tray with some pastries and a flask of coffee. Bree had giggled at her enthusiasm and wondered what brought such a cute thing to hell. Now alone she could hear that the radio was playing, that's where she had heard the static and voices of decades past softly humming tunes she used to dance too with a prohibited rye in hand. The voice of the host blared and she could place him at that time, she knew him...it must be an old repeat to make her fall asleep she thought to herself.
She awoke groggily, assuming that it must be later on in the night, she wasn’t sure since it was always dark here and the room was so vacant and dimly lit it could be anytime. For someone in this predicament she was calm and accepting of where she was, she deserved it surely? Maybe not the cruelty & humiliation Adam gave her but still in a way she was meant to be here since she helped create the apple. Suddenly she was aware of a presence, a shadow in the room that didn't belong. Bree stretched her power and found her angelic glow still worked down here, in the corner she spotted a looming shadow with red eyes.
"Are you here to take my dinner order because really I cannot be bothered" she asked, not wanting to judge the local characters.
The shadow gave a hearty chuckle and the static became louder around her ears. She felt the sensation of goosebumps rising across her body, a rare experience for an angel that she had only felt a few times in her long life.
"No my dear I was waiting for you to arise" the voice stated.
She took a sharp intake of breath and knew that voice, she heard it through the radio in the room here, had heard it in both her dreams and nightmares, heard it when the first human that she thought would kill her kissed her instead.
"Ah Alastor my darling, I expected you to be skulking around in hell somewhere"
He did not come to embrace her kindly, he did not come near the bed nor did he give a warm welcome. To be fair she didn’t deserve it, she thought.
"You did not tell me you were an angel" came the shadow in the corner.
"It simply didn't come up in conversation" she shrugged.
The shadow shivered giving a glaring look her way, she caught eyes with it.
"tElL mY DeAr hOW dId YOU eNd UP hEree" Static screamed in my ears as the entity stared back and she refused to back down or show fear.
"Well being the broadcaster you were I'm sure you know how" Bree proclaimed as she started to get out of bed. "If you wish to continue this chat you can appear in full form after I shower otherwise fuck off" and she continued towards a door hoping it was an ensuite.
All she heard was a staticy sigh and the creak of a chair as someone slumped down on it. She didn't care, she just needed to freshen up as she felt like I'd been drinking for a week straight, probably smelled it too.
Whilst showering Bree realized outside this door was him, the man that meant to murder her and had kissed her instead. The man who 100 years or so ago snuck up behind to lead her away but she had turned his mind through conversation. They had kissed passionately down the murderous alleyway, the first human Bree entwined her lips and soul with. Afterwards he didn't seem to want to leave her alone, he had taken her to the speakeasy and introduced her to dancing. He was there when she took her first rye shot ... probably didn’t help the years of alcoholism that followed.
She had read of his death in the papers, 1933 November edition she recalled. 'RADIO HOST TURNED KILLER, 137 MEN FOUND'. He'd murdered all those men and buried them in the Bayou, they called him a serial killer and spoke of his sins, they didn't know what sin was like she did. She looked over the men he'd killed: women beaters, deserters, loan sharks, child molesters. Was there redemption in that? Was this her own love of free will excusing him? No he was a murderer and she had known since they first locked eyes. Seems he had been killed whilst out burying his latest accomplishment, shot in the head like prey and not the predator he was, fitting.
If she were mortal and abided by the divine rules when entering the afterlife there was only one man she would want to spend it with, him. She always assumed given her status she would never have ended up here, near him again. He had set her non-existent soul on fire, he sparked in her an energy she could not extinguish, something of hellfire that she could never make head nor tail of. He was a killer, she knew that when they locked eyes that first night she landed on earth yet, he had hesitated on his instinct. She wasn’t sure if that was her alone or some divine intervention. If he had killed her would it even have mattered? She couldn’t be killed by man really, they could try and the fair share did, but the rest couldn’t hold a flame to his passion for it.
After staring at the tiled wall reminiscing, she stepped out the shower a lot less flustered than she should've been remembering the murderer outside the door; her one love never conquered, her kindred spirit, the one that she had made a getaway from. Bree composed herself and put on the plain clothes left there by Charlie.
“So Alastor, can I ask what brings you here?” she starts as soon as she steps out the door to prevent him getting a word in first.
“I was wondering when you would appear mon chere, I didn’t expect you to go upwards so I was biding my time" he replied “Although to keep me waiting nearly a century to make your descent was positively rude”
"You do realize the person you knew was an angel, an archangel at that, I was always meant to be up there" she flashed him a warning eye. "You, however, I am not surprised to see here. I thought I'd maybe have to scour hell to find you, yet here you are in my bedroom, how uncouth".
He gave a glare guessing she would’ve read about his murderous acts whilst alive, he however did not know Brees of late. She could sense his anger towards her, it radiated off him as his red eyes bore into her skull, guess he does hold a grudge. The shadows loomed tall around him as he went to stand. She could see now he had a cute set of ears and a little set of antlers atop a red mop of hair. Hmm he always had dark hair she was sure of, but then again he never had horns either. She made a note to check herself out in the mirror to see if she had gained any sinner quirks.
“Well Gabriel, I have been searching for you since that night you managed to slip through my claws” He grinned wide as he reached out before snapping his hand to a fist “I honestly thought you were turning me in”