It seemed to Frank that he had barely shut his eyes before he was being shaken back into consciousness again, but that was becoming a routine for him with each day that passed after he and Gerard had reclaimed Michael's sword, so instead of being disgruntled like he usually would be, he had grown used to this.
Every hour seemed to drag on into eons now that there was nothing to do but wait for the Leviathan to show signs of awakening, and although Frank kept himself as busy as he could, there was always periods of downtime in which he had nothing to do besides dwell in his thoughts.
Frank spent most of these occasions with Gerard, knowing his husband needed the company and distraction maybe even more than he did. They were both afraid - so terribly afraid, but neither of them truly wanted to focus on that fear since there was little they could do to alleviate it.
Both of them could tell when it became too much though, and that was when Frank would suggest they go flying for a bit, or they would retire to their room to bury their anxiety in each other's skin, and it worked - mostly.
The nights were the worst for Frank, especially when Gerard would fall asleep, which he typically did first. Frank's body was finally becoming acclimated to its angel nature, so he no longer craved rest like he used to, and with his emotions so on edge, it was hard to calm himself enough to allow his body to shut down for a few hours.
But those painful hours with nothing besides his thoughts were coming to an end, because along with the gentle hand that was gripping Frank's shoulder as his eyes blinked open was Brendon's familiar voicing whispering the sentence Frank and been both anticipating and dreading.
"It's time."
Frank simply nodded in response instead of burying back under the blankets with a complaint on the tip of his tongue like he would have a few weeks ago, because this is what he had been waiting for, and as nervous as he was about actually facing the Leviathan, it was almost a relief to finally be able to do something about it instead of twiddling his thumbs while the world fell apart around them.
Frank shook Gerard awake gently once Brendon had left, and for once, Gerard awoke easily, as if he somehow knew how important today was even in his unconscious state. His eyes went wide when Frank explained to him what was happening in a hushed whisper, but besides that, he showed no visible signs of fear.
They both dressed quickly in the clothing they had already set aside for this exact occasion. Armor would be useless against the immense strength of the Leviathan, so they had chosen protective leather gear that would protect them from glancing blows without hampering their movements at all, which was necessary since speed was going to be their greatest asset in this fight.
Once they were ready, Frank turned to Gerard for a moment, placing one hand on his cheek briefly as their gazes locked. Frank did his best to imprint Gerard's face to his memory, because although he didn't want to imagine a world without Gerard in it, he wasn't oblivious to the dangers they were about to head into, so if this was one of the last moments they were going to have together, he was going to make the most of it.
"Are you ready?" Frank whispered, trailing his fingers down Gerard's tense spine idly as he spoke, pulling their torsos closer together in the process until their chests were touching.
"As I'll ever be." Gerard's tone was determined and strong, and even though Frank was aware that his husband was afraid - hell, he was too, but Gerard was brave as well, and now was not the time to be getting cold feet at the last second, so Frank swallowed back the words that were hovering in the back of his throat, plastering on a hopefully convincing smile instead.
"Come on then baby," Frank whispered, pressing a light kiss to the side of Gerard's mouth before pulling away reluctantly. "No sense in putting this off for any longer.
"I love you," Gerard murmured softly as Frank led him out of their room after making sure the sword of Michael was securely fastened to the holster strapped to his back, his body crowding so close to Frank's that it would have been smothering if Frank didn't crave the contact just as much as Gerard did.
"I love you more," Frank reassured him, reaching backward so he could capture Gerard's hand in his, lending the two of them a modicum of strength through the simple gesture that they were both in desperate need of.
~~~
The actual process of leaving was relatively easily due to the fact that they had been preparing for this extensively over the past few days, so once word had come in that the Leviathan had begun to awaken, everyone knew exactly what to do.
In what seemed to be no time at all, everyone was assembled in the main entryway, but even that large space was filled to the brim with the numerous amount of bodies it was attempting to hold. Some angels were forced to spill into the adjacent hallways since there just wasn't enough room for such a huge gathering, but they would be heading out soon, so no audible complaints were voiced about the cramped quarters.
Almost the entire garrison would be present at this battle, only a small team was staying behind to make sure that Heaven wouldn't be completely neglected. Frank hadn't known that this many angels still inhabited the building since so many of them were absent dealing with the disasters happening around the globe, but by his count there was upwards of one hundred of his brethren surrounding him, and he knew there were a few more people that were out of his sight as well.
Frank was crowded in between Brendon and Gerard near the doorway, doing his best to keep a hold of his husband's hand so they didn't get separated in the press of bodies. Gerard jumped slightly when Brendon cleared his throat loudly, waiting for everyone to quiet down before he began to speak. Frank wrapped his arm around Gerard, apologizing to the few people he elbowed in the process, hoping that his touch would calm him down, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet until he felt Gerard slowly relaxing into his side.
"I'm going to keep this short since our mission is simple in theory," Brendon called out once silence had finally fallen, projecting his voice the best that he could so that the people in the back wouldn't have to strain their ears to hear. "We are headed to Somalia as you should all already know. As far as we can tell, the head of the Leviathan is located near there in the Indian Ocean. We will be taking a portal so we can arrive quickly, and once there we will meet up with the surveillance teams already present and plan our attack based on their advice. Make sure to stick together, and if for some reason you don't arrive at the correct destination, find a way to get there as fast as you can."
A low murmur of assent rang out once Brendon had finished, followed by the subtle shifting of limbs and weapons. Pictures of the beach they would be landing at had been passed out days ago, so visualizing their location shouldn't be a problem, at least Frank hoped it wouldn't be.
"Are we all on the same page?" Brendon asked, his eyes scanning the nearby faces which all held varying looks of determination and fear. "All right then, team one will head out now, and make sure to wait in five minute intervals before the next team leaves."
Frank began making his way outside then, pulling Gerard along behind him since they had both been placed in team one. Per Billie Joe's recommendation, each group contained about twenty people so the portal wouldn't get overwhelmed since they would all be using the door located in front of the garrison, and their arrival would be smoothed out by the time gaps in between each group, otherwise they risked landing on top of each other.
It seemed to take ages to traverse the short distance to where the entrance to the portal sat at the edge of the landing field, at least in Frank's mind. He constantly glanced about, trying to gain courage from the sight of his friends surrounding him, but it was still a struggle not to drag his feet as he kept pace with Gerard's longer strides.
All too soon but oddly enough what felt like eons later, the familiar shimmering opening filled Frank's line of sight. Not counting the one he and Gerard had taken during their initial return to heaven, he hadn't been through a portal for years, not since he had to resort to using one to visit Gerard's old gravesite back when his wing was too damaged to make the long journey by air, and they never failed to remind him of that sorrowful time even if it had been over a decade ago.
And of course, those memories didn't help Frank's current mood - in fact, they just made everything worse. They were a painful reminder of what his life could very well be like if things went badly today, and although Frank knew he had no control over the events that were about to unfold, he swore then and there that he would do everything in his power to make sure that Gerard was spared from any harm, even if that meant placing himself in danger instead.
This time would be different though, Frank had to believe that or else he wouldn't be able to go through with this. It wasn't an unrealistic expectation, Gerard was healthy now, not chained and suffering after been tortured by Lucifer like he had been before, and they had all of Heaven on their side in this battle, so this endeavor wasn't a completely lost cause at the very least.
"No more than five at a time," Brendon reminded them as people began to enter the portals in pairs of two or three. Frank looked up just in time to see Mikey and Ray for a brief moment before their forms dissipated, leaving only a few more angels in front of them until it would be his and Gerard's turn.
"You doing okay love?" Frank questioned, trying to keep his tone lighthearted so Gerard wouldn't pick up on any of his internal distress.
"Yeah...just nervous. I don't know if this portal works the same way, but the one we used to get in and out of Hell hurt like a bitch," Gerard giggled softly, snapping his mouth shut when the humorous sound transformed into something a bit more hysterical.
"It's not too bad, just keep your eyes closed and you'll be fine," Frank reassured Gerard, moving up a few paces when Billie Joe stepped into the shimmering area along with three other angels. "It mostly just makes you feel dizzy and tingly, in fact, the first time I traveled through one, I got a boner," Frank admitted sheepishly, earning himself a honking bout of laughter from his husband.
"Really?" Gerard exclaimed, his raised voice and out of place mirth acting as a balm to Frank's shot nerves, and even though he didn't miss the raised eyebrows and questioning stares being shot in their direction, he didn't really give a shit if the rest of the garrison thought he had gone crazy.
"Sort of, I mean - I was probably at half mast if I'm being honest, but it was my first stiffy as an angel, before then I wasn't even sure if we could still get it up."
"Oh my god, that hilarious," Gerard chuckled, seemingly no longer bothered at all by the fact that it was their turn to enter the portal next. "I wonder if that will happen to me."
"You better tell me if it does," Frank grinned as they started the short walk into the multicolored swirls that composed the portal, keeping Gerard's attention on him as he began to feel the familiar pins and needles sensation forming in his toes, "or maybe I'll just check for myself."
"I don't know if I will, I mean...you did tire me out last night and -"
The rest of Gerard's sentence was torn away by the sudden rush of air that surrounded them, the portal's magic dragging them forward as soon as they crossed over the threshold separating it from the rest of the world. Frank grasped onto Gerard tightly, making sure his husband had shut his eyelids before doing the same thing, and although Frank wasn't a fan of this form of transportation, it was almost enjoyable with Gerard there to anchor him as their bodies spun and twisted violently.
Sooner than Frank had expected, they were being deposited onto a sandy surface, the soft terrain causing Frank to stumble heavily, and he probably would have fallen if Gerard didn't latch onto his wrist and pull him back up.
"Thanks love," Frank beamed up at Gerard before turning his attention to their surroundings, taking in the flurry of activity that was going on all around them. Angels and what Frank knew to be demons loyal to their cause were running to and fro, some clutching weapons, others holding what looked to be messages, and one man was even carrying two chickens for reasons that Frank couldn't explain.
Just when Frank was about to head in the direction he had seen Brendon and Ryan striding toward, a sudden weight descended on his shoulder, and this time Frank actually did fall, dragging Gerard down with him. Frank would have panicked if it wasn't for the gruff voice that accompanied what he now recognized as a large arm wrapped around his shoulder, so instead of lashing out, he felt his face breaking into a wide grin.
"You motherfuckers," Bob chortled, and although Frank couldn't see his face from his current position, he could tell that his expression most likely mirrored his own. "I missed you assholes, 'bout time you stopped by for a visit."
"I thought you didn't like hugging Bob," Gerard teased, poking at Bob's wrist lightly as he tried to extricate himself from Bob's unexpected embrace, and now that Gerard had brought it up, Frank vaguely remembered Bob mentioning his distaste for the act in the past.
"I don't," Bob defended himself hotly, sitting up quickly which allowed Frank to breathe easily once more, "but this is a special occasion and all, it's been fifteen years since I've seen you and all."
"Don't lie, you're a secret softie at heart," Frank joined in, scraping as much sand off of his clothing as he could before trapping Bob in another hug.
"Shut up," Bob groaned, but he did squeeze Frank back for a brief moment before shoving him away again. "Last time I'm nice to you fuckers."
"You have to be nice to us though or else we might get so upset we won't be able to fight the Leviathan," Frank pointed out, using all of his concentration to keep a straight face even though he was silently choking on his stifled laughter.
This was exactly what Frank needed right now, and he was so glad that Bob had found them as soon as he did. He knew they would have seen him eventually since he had been in charge of the team that was watching the Leviathan for any signs of movement, but he had forgotten how much he enjoyed the demon's brash sense of humor and awkward affections.
"True..." Bob sighed in defeat, pointedly ignoring Gerard who was now bent over and clutching his waist while laughing so hard Frank was honestly impressed by the fact that he was still standing, "doesn't mean you aren't still a little shit though."
"I take that as a compliment."
"Whatever," Bob sighed, rolling his eyes at the pair of them. "Now come on, let's get further inland before the next group of angels lands on top of us, I think you've spent enough time with your ass in the sand for one day."
"Well I won't argue with that," Frank nodded, giving Gerard a moment to compose himself before linking their fingers and following Bob toward a row of tents where most of the other angels seemed to be gravitating at.
"This is what we're calling headquarters," Bob explained as they walked, pride coloring his tone a golden shade that grew more vibrant with every word. "Each station has a purpose, one holds a stash of both Levian and Verium so we can replenish our essences without leaving if needed, that one over there holds the maps in which we record all of the recent disasters as well as track the Leviathan's movements, here is where we compose and send out the missives that can't be spoken mentally because of distance, that's the armory, and we also have a mess hall since a lot of my demons still like to eat food regularly."
"This is amazing Bob," Frank gushed, and it really was. Bob had created a functioning army camp that seemed to be running like clockwork, proving what a great leader he actually was despite his reluctance to take such a role originally.
"Eh it's alright if I do say so myself," Bob smirked, the way his eyes were sparkling belaying his casual tone. "You probably want to head to the -"
"Wait." Frank held up an arm to halt Bob's forward motion, but Bob had already frozen in place too, his eyes going wide as he craned his neck around so he could peer behind them.
"What's going on?" Gerard asked, his eyes dancing from Bob to Frank and back again nervously when neither of them immediately spoke.
"Hush for a second," Frank whispered, closing his eyes so he could better concentrate on the faint mental message that was sounding at the corners of his mind.
"Enemies spotted, demons approaching from the south that are not on our side, all troops that aren't otherwise occupied should fly out to stop them."
"We might be under attack," Frank gasped, turning to Bob quickly to see if he knew anything about this. "Did you call in any other demons that we don't know about, because there is a large group heading our way that we weren't expecting."
"No...I didn't, and I don't think they are friendly," Bob whispered, a look of fear crossing over his face that seemed out of place on the usually stoic man, "unless I'm mistaken, and I'm pretty fucking sure I'm not given how long I spent in Hell, I'd bet my life that Lucifer is with them, I can feel his aura from a mile away."
"Shit," Frank cursed sharply, tugging at his hair in frustration as the camp exploded now that the news had gotten out.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Bob chuckled weakly, his knuckles clenching around the hilt of the sword that was holstered at his side. "Well I don't know about you, but that fucker isn't setting foot in my camp without a fight from me...you in?"
"Right behind you." Frank nodded determinedly before unleashing his wings, his body seething with fury as they took to the air, joining everyone else headed in the same direction, the sudden mass of supernatural beings blurring into a flurry of feathers and slender bones with the single-minded purpose of preventing Lucifer from carrying out whatever nefarious deeds he was planning on committing.
Hello all of you lovely people.
So I've been gone for about a month which wasn't my intention, but I'm struggling a bit right now with life in general so updates have gotten slow on everything.
I finally managed to finish this though so that's good.
A few of you were wondering if Lucifer was going to be making an appearance and I forced myself not to respond so that this would be a bit of a surprise.
Vote and comment if you'd like they make me very happy.
Chapter dedicated to stake-my-heart
I'm a pain in women's clothes
<3 starr