Series: Angel Sanctuary
Pairing: Raphael/Michael
Status: one-shot, completed
Rating: G
Warning: Spoilers for Angel Sanctuary, because this takes place after the manga series.
Notes: This takes place ten years after the end of Angel Sanctuary in Briah (I think Briah, urgh). Characters that appear are Michael, Barbiel, and Raphael. The focus of this drabble is the relationship between Michael and Raphael. If Michael had that much time to think, how would he change? Would he change at all?
The day started off pretty good today. In fact, better than good. It has been ten years since the messiah succeeded. And it's been ten years since he waited for that moron to wake up.
Ten years meant nothing but a long wait, but it was nothing compared to the years he already spent in his body of stunted growth. Was the wait over?
Day after day, the boy angel visited the hibernation chamber. At first, days passed indefinitely when he had nobody to spar with on an equal level. All of his subordinates were terrified of him, despite his slight size in comparison. The closest to a friend as close as that perverted doctor was Khamael, and he, well, was just a loyal guard dog if anything. Months passed, yet nothing changed. Same routine everyday, which gave him a lot of time to think, and thinking was just the thing he hated. He wasn't the type to think, because when he tried, he would get a headache. Normally this would've been fine, because Raphael would bring him to his senses one way or another, but after the first year passed, Michael had to stop destroying the facilities in the hospital wing. There were too little resources left to destroy that weren't necessary for recovering all the damages caused by the war between heaven and hell as well as the ongoing fighting that surfaced every now and then.
Those ten years were long, painful years. Too many days of waking to nothing, too many hours of nothing to do, too many minutes of shouting, and too many seconds of anger. Or was that sadness? No, not sadness, for one day he would awake. One day, he hoped. Michael never thought twice about heaven's forces needing medical attention while Raphael was still around, but because he couldn't heal himself in the state he was in, a sense of fear arose. Still, Michael's rounds of destruction were frequent.
The resuscitation room Michael frequented was almost always quiet, except when Barbiel came in to perform the daily required monitoring. She always was a gentle soul, caring and thoughtful of her Raphael-sama, even now. It was also that nobody dared enter the room for fear Michael-sama would beat them senseless and not have someone like Raphael around in case they got hurt too badly.
Since the end of the third war between heaven and hell, Yetzirah, Atziluth, and Briah were taken over by the organization Zaphkiel left behind, Anima Mundi. Michael was the only active elemental angel left in heaven, but he didn't take any part in dealing with politics as usual. However, he still remained an authoritative figure. His association with his brother still tarnished his reputation, but anybody who valued their lives would not speak a word of it. Nobody knew what became of Lucifer or Alexiel, except that they seemed to cease to exist. With God destroyed and Adam Kadmon gone, the entire order and structure of heaven and hell changed. For better or for worse, nobody knew. The inevitable rebel groups sprouted up here and there, and the need for Michael was always present. That never changed.
But no fighting was ever enough to satisfy him. He always found time to visit Raphael everyday even if he was called to send troops to defend or attack whatever. No tears were shed, just frequent bouts of anger and the occasion calm talk to the cold glass case of the hibernation chamber. So ten years have passed now. Was Raphael going to awake?
Standing next to the chamber and gazing in at Raphael's sleeping face made him agitated. When was Barbiel going to come in today? Michael glanced irritably at the control panels at the head and foot of the device and pondered briefly about pushing some buttons himself, but decided not to. Then thought about it again.
"Shit, Raphael, you told me to stay by you for ten years. Well, it's been ten years, wake up already!"
The annoyed boy pounded at the glass and watched it vibrate. Luckily, Raphael had built the device strong enough to withstand any of his abuses, perhaps foresight? That damn doctor, if he had enough foresight, he could've prevented himself from needing to go into stasis in the first place.
"How dare you sleep so soundly when we have unfinished business?"
His voice rose, as it did everytime he had this... conversation... with Raphael.
As if by cue, the doors behind him opened with the noise of compressed air escaping and light heels clicking on the marble floor. The ever smiling Barbiel walked in with a clipboard in hand and her wavy hair curled in a loose bun. Donned in a pristine white lab coat for work, she was the head of the medical department while Raphael was absent from duties.
"Talking to Raphael-sama this morning as usual?" she spoke brightly, coming up to the control panel at the foot of the hibernation chamber and tapped away on the keys.
"Yeah, still out cold," Michael responded and turned to lean his back against the chamber. "You've been keeping tab as well as I have, will he wake up today or not?"
A moment of silence passed between the two while the mechanical clicks as her fingernails struck the keys and a series of electronic beeps in response filled the air. Then Michael saw her face lighten up visibly.
"Hai. The healing process is complete. I believe we can open the chamber..." she paused and seemed to chew her lip, then typed in something. "Now."
Michael's eyes lit up and he whirled to look down at Raphael through the glass, who was as still as ever, then up at Barbiel. She walked around Michael to access the panel at the head of the chamber and seemed to deactivate the lockdown. A loud decompression was heard, and the glass case slid open slowly. The two stared down at Raphael with eyes wide open, and neither spoke a word for an eternity of seconds, until...
"HEY YOU IDIOT!"
Barbiel winced at Michael's loud voice and returned her focus on Raphael. Apparently, Michael was not as patient. His head was halfway inside the chamber and close enough to sniff Raphael's face.
"WAKE UP ALREADY, TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED."
"Oi."
"Heh! Good morning, you lazy bum."
An elated grin broke out on Barbiel's face, and even though Michael-sama's head was blocking her view, she could hear her Raphael-sama's voice, even if it sounded a bit weak.
"Raphael-sama..." she spoke, even though she could not see him directly. "The healing process was successful?"
"Ah... Barbiel, is that you?" a soft but low voice spoke, as steady as she remembered so clearly all those years ago.
Even though Michael-sama didn't budge, she answered, "Yes, Raphael-sama. It's been ten years as per your instruction. I... I wanted to thank you, after all this time."
Still, Michael didn't move. Raphael didn't answer either, and Barbiel was beginning to feel uncomfortable. With a smile on her face, she realized her position and decided to leave despite how much she wanted to see Raphael now that he was back.
"I'll leave Michael-sama with you. Please call me if you need me, I'll be outside," she said in high spirits. Raphael-sama just woke up, she wouldn't want him to see her sad, so she quickly exited the room and closed the doors behind her.
The whole time Barbiel was trying to talk to Raphael, the blond man was gazing at Michael's eyes. Despite the loud clamour of his voice that woke him up, the first thing he saw with in his blurred vision was Michael's eyes, wide as they were, and... moist? Between slow blinks and his eyesight returning, the only thing he could see were Michael's golden eyes. It couldn't be, but, was he crying?
When the doors shut after Barbiel's leave, Michael's face scrunched up and warm drops splattered on Raphael's cool complexion.
"Mika-chan..."
"God, it's been ten fucking years, you bastard."
"Mika..."
"Do you know how LONG that is when you're alone?"
"I know, and thank you."
Slight yet strong arms lifted his shoulders and caught him in a tight embrace. The temperature in the hibernation chamber was rather cold, and the warmth he was suddenly surrounded by was the best feeling ever. With the strength of the arms holding him, Raphael pulled himself to a sitting position in silence. It was then that he heard soft choking noises. Michael's chin was pressed against his shoulder. Reaching up, he stroked the head of red hair that tickled his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Mika-chan."
"You said," a muffled sob interrupted his words, "You said you'll finish our fight when you wake up. For that, for that..."
"You've changed, you know that?" strength returned in the low voice of his.
"I was a fool for always blowing up at you, but I kept waiting for the day I could explode at you again," Michael replied, hastily quitting his tears and pulling away so that he could see Raphael's face.
A lazy but gentle smile emerged on Raphael's lips, and he traced Michael's face carefully with his fingers. "You grew up when I wasn't looking," he answered with a cocked grin.
"Heh, well you're still a perverted doctor."
"Really? Shall I examine my grown up patient now?"
"Feh, you're as bad as ever. Ten years of beauty sleep enough to cultivate that kind of perversion?" The vivacity in Michael returned after his short emotional moment. The redhead released the man's shoulders and helped him out of the hibernation chamber. "I missed you," he mumbled, looking down and away from the taller blonde.
"Hm?" Raphael pretended he didn't hear as he stretched himself out and patted at the ten-years old wrinkles on his suit that, of course, didn't go away.
"You gave me so much trouble making me stay by your side for ten years, not that I minded."
The man sighed loudly and stood still, watching the back of Mika-chan's head. He waited for whether Michael would walk out or turn around, and indeed he did do one of the actions.
As soon as Michael turned around, Raphael made eye contact with the boy. It was obvious that his physical growth seemed to have restarted slowly in his absence, yet he was still the same Mika-chan from before. His eyes still held the same depth, and his soul was ever more pure. How lucky he was, to wake up to his own redeemer.
"I missed you, too," Raphael whispered in between their gaze.
"Welcome back, then," was the reply.
Some thought they were close friends, and others thought they were like brothers. But only the two of them knew, that even after all this time together yet apart, they shared something much more.