Leviticus 20:13: "If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination."

And this he knows. He knows this well. He knows that God puts temptations in front of them to make them stronger, to test them, to make them better, but this is just unfair. He watches the man walk down the hallways with that damn Ishtar reincarnate, holding hands and talking in hushed tones. It was one of the few incarnations the Big Guy allowed, Enoch's wife, and kept him loyal, kept him happy. He scowls when he sees the two kiss. There's nothing he hates more than watching these two. And he knows that God is trying him. He knows that the Heavenly Father is testing him. They're like the perfect couple, Nanna's loyalty and Enoch's honest-to-God dedication piss him off. The man is everything God wants in a man in Heaven. He's beginning to resent the fact that he's God's second-in-command.

Because it's not the fact that he lusts after Enoch that will kill him, it's whether or not he actually acts on this feeling that will get him kicked out. So he waits, and he hopes that the feeling will pass. It's not his fault. He doesn't want to act on it, but it gets harder every single day. He can't even look at Enoch now, and when he does, he always sees him at his desk, writing something for God Almighty, Nanna sitting at the corner of his desk. She places a hand on his shoulder and smiles warmly at him, and he smiles back, and he feels like puking because it's so sappy and stupid that he's almost willing to give up all pledges to the Lord to just throw the man down and fuck him stupid.

But he won't give in. He won't: because there's already been one repeat of history, and he doesn't want another repeat. He doesn't want to be cast from the Heavens, and he doesn't want to give up his life, which is good. And when he talks to God, he knows that God knows that he's having problems. He knows when he approaches the Big Guy's throne to guard it while he intervenes in some human problem that God knows all, and so he "prays" to him. He talks to him, he tells him his problems when he's alone and when he's got just a spare bit of time. And he knows that God's answer is "later" because he needs to complete this test, but he'll prove that he is better than the one that came before him. He'll prove that he is worthy of all the tasks he's been given.

The other archangels give him sympathetic looks, and he knows they, too, have all undergone temptations, and this is how God weeds out his angels from the demons. He's determined to make this work, to show the Holy One he is worthy of everything his status bestows upon him. He talks to the archangels in his spare time, and he has never found more comfort in his comrades' arms. They talk and jest if there's nothing for them to do, and Gabriel is worthy of being the angel of wisdom. They are all encouraging and helpful, and they all know that the Lord's answer will come soon enough.

And he can see the pride in the Lord's eyes as he battles with his urges, even as his own eyes narrow.

Because he will not let his name repeat history.

I don't even know if this fandom is alive, but I just got the game, and I'm in love.