Chapter Text
Manny was living the high life.
It was easy to do, since everything in Heaven seemed tailor made to making sure you had a good time.
“Geronimo!” Alexander Smith, the muscle-bound jock who he had befriended for lack of knowing anyone else, was soaring through the air like a bullet. Wind whipped through all their hair and made Alex’s short style slick back even further as he fell to the ground without a care in the world.
Molly Di Martello, permanent party girl and eternal New Yorker, was cheering wildly as she pinwheeled through the air like a millstone. The spider-like winner kept trying to flap her arms to go faster as she fell towards the long distant ground that was rapidly approaching.
As for himself? He was laughing like a loon as he and his new friends skydived.
It was fun, just doing things for the sake of doing things that he had never had a chance to do in life. First his lack of anything resembling wealth, then college, then the sickness… he had little chance to just go out and do things for the sake of doing them and he was making up for it big time by crossing items off his bucket list he hadn't been able to cross off in life.
Skydiving? Well, what could he say but yes?
He laughed as he swayed his body back and forth till he was spinning as much as Molly was, Alex laughing at the both of them as they approached the ground rapidly. An endless sea of clouds passed them by, fluffy as wool and as white as fresh milk, as they rapidly approached the earth below them.
Or at least, the closest approximation to earth that angels could make.
“Faster, faster, faster!” Molly cried out with glee as she somehow sped up and surpassed them both, her fuzzy body darting down like a cannonball.
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness that surrounded him, nothing but rushing air and whipping winds all around as he felt like he was floating on nothing at all. It was a particular feeling, having nothing to tether you to the ground and closing the distance to reach it.
It was also exhilarating.
He opened his eyes, saw that he had passed the lowest cloud layer, and immediately brought out the Official Cosmic Frontier Hoverboard that he had dreamed of for years and years. With a smile and a simple press of his foot, he activated the board and began to surf the air like Captain Avery.
This, he decided, was the life.
**********
“Folks, here we are at Dixie’s parlor and Alexander Smith is about to break the world record- how much triple fudge chocolate ice cream can he eat before he explodes?” Molly spoke into a fake microphone as she stared with utmost seriousness at Alex, who was scarfing down chocolate after chocolate bowls of ice cream.
“It’s utterly revolting… and yet I can't look away.” He was transfixed, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight as the Jersey Winner scarfed down ice cream after ice cream without stopping for breath. It was something Luz had tried to do once with a simple three ice creams when she was younger, only stopping when her head froze up and she started complaining.
He and Cam had laughed before helping her out… he missed them so much…
He blinked, frowned, and shook his head. Beau had told him to focus on what he can change rather than what he can’t- and the fact his family was decades away from joining him was something he couldn't change at all.
It was also recommended by the little lion cherub that he find fun activities to fill his days with so that he could make friends and be sociable. Nothing was worse for getting lost in your own head than isolation, after all.
And so, he found the two winners he had crashed into his first day, and they hung out as much as possible.
“Manny doesn't believe in you, Alex!” Molly joked, her voice light and airy. “But I do- you’re almost there!”
“Seriously, this can’t be healthy.” He muttered with fascination as the cherubs brought more ice cream to the Jersey Winner.
“Oh, it’s perfectly fine.” Dixie replied, carrying the last few bowls with her trunk as she waved a hand at him. “Nobody knows what this ‘brainfreeze’ thing you keep talking about is so it must not affect anyone up here!”
“Neither does the limitations of human biology, apparently.” He muttered as Alex slammed a final bowl down and cheered, both the angelic customers and cherubic servers all cheered in exaltation as Dixie brought out a small paper crown to place on top of Alex’s head.
“Congrats on winning the challenge, you are now the King of Ice Cream.” Dixie said happily as Alex grinned.
“Bow before me, mortals!” Alex cried out and he rolled his eyes and did just that to the muscle-bound jock.
**********
Summer, it turned out, was whenever you wanted it to be up here.
“Alright, the brats are smoking, and we have a whole hog in the back that Beau and his friends are working on.” He said happily, working a truly spectacular smoker that looked ripped straight from the BBQ competition circuits. “Molly, you want your steak done medium-well?”
“You better believe I want it medium, Manny!” Molly called out from the massive inflatable turtle she was reclining on, the pool floaty gently bobbing in the water as she sipped at a nice margarita.
Alex and his new boyfriend Julio were currently playing a game of volleyball with a few of his own neighbors he’d invited for lack of knowing anyone else. He wanted to invite the cherubs as guests, but they got weirded out at the idea of just sitting around being waited on by a winner. So finally, he caved and said Beau and his friends could come so long as they worked on the ‘cue with him.
“It’s almost ready, Mr. Noceda.” Alex’s own therapy cherub, a purple lamb that he just wanted to sit down and run his fingers through the truly fluffy wool of, looked skittish but happy with his hands covered in spices and sauce.
He grinned at the little lamb cherub. “That’s awesome, Collin! Go tell the others that the food is almost done.”
The lamb saluted and he flew off to begin informing everyone that the lunch/dinner combo was almost complete.
He smiled; he had always loved holding parties. It made him feel… complete to know that people were enjoying his hospitality. He and Cam used to throw amazing block parties… they had such big plans to throw even more parties after Luz was born…
A sizzle sounded out and he looked to see a tear had fallen on the steak, tracking spice as it sizzled away into nothingness. He rubbed at his eyes furiously and yet, apparently, he didn't cover himself well enough because Beau, ever dependable Beau, could be felt coming in for a hug.
The lion was good at hugs.
He smiled as he rubbed the mane of the little therapy cherub, smothering bad thoughts just as much as he smothered the meats on the grill.
**********
He tapped his glass of wine and considered his afterlife.
He’d been here… goodness, it was hard to tell considering the weather was whatever you personally wanted it to be. Maybe two or three years now he’d been dead, and his afterlife was fine.
It was fine. He was fine.
“Foods ready, everyone!” Alex announced as he carried a delicious smelling dish over to the two of them. Julio and he were cute together and yet it somehow never cut into the three amigo’s time to hang out. He was grateful his friends still wanted to spend time with him even when his mood darkened.
Which it didn’t, because things were fine.
“Is that an Eggplant Parmesan?” Molly asked suspiciously as she eyed the food like it had personally offended her. He’d met her mother once, having them all over for dinner more than a few times as Maria Di Martello apparently made enough food to feed an army.
“Yeah?” Alex sounded confused as he looked between the dish and Molly. “What’s wrong with it?”
“I’m Italian.” Molly said, stabbing one of the parm’s and crunching it like a professional food critic. “My mom makes the best Italian in Heaven whenever I’m over.” She closed her eyes and continued chewing before staring at Alex. “It’s… okay.”
“Okay?” The jock looked a bit annoyed as he gestured at the food. “I spent an hour working on this and it’s just ‘ okay? ’”
“Again, I’m Italian. You’re lucky I said it was passable at all considering the last time you cooked, Heaven had to invent a fire department.”
“Right, says the girl whose mom once called her completely and utterly useless in the kitchen.” Alex grinned and crossed his arms defiantly as he raised an eyebrow at her.
Molly smirked impishly and began needling him playfully, the two falling into a familiar routine as they bickered.
Personally, he was just happy to get food.
Heaven was… nice. It was nice, that was his final thought. He spent his days doing nothing but enjoying himself and he was fine. He didn't do anything but write fanfiction of Cosmic Frontier, hang out with his new friends, and just enjoy life to the fullest. He was fine.
Things were fine.
He put the fork down with a sigh as he slumped in his chair, the two bickering winners stopping their play-fight to look at him with worry. “Manny?” Alex asked, his voice concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m bored.” There, he said it, it was all out in the open.
He was soul-shatteringly, heartbreakingly bored.
He had always liked working with people and being active, going out to work with his hands on whatever project needed doing. He liked getting dirty and working up a sweat as he made life better for others. He had thrown himself into being an ambulance driver because the work had truly made him smile, knowing he was helping people.
And now there was nothing to do anymore… and he was bored.
“Manny… this is Heaven.” Alex explained quietly. “Just, you know, go find something to do. Like rock climbing, you wanna go rock climbing with me and Julio later?”
“Molly took us rock climbing three weeks ago.” Alex winced at his statement and tried for a saving throw.
“Right… but what about without harnesses?”
He stared at the Jersey boy insult he slumped in his chair in defeat. “Yeah, okay. I hear you.”
“Personally, I don't get what the big deal is.” Molly slurped away at the bubbly soda she had with her and looked at him funny. “You did good work on earth and now you get to relax for once in your life. Most people would call that a win.”
“I’m not most people.” Molly and Alex rolled their eyes and he simply sighed. “I’m… actually thinking of getting a job.”
They both stared at him like he had grown a second head. Molly co*cking her fluffy head to the side and Alex raising an eyebrow.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve never… I can't just wait for my daughter and wife to show up- that’ll take forever and a half.” And if they showed up before they died of old age, he would probably do something that got him kicked out of Heaven. “I need something to take my mind off of things.”
Now, finally, they looked understandingly at him, Alex nodding his head sadly while Molly had a faraway look in her eyes. Alex and him looked at her in a bit of worry since long silences were not her preferred style.
“When I was… when I first got here, I waited and waited for my brother Anthony to show up.” Molly said quietly. “He was my twin… he was my best friend too. I waited so long that St. Peter was forced to come in and tell me that… that…” She sighed and slumped in her chair, a sad look on her face. “That he died a long time ago… and didn't make it in.” She rubbed at her eyes and smiled. "We have a small shrine to him at Mom's house up here... it's all we can do to remember him by."
“I died before my parents did.” Alex said softly, reaching out to grab ahold of one of Molly’s hands. “It was a car accident… I get it, Manny. I really do.”
Well, he would be a right bastard if he didn't share his own grief after that. “I spent so long in a hospital bed due to cancer… if I spend any more time still as can be, I’ll go crazy.”
The three of them sat in companionable, if grieving, silence.
“That’s it!” Molly rocketed to her feet and plastered a wide smile on her face. “No more frowns because I know what we’re going to do today!” She reached out to grab ahold of their shirts and yanked the two of them out of their chairs and towards the door. “We’re all going to get jobs and be happy friends forever!”
“Wait, hold on-” Alex tried to get out as Molly dragged them along like purse dogs.
“I didn’t even think of seeing if you two wanted to get a job with me.” He chuckled nervously as he used his wings as a cushion beneath him. “It would be really swell if you two joined me.”
“That’s the spirit!” Molly shouted as she kicked the door down and dragged them out of the house.
“But my Eggplant!” Alex cried out as they were dragged down the streets of Heaven.
**********
The shining lights and shinier architecture were a familiar sight to him now that he had spent so much time in Heaven. New buildings rose and fell like clockwork as winners got bored and moved on to new things, making sure that the cherubs who maintained Heaven were never out of a job.
He still felt absolutely amazed by the fact that Heaven was both nothing like what the Bible said, and everything it promised and more. It was so modern and clean, like New York without the grime. He said as much to Molly who laughed and punched him in the shoulder.
“You shoulda seen the big apple back in my time. Newfangled skyscrapers everywhere, some wackjob named Lucky muscling in on our family's turf, no world wars at all…” Molly sighed in nostalgic pleasure. “Ah, those were the days.”
Okay, this was new. “You knew Lucky Luciano?”
She blew a raspberry. “Not personally. Dad ranted and raved about how he was some bigshot who didn't respect the Di Martello family at all, we were the big shots of New York until he came around and started forcing us out.” She laughed heartily, “Anything that pissed dad off made me happy, so I was a big fan.”
…okay, he was hanging out with a Mafia princess in the halls of Heaven. His afterlife had gotten quite crazy, it seemed.
“You ever think about what happened to the Di Martello's?” Alex asked curiously and she waved a hand through the air.
“Don't need to.” She smiled at the two of them and slung an arm over each of their shoulders. “The Office of the Joybringer sometimes gives you an update on your earthly descendants and family. Apparently after everyone died my uncle took over and turned the restaurant dad was using as a tax shelter into a legitimate business.” She smirked at them. “Oh, I bet daddy is rolling over in whatever unmarked grave he was buried in…”
“Wait, wait, hold on.” He would focus on grilling her about her Mafia family later, there was an altogether more important detail he was focusing on. “We can talk to our loved ones?”
“Eh…” Alex shrugged and looked away towards one of the rooftop clubs of Heaven with a wistful expression. “Not really, it's more like… you can hire a CHERUB squad to give out a blessing to your loved ones and that's about it.”
“But if Emily the Joybringer likes you, then she'll use the great orb of scrying to look at what everyone's doing after you passed on.” Molly began to lift herself up using their shoulders and swaying back and forth like a swing between them. “So… kinda? But not really?”
He laughed to himself, his wings reappearing in a puff of feathers as he began to take off and do loops through the air, Molly falling to the ground with a wince. “I can see my family again!”
“Again, not really… but you go, champ.” Alex gave him a thumbs up as he landed, and Molly sniffed disdainfully at him. He smiled gratefully at her till she broke and started laughing.
“Okay, we can visit the Joybringer once we have a job.” Molly began to lead them towards the main part of the city, a massive square with floating fountains and dancing statues as people walked underneath rainbows cast by the spraying water. “There's always a Heavenly agency trying to recruit the bored and restless around here so we can find what we want to.”
Indeed, there were. His mind boggled at the sight of so many booths and recruitment agencies all around the square, each with lines of angels in front of them just patiently waiting to talk to the people in front. Only two booths didn't have anyone in front of them and Molly dragged them to the first one.
“Hello there!” The happy sounding, but tired looking angel behind the booth said as he waved his hand at them. He had a hard-hat and a vest on while a team of cherubs worked on building small replicas of towers and homes behind him. “Would you like to take a moment to learn about the heavenly construction corps-”
“Pass.” Molly and Alex said at the same time before wandering off, he gave the obviously overworked angels a regretful smile and hurried off after his friends.
“You know, you could have let him down gently.” He chided, to which Alex looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“You mean to tell me you would have been interested?” The Jersey jock asked.
He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. “Well… No…”
Alex nodded and together the three of them moved on, Molly humming a show tune as she shimmied her way forward. They went to a booth manned by black-clad angels with dark wings fluttering all about.
One of the angels, a bottle blond with her long hair tied in a braid, smiled like a cat as they all approached. “Well, well, well. Looks like it’s my lucky day… come here often, Handsome?”
Before he could, again, turn someone down politely but firmly Alex stepped up and began flexing exaggeratedly. “Sorry Ma’am, but these muscles are for men only.”
He smiled gratefully and Alex nodded with a wink and a smile of his own.
“Urgh,” The blonde looked annoyed but rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking to- whatever, forget about it.” She sighed and plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. “What can we Exorcists of the Holy Legions do for you today?”
Before either Alex or he could say anything, Molly rushed before them and excitedly began to jabber. “Well, we got bored and wanted something to do with our afterlives since simply waiting around and doing nothing is lame, so we decided to follow Manny into getting a job but the only other one without an impossibly long line in front of it is the construction corps and that's boring so we-”
The aforementioned Exorcist reached out and placed a hand over Molly’s mouth, a twitch in her eye as she breathed in and out. “Alright.” She stressed. “Start again, but slower.”
“We want to see what joining the Exorcists would entail and if we could maybe do a trial run or something.” He explained and the blonde blinked owlishly at him before falling over laughing. It quickly got awkward just from how long and how hard the Exorcist was laughing, to the point that another Exorcist came over and punched her in the shoulder.
“Ow, did you have to go that hard?” The blonde angel hissed in pain as she glared hatefully at the twin-tailed brunette who had come over.
“You were about to scare off a new recruit, hag.” The brunette sniffed and then leaned against the post holding the sign up above which portrayed a legion of Exorcists fighting demons with pitchforks and scythes with golden lettering up above that read ‘Protect Heaven, At Any Cost.’
“Right… Well, if you don't want us, we can just-” Molly said awkwardly and moved to turn away before the blonde hurried to stop her, actually using her wings to fly in front of the group.
“Wait, wait, wait! No, sorry, we got off on the wrong foot.” She sighed and stepped back a bit. “My name is Velicity, I’m battalion commander of the fifth and I’d be happy to let you in to join.” She slung an arm over Moly’s shoulder and began to drag her towards the booth. “It may be grueling, but joining the sisterhood is the best damn decision you could make.”
He and Alex blinked and looked to one another. “Sisterhood?”
Velicity shrugged with a frown. “Yeah, our leader only allows women to join. Sorry.” She turned to Molly, her expression brightening considerably. “But you? You would make a great Exorcist! You got two more legs for extra kicking power: the Hellspawn won't see it coming! Sorry about your friends but it is what it is, and you can see them every few months still. So…” Velicity smiled eagerly as she looked expectantly at Molly.
Molly nodded, rubbing the bottom of her chin sagely as she considered the words. She then smiled brightly. “Nope!”
Velicity all but fell over as Molly walked around her and led the two of them back into the square. “But, but, but- you get a swank uniform! And weapons of pure angelic silver you can use to butcher Hellspawn! And you get a cool name picked by Adam himself!” Velicity cried in anguish as they kept walking away.
**********
“You guys?” Dixie asked oddly, her expression unsure as the rest of her cherub workers looked at the three of them like they had just sprouted from the ground and broke into dance. “Work… here? For us ?”
He nodded, smiling gently at the elephant cherub as she hemmed and hawed. A few of the cherub workers gave them odd looks as they stared at them like they had grown horns and cloven hooves.
He frowned, he had been noticing lately that cherubs seemed to almost be… well, universally servants. He had never seen a winner working for a cherub, or a cherub working above a regular angel at all. It was weird and was tickling his brain in a way he didn't like.
“I’m… I’m sorry, but I will have to say no.” Dixie sadly intoned, her flapping ears slowing down as she hovered low to the ground to avoid looking at them. “It just… wouldn’t be proper.”
Molly and Alex frowned; their expressions clear that they were thinking something was wrong with this scenario just as much as he was. “But we could-” Molly began, only to be interrupted.
“I’m afraid my answer is final.” Dixie stated firmly before smiling brightly again. “Now, if you guys want some ice cream, on the house of course, we can manage that to make up for any unpleasantness!” The elephant said happily as she flew back up and began making a banana split.
“No… no thanks, we’re not hungry.” He said as the three of them left the building in an awkward silence.
The streets of Heaven were slightly deserted since everyone in the city had either gone home or gotten to where they were going already. The three friends were pretty silent as they made their way down the golden-bricked road, not being interrupted or brought into conversation at all.
“Well,” Alex finally stated, his voice cheerful. “This kind of sucks.”
“Big time.” Molly said sadly.
“Yeah…” He followed up, his mind whirling as he tried to figure out what to do now. Everywhere they went, it was either something not all of them could do together or something that none of them wanted to do and at this point he was slightly desperate for anything to do.
It was like the bad days right out of college: trying to find a paying job so he could get a place for Cam to get away from her parents, trying to cobble together a life after everything… Well, Heaven was like that if you wanted to actually get your hands dirty rather than simply enjoy your afterlife.
He didn't know what to do now, he was stuck in a rut and saw no way out.
He supposed he could be bored for the rest of the decades it took for Cam to get here.
A bright light shone down upon them, nothing out of the ordinary there, but this time he looked up to see it for lack of anything better to do.
A bright and holographic billboard was attached to the side of a shiny tower, the board portraying a kindly young woman with dark skin and freckles beneath her blue eyes and snow-white hair. She was beaming at the camera like every Christmas had come at once and a team of happy cherubs and winners were behind her all looking happy as could be.
‘Want to send a blessing back to earth? Come visit CHERUB and we can do that for you!’ The happy lettering on the billboard portrayed. He blinked at it and felt a smile come across his face as he turned to his friends.
“See that sign?” He asked and frowned as Molly and Alex turned to it and frowned.
“Yeah? I thought we dismissed joining the Exorcists?” Alex said and he turned only to see the billboard had changed to an image of a dark gray skinned woman with short white hair hiding one of her eyes while holding a spear, her black uniform spotless as she struck a pose that screamed badass.
‘She fights for Heaven, will you?’ The harsh lettering next to her said proudly and he shook his head. “No, no. The one before it.” He stated and turned to them fully. “It was about something called CHERUB… and it spoke of blessings.”
Molly and Alex both ‘ahh’d’ and nodded at him. “Forgot you were interested in those.” Molly said before smiling brightly again. “I guess since we’re not getting a job anytime soon, we could swing by now- if you’re okay with that, Alex?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay with that?” He asked and Molly smirked at him.
“Thought you would want to take us home so you could serve your boyfriend more bootleg Italian food.”
“Okay, first of all: You’re a little demon girl and I don't know how you got up here.” Alex said playfully and Molly stuck her tongue out at him. “Second of all: Julio loves my food. Sorry you have bad taste.”
Molly’s jaw dropped and he chuckled alongside Alex as she pouted at the two of them. “Oh, I see how it is. Couple of big meatheads teaming up against a defenseless little lady…” She sighed dramatically and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. “Oh, woe is me…”
He laughed at her and she laughed with him, the three of them falling into a more companionable atmosphere as they began trading barbs with one another while making their way towards… towards…
“Hey.” He spoke up and the two of them looked towards him. “Do either of you even know where the office of the Joybringer is?”
Alex and Molly paused, considered, and then groaned in annoyance.
“I knew we were forgetting something.” Molly complained.
**********
It took a whole week to find someone who could actually help them. Cherubs knew of it but didn't really know the specifics other than Emily the Joybringer was apparently the best seraphim on the council… and the youngest, but the best in all of their humble opinion.
A lot of winners didn't know either, most of them having only heard of her through her charity work and the fact she threw the best parties around. While regular angels knew of her as one of the leaders of Heaven and a bit young. “Only half a millennia old, can you believe it?” One four-winged angel with no eyes on his face but over a dozen on his wings said like a gossipy hen. “So young and already ruling on the Council- we’re all so proud.”
As for those who actually used her services… Everyone appeared to have a different answer to where they could go for blessings, and it was getting quite annoying. Some said it was a building off of Saint’s Avenue while others said it was a small little corner shop on La Virtuoso Street. A two-story on Broadchurch, a half-building on Blessing Circle… nobody had a straight answer.
Turns out it was because there were multiple locations. They checked out every location and found massive lines stretching around the block, overworked experts and teamsters working round the clock to try and accommodate as many people as possible to the point that the lines were all made of people who already had appointments. So that, at least, was a bust.
Finally, he just decided to go straight to the source and ask Beau, who was all too happy to tell him where the main branch of the blessing services was.
Apparently, you needed to go on a drive outside the main city to somewhere called Cherub Town, which thankfully was only a small drive away.
The only problem? None of them had cars.
Alex was obvious in why he didn't have a car, and so he smartly didn't ask. He did, however, grill Molly about why she didn't have any mode of transportation and she rolled her eyes at him.
“Excuse me for not having something I didn't need when I was alive, Mr. Moneybags.” She chided him, wagging a finger at him. “New York was for walking when I was still kicking, so why would I need a car?”
“Aren’t you a mafia princess?” He asked to which she once more rolled her eyes.
“What- so everyone in the mob had a car? Get real, that stuff got expensive. Only one who had anything was my dad and he had a Model J he treated better than any of his kids, didn’t let any of us even touch it let alone drive in it.” She sighed and sat down on the couch of her truly antique looking condo, filled to the brim with tech and decorations from the 30’s alongside a truly outrageously large plasma-screen tv. “Never needed to drive so why would I have a car?”
He… didn't really have an answer to that.
Finally, for lack of any better options, he simply checked out bus lines.
It was a motley crew that had boarded the bus between Cross City and Cherub Town: Alex was having a mild panic attack while hugging onto his therapy cherub tighter than ever while the little purple lamb let out an adorable squeak of pain, Molly was rubbing his back comfortingly, while he was talking to Beau about everything they needed to know about Emily.
“Oh, she’s so kind!” The little lion said proudly, a look of joy on his face as he spoke. “She truly listens to us when we speak, you know? She made CHERUB to ensure that everyone on earth and in Heaven could benefit from her kindness- some are even calling her the next Virtue of Kindness!”
He blinked. “Well… is she?” he asked, and the little lion cherub looked at him oddly
“Is she what?” Beau looked adorably confused and he decided to clarify a bit.
“The next Virtue of Kindness?” Beau brightened up at his words, finally understanding his question.
“Oh no, no, no.” Beau said firmly, waving his paws in front of him. “No, they haven’t held an election yet but considering nobody else is doing what she is… it won't be a hard-fought battle.” He shrugged and grinned. “I mean, when your opponent has an entire town formed around her business, it makes fighting a bit hard.”
Now that was an interesting tidbit. “Cherub Town is a company town?”
Beau looked confused. “I don't know what that means.”
He wanted to explain but they finally passed the rolling plains of fluffy clouds and entered a new section of Heaven. The buildings were smaller, built more for cherubs than winners, but there were still winners and angels walking around happily. Some of them even waved to the bus as it rolled to a stop in front of a truly beautiful building.
The headquarters of CHERUB and the personal office of Emily the Joybringer was a friendly looking skyscraper that screamed ‘art deco’. Three tall towers surrounded a central layered dome that itself was covered in friendly statues of angels, winners, and cherubs frolicking all along and having a great time above murals of what looked to be a beautiful garden filled with all sorts of cute animals.
A massive statue of a regal looking woman, her expression serene beneath the regal looking crown that floated above her head of truly massive curls, stood tall and proud in the center of the plaza as she held her hands together and smiled kindly down at them. He had seen a bunch of statues like that throughout Heaven, and knew it was some bigshot but hadn’t really asked much more besides.
He hadn't really paid any attention to Heavenly politics due to not knowing they existed till this moment.
"So... Virtues are elected?" He asked as they made their way across a plaza made of stained glass towards the golden doors, Beau looking up at him and nodding.
"Yep!" The lion cherub nodded. "It's been that way ever since the original Virtues left with- er, ever since they left." Beau laughed a little too hard and moved on quickly. "Every fifty years Heaven holds an election to see who will take up the spots. It can be quite contentious with some of them: Humility has some pretty big shoes to fill after all." Beau explained, causing him to nod along as the lion cherub kept talking.
"Then you get Patience which keeps going to the First Man, since all the Exorcists of the Holy Legions keep voting for him every time. Patience is in charge of all the Holy Legions, but he only really focuses on the one branch." Beau said as the approached the truly spectacular golden doors. They were carved with a massive image of what looked to be the same woman from the central statue smiling down at a bunch of humans who offered praise to her.
The massive golden doors opened up for them and they entered to find a massive entry-room with a bunch of murals depicting a bunch of random, if cute, events: Halo’d puppies in a basket resting gently, a field of flowers blooming, a kitten playing with a ball of yarn, a bunch of different winners all dancing in a circle looking happy as could be… all the murals looked down at a few statues of what looked to be cherubs all smiling bashfully.
A bunch of cherubs were flying all about, their expressions determined but not dissatisfied as they carried papers whenever they needed to be, hauled boxes full of files, or even swept the tiled floors while whistling jaunty tunes. A light-skinned winner with regal features was playing around on their phone with a sleepy expression, only looking up as the three approached them. A nametag on the desk read 'Xana: They/Them'
Xana looked at them oddly, a curious expression on their face. “Um… can I help you?”
“Yes! Came here from Cross so we could apply for a blessing for our friend over here.” Alex said brightly, leaning against the counter and nodding seriously.
Xana blinked owlishly at them, many blue eyes appearing on their halo as they stared at the three of them like they were crazy. “You were in Cross when you decided to apply for a blessing… and you came here?”
“Well, all the stations in Cross were so overcrowded you couldn’t even see the buildings themselves, so we came here.” He explained, to which they made a noise of understanding.
“I hear ya, we really need someone to try and clean up the outer services, but Emily can only be in so many places at once.” Xana explained and then shook their head. “But as for a blessing… everyone here is out to lunch so you’re out of luck.”.
“How long should that take?” He asked them and they checked their phone.
“It’s about half over, so thirty more minutes and you’ll be able to put in your request.” They explained and Alex, now recovered from riding his own trauma in a literal sense, whistled.
“Hour long lunch breaks? Maybe we should work here.” He said appreciatively and Xana blinked at them.
“Well… we’d be happy to offer you applications and put you on the short list but, uh, we’re not really hiring right now.” They explained and Alex slumped over once more. He led the Jersey Winner over to a waiting room, calm and peaceful music playing at a low pitch, almost like it was trying to soothe you to sleep.
There the five of them sat, awkwardly waiting as they shuffled about on the truly comfortable chairs. ‘Is everything in this place comfortable?’ he thought to himself as Molly fully fell asleep on his shoulder, the New Yorker snoring loudly as she drooled on his shirt.
“I think a half hour has passed.” Alex said finally, interrupting the card game Beau and Collin had started up and causing Molly to jerk awake with a yawn.
“Muh… five more minutes, Anthony…” She muttered before yawning and trying to settle back down on his shoulder, causing him to bump her off.
“Has it really?’ He asked Alex, the muscle-bound winner shrugging at him.
“Heck if I know, I just know it's been a while since we got in here so… maybe?” Alex said simply and he frowned a bit as he tried to keep track of how long they'd been there.
He opened his mouth to respond when he opened the door.
“-just want you to be as comfortable as you can be!” A six-winged woman with snow-white hair and dark skin said worriedly, her back to them as she floated all around the front desk. “If you want anything else, all you need to do is ask, you know?”
“Miss Emily, it’s truly fine.” Xana said comfortingly, waving their hands in between the two of them as their expression turned warm. “Honestly, you're much better than a lot of earthly employers so I really do think working here is the best.”
Emily, the aforementioned six-winged angel, seemed to slump. “Alright… if you say so, Xana.” She turned around and looked at them, her expression still as she saw them.
A few things happened all at once: First, she let out a squeal of pure happiness. Second, she briefly turned into a glowing white figure with three eyes and three pairs of wings sticking out of her head before turning back into the dark skinned human looking girl she was. Thirdly, she rushed over faster than anyone could react and started hovering all around them.
“Oh goodness, oh goodness!” She started excitedly murmuring before reaching down and grabbing ahold of his hands and shaking them hard enough that he was afraid his arm would fall off. “New customers! I’m so happy that more people are using the blessing services! And you came all the way here, too, not using one of the branch offices in Cross City I set up to make things easier for everyone!” She beamed at them with such utter happiness that she looked ready to cry.
She reached out and hugged him tightly and he awkwardly patted her back as Xana gave him a severe look as if to judge him.
She finally let go of him and sniffled, a look of embarrassment on her face. “I’m sorry… It's just been so long since any petitioners visited me personally.” She explained as he began to hover around. “I didn't realize how much I missed it till you three showed up.”
“Dont, er, don't mention it?” He said awkwardly as Emily beamed at him.
“Anyway! You want a blessing and I can provide one for you!” She said happily as she began to flutter over to the others. “And do any of you want to make a blessing? As The Joybringer, it is my utmost pleasure and responsibility that everyone in Heaven is having a good time!”
Molly and Alex looked at one another while Beau and Collin looked ready to pass out from excitement over meeting the legendary patron of cherubs.
“I… don't really have anyone left alive I would give it to, sorry.” Molly shrugged helplessly as Alex frowned and gave it a lot of thought. Meanwhile, Collin gently began to float up to the Joybringer with a nervous expression.
“Um… Miss Emily?” Collin asked nervously to which she knelt down and smiled gently at him.
“Yes, my fluffy little friend?” Emily asked with a patient smile, to which Collin shook with increased nerves.
“Can I…” The purple therapy cherub breathed in, shook his shoulders, and breathed out. “Can I have your autograph?”
She blinked and looked overjoyed, a happy sounding squeak coming out of her as she summoned a slip of golden paper and wrote ‘Emily’ with a heart over the I and a smiley face at the end. She handed it to Collin, who looked at it for a few seconds before passing out in excitement.
“Oh, oh dear.” The Joybringer sounded sad as they all looked at the comatose cherub. “I hope the poor guy is alright.”
“Oh, don't you worry at all Miss Emily.” Beau said proudly, puffing out his chest as he picked up Collin and carried him back into the waiting room. “I’ll watch over him and keep him safe for you!”
She beamed at the little lion cherub and Beau almost fell over but rallied and flew into the waiting room in a rush with Collin slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Finally, Emily turned to Alex and smiled serenely as she awaited whatever answer she could give.
He looked serious as he thought it over. “I… I guess I would like to give a blessing to my parent’s, make sure they are doing alright.”
She beamed happily once more and flew over to the desk, summoning another piece of paper as she scribbled furiously on it in mid air. “I can do that! We have so many parent related blessings we can give!” She flew off in a hurry through a pair of massive doors to the side of the front desk and he decided to follow her.
The inside of the room was like a child’s attempt to mimic an office building: Bright and friendly lights shone down on massive rows of cubicles full of cherubs, several rows of them floating above one another in defiance of the laws of physics. Motivational posters were plastered on every available surface while friendly puppies frolicked from cubicle to cubicle also in defiance of gravity. The flooring was plush and velvety, almost willing to swallow up his feet whole from how soft it was, and what little of the walls that could be seen from behind the posters was a bright and happy pink.
“It’s like Barbie’s corporate office building…” Alex muttered, and Molly turned to him in confusion.
“Whose Barbie?” The new yorker asked and they both looked at her strangely before remembering she was from the 30’s
A few of the cherubs stopped working to look at them strangely as he made his way towards the back where a simple desk was sitting out in the open, nothing fancy or ostentatious about it as Emily sat in a beanbag chair and began furiously scribbling on her piece of paper. She looked up at him and then looked behind him to his friends.
She blinked for a moment before a flash of guilt went across her face. “Oh, I completely forgot to ask you what your blessing would be! I’m so sorry-”
He laughed warmly and waved away her guilt. “Don't worry about it. Truly, it means enough that you're willing to help Alex out like this.” He smiled at her and she smiled back.
She really did seem young compared to the other trueborn angels he had met in his time up here, almost like a slightly older version of Luz. He was glad her hair wasn't a dark hazel otherwise he would be ruffling it even now out of habit. And it would probably be best not to give one of the leaders of heaven a messed up hairstyle.
He frowned, thoughts of his daughter always making him do so nowadays. It would most likely, or at least hopefully, be a full century before he ever saw her again. Would she even remember him by the time she came up here? Or would he just be another person to her, a stranger she had known briefly and reconnected with like an acquaintance?
Before he could spiral or focus on what Beau had taught him to do in that scenario, he felt a pair of arms hug him gently and looked down to see Emily looking sad as she tried to comfort him. “I don't know what made you so depressed just now… but I am truly sorry for it.”
He swallowed and hugged her back, for a moment pretending it was Luz and feeling guilt and sorrow over it. “It’s… it’s fine. Nothing I'm not used to.”
She frowned harder at that and he chuckled before rubbing the back of his head. “Really, don’t worry about it. I’m fine now.”
Emily nodded seriously. “Hugs are the best for any ailment.”
He smiled at her and looked at the truly massive amount of paperwork that she had on her desk. “Is… is that normal for you?”
“Oh, this?” She giggled to herself and flew up and up and up until she reached the top of the two story stack of paperwork. “Yeah, there are so many requests for blessings that it’s created a backlog.” She floated down and gingerly picked one out of the stack, looking it over with a fine eye. “Like, this one is asking for a blessing to make sure Y2K doesn't happen… I don't know what that means but it’s from ‘99.”
“Well, you cast that one without knowing it because Y2K didn't happen.” He said to which she beamed and disappeared the letter into a cloud of golden dust.
“Good to know!” She floated back down all the way to her bean-bag chair and just slumped onto the desk. “You should have seen the office before I formed CHERUB. It was…” She spread her arms wide and looked afraid. “Everywhere in here.”
“Have you thought about getting assistants?” Molly spoke up from behind him and Emily looked confused before gesturing to the many cherubs that worked in the cubicles. "No, no." Molly tried again. "I mean like, personal assistants like secretaries or something to help you with your personal work so you can focus on the important bizz."
"Well..." Emily wrung her hands together and looked nervous. "I just don't want to overload someone with all of my problems, is all. I'd feel terrible if someone became burnt out because of me." She said with a frown, a sad look in her eyes before she brightened and gestured to the backlog.
“Like I said, it was much worse before they came along.” She said as she began twirling around a pencil with a fuzzy eraser cover that looked like a bobble-head. “Like, the Virtue before me was kind of slacking off and things got overwhelming so fast that Sera had to get involved and now I’m here.” She beamed happily again before her smile turned to a frown and she slumped. “Still going to take forever to clean up though.”
As he stood there a floating deer fawn in a baby blue long sleeve underneath a dark blue pair of overalls flew over and placed a paper down on Emily’s desk. “Team three went out for their first assignment, Miss Emily.”
Emily began to look worried, chewing on her nails. “Oh, I hope they do alright… I always worry about the first time missions the most.”
The deer fawn seemed to preen and puff up. “I trained them myself, Miss Emily. They’ll be fine.” The fawn seemed to finally notice the three of them and looked confused. “Um… what are these random winners doing in the main office?”
“Oh!” Emily chirped, gesturing to them. “These are…” She frowned before looking embarrassed. “I, ah, didn't actually ask their names, Deerie.”
Deerie the deer-cherub smiled gently, an indulgent look on her face. “That, Miss Emily, is what you hired me for: to be your second in command and ask the hard questions… like what the names of these random winners are?”
They both looked at the three of them and he smiled awkwardly. “Ah, Manny Noceda?”
“Molly Di Martello!” The spider-winner smiled brightly, cheer in her voice as she grabbed ahold of his shoulders and pulled herself up till she was looking down at them with her head atop his. “Hi!”
“Alex Smith.” The jersey winner said, a gentle look on his face. “Thank you for… for considering my request.”
Emily smiled at Deerie and the floating fawn rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile, he stood there and gathered his thoughts together. Emily needed help, from the look of things she was overworked and in need of serious administrative reform. The branch offices were overworked, everyone was overworked.
The desire to help people, the very thing that drove him to be an ambulance driver in life, was beginning to rear its head.
“You know… I think you could use some help.” He said to which Emily smiled awkwardly and Deerie seemed to grin.
“Yeah, we do.” The fawn said, her voice somehow sounding condescending despite agreeing with him. “There’s so much work to be doing… ah, well, it’s my life I suppose.”
“I could use some help with these requests, I suppose.” Emily muttered, looking at the giant stack of papers with trepidation. “But like I said, I don't want to overload anyone or make them burn out if I can help it-" She began but he cut her off.
"Emily, this is a bit unsustainable." He began, Deerie's constant smile beginning to look strained and a little annoyed at him as he spoke. "Forget someone else burning out, what about you?"
"Miss Emily will never burn out! She's the next Virtue of Kindness." Deerie clapped her hands together and began to gesture to someone over their shoulder. "Now, thank you for coming here but-"
"I kind of do wish I could get help." Emily said suddenly, a nervous look on her face. "I need to be strong, and need to set an example for everyone because if I falter... well, how can they expect to stand tall if I'm not?"
Now his desire to help was screaming at him, and he tried for a gentle smile as he spoke. "That's why I want to help you, Emily. You look stressed and overworked, so I'm officially asking to be hired."
“Eh?” Molly asked, dropping back to the ground as she and Alex looked at him strangely. Deerie was still smiling but it seemed even more strained… and Emily was beaming like her every wish was coming true.
"I was an ambulance driver when I was alive." He began, pacing back and forth as he spoke. "I needed to help people, it's what I do best and it's what I enjoy the most. And everything you're doing seems tailor made for someone like me: someone who wants to help>" He clapped his hands together and grinned. "So let me help you help everyone else."
Before anyone could reply Emily flew over the desk and hugged him tightly again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She said rapidly, her other form breaking out slightly as a bunch of eyes stared at him. He awkwardly chuckled and patted her on the head.
Molly and Alex looked to one another and then back to him. “You really want to do paperwork for eternity?” Alex asked curiously and before he could respond Emily let go and did it for him.
“Oh, it wouldn't be just paperwork.” The Joybringer explained. “You have to travel around all of heaven and make sure everyone is doing okay and make sure that any official functions are as fun as possible. You have to give out fliers for our services, you have to take over when I'm gone for council meetings, and sometimes you have to watch over CHERUB teams and direct them on how to finish their missions.” She crossed her arms and nodded seriously. “It’s not just paperwork or I would have lost my mind ages ago.”
“Personally, I like watching over the CHERUB teams myself.” Deerie explained, a satisfied look on her face. “It’s like being in the Exorcists except nobody gets hurt…”
Alex and Molly brightened considerably, grabbing him by the shoulder and bringing him into a huddle.
“Okay, so I like the sound of everything but the paperwork.” Alex explained, his expression serious. “But are you sure about everything, Manny?”
“Yeah.” Molly agreed. “I don't mind working here, Emily seems like an awesome boss and everything… but we could always go back to the Heavenly Construction Corps.”
The three of them paused, considered, and then laughed together as they dismissed the idea of doing construction work forever and ever. “We’re in.” Alex said firmly, giving a thumbs up to the happily smiling Emily.
“Wonderful!” She cheered, flying around them all with a laugh. “Welcome to my service! Oh, I've always wanted to say that again!”
