It wasn't exactly hard to remain calm. It shouldn't have been, after so much practice. If something as simple as a friend being stubborn could truly anger Skulduggery, he would never have been able to stop Lord Vile in the first place, let alone drag himself out of that deep pit.
But damn it, was he getting frustrated.
"No reason?" he asked, overly calm to compensate, injecting that calm into his thoughts like it was second nature. "You've forgotten last night already? Even minor things are hurting you, Gabe. Stopping Lucifer isn't worth it if we lose you in the process."
He stopped, mildly surprised at his own words. And yet, he knew that he believed them, even as he wondered what had happened to his usual cold, objective demeanor. Skulduggery had rethought a lot since learning who Gabe really was, but this... this wasn't solely because of how important Archangels were. Something about being stuck on equal ground for months in the Institute, fighting for their lives and each other's sanity every night, had made it so Skulduggery couldn't willingly try anything that put Gabe in direct danger - the same way he suspected he could no longer stand by and let Valkyrie walk down a path that was definitely going to kill her.
"We're borrowing you," he clarified after a moment. "I'd like to return you in the same state you were in when you left. Stop being an Archangel for a few months and just focus on healing."
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But damn it, was he getting frustrated.
"No reason?" he asked, overly calm to compensate, injecting that calm into his thoughts like it was second nature. "You've forgotten last night already? Even minor things are hurting you, Gabe. Stopping Lucifer isn't worth it if we lose you in the process."
He stopped, mildly surprised at his own words. And yet, he knew that he believed them, even as he wondered what had happened to his usual cold, objective demeanor. Skulduggery had rethought a lot since learning who Gabe really was, but this... this wasn't solely because of how important Archangels were. Something about being stuck on equal ground for months in the Institute, fighting for their lives and each other's sanity every night, had made it so Skulduggery couldn't willingly try anything that put Gabe in direct danger - the same way he suspected he could no longer stand by and let Valkyrie walk down a path that was definitely going to kill her.
"We're borrowing you," he clarified after a moment. "I'd like to return you in the same state you were in when you left. Stop being an Archangel for a few months and just focus on healing."