That ... actually kind of hurt. Because when Gabriel thought of Aziraphale, and Balthazar, and the others here, and thought of leaving them behind without warning--like he already had with Heaven--something in him rebelled. "I would," he said quietly, and changed the subject.

His hand twitched at the sudden brush against it, but then resettled. "I'll manage," he said, and then summoned a falsely bright smile. "Hey, I managed not to trip over myself and break my neck for two thousand years, what's a few days?"