So my brain would not shut up about this idea while I was out on a walk so I decided to write up the first chapter. I'll post as the chapters come to me but I hope everyone enjoys it. Gabriel isn't featured a lot in this one but he will be in the following chapters, I just wanted to set up Layla. I also decided to go with an OC since she will talk more about her family and such in later chapters and I know people would get fussy if an xreader had stuff about a family or background. But anywho, I don't see much about Janitor!Gabriel on here so I felt it was needed lol, hope everyone likes it!
Word count: 2,889
Pairing: Gabriel x Fem!OC
Warning: None, just a few guys being typical college guys.
Also yes, we are doing more of the wing trope because I'm a sucker for it lol.
⚠️ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞. I also do not give permission to use my story in any AI platform⚠️
I also have a Ko-fi
This can also be found on ao3
She quickly put on her boots, racing to grab her keys and phone as she glanced around the small apartment her friend had set her up with. Purse-check, keys-check, phone-check, books-check. The clock read that she had about twenty minutes to get to the school and her new setup before class would start, so with one last look, she locked up and headed for the elevator.
Hastening her steps as she saw the doors at the end of the hall beginning to close, calling out for it but watching as they shut. She cursed under her breath as she turned towards the stairs door, being on the sixth floor sucked at this moment, but she had to do it, though, looking at how steep the stairs were she was happy she wasn't a heels type of girl.
Finally making it down to the first floor after a bit she turned to exit into the lobby when she caught a sudden flash of gold out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head around she looked towards the little alcove under the stairs, her breath slowing as she listened, steps hesitant while she walked towards the area draped in shadows. The stairwell was quiet, eerily so, and just as she peered into the darkness…her phone chimed.
Jumping slightly, she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding while she reached forward, hand making contact with the block wall, nothing. Fishing her phone out of her pocket she looked at the cause of the chime.
👸Kaylee: Where are you?? You're gonna be late!
Looking at the time Layla realized that she now only had sixteen minutes to get to the campus.
🔥Layla: I'm leaving now, I'll explain my horrible morning when I get there
She texted back while rushing out of the lobby and to the parking lot, her baby waiting for her as she jumped in, cranked her up, and quickly left. Five minutes later she was pulling up Springfield University, Crawford Hall to be exact, and Kaylee was already waiting at the entrance for her.
“What happened?” The blonde asked, heels clicking on the polished floor.
“Alarm failed, luckily my internal alarm woke me up before noon, but not early enough. I rushed to take a shower and the hot water was not working so I had to let the landlord know about that. My keys got lost in the eternal abyss for a good ten minutes, and then I had to take the stairs down.”
“Holy shit”
“Yeah, but I'm here”
“You're here, and you're gonna do amazing!” She smiled, and all Layla could do was nod, hoping she was right, this was a lot for her after all. When the two of them broke apart, Kaylee going to her own class and vowing to sit with her at lunch, Layla continued down the hall, her mind wandering back to how she even got here.
It had started with a phone call, Kaylee was someone Layla had met years ago through her job and had surprisingly kept in touch with…maybe it was because Kaylee kept her in her life, lord knows Layla drifted. But she called her that night not with her normal three hour long life update, but with a request.
“My school is getting a new class, it's like a cross between cryptozoology and folklore legends. Guess the principal's kid is really into it and wanted it so they decided to implement it. I know this is right up your alley! You could be the teacher!”
“Teach? Kaylee I don't have a teacher's license, I didn't even go to public school”
“I'm sure you have people that can work something out! Please! Otherwise there is going to be some loony toons old man come in here who doesn't know his ass from a hole on the ground and try to show the kids pictures of slightly crushed sticks and say it's a Bigfoot footprint”
“It could be”
“Layla!”
“Kaylee I can't teach, I don't know the first thing about teaching, I don't do crowds, and I don't care for people staring at me”
“You said you taught your nieces and nephews”
“That's different”
“Don't you think these kids should be aware”
“...Kaylee”
“Please, it would be perfect for you, plus you said you wanted to get away, settle down a bit. I can help you get an apartment and everything. Please…just…think about it”
And Layla did, so here she was, walking down the hall towards what she felt like was her doom. Man she hated the thought of this, why did she let Kaylee talk her into it? She stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths while trying to psyche herself up…she could do this…it was just like teaching the little ones…she's got th– another flash of gold caught her attention as she quickly whipped her head towards the hall to her right, empty aside from a few doors.
She waited for a moment, hesitant, before making her way towards them. The first led to a janitor's closet, nothing gold. The second, an empty classroom, again, nothing.
“What the hell?” she whispered to herself, knowing full well she saw what she saw. She was about to step into the room when the warning bell rang loudly in the quiet, her eyes widening as she quickly shut the door and rushed to her class, taking one last breath before pushing open the door.
Eyes fell on her as she walked in, and it didn't take long for a wolf whistle to ring out, God how she hated college guys, she swore their hormones played peek-a-boo with the lone brain cell they probably had left from all the parties.
“Hey pretty lady, you can find a seat on my lap til the teacher gets here” one yelled out, followed by laughter from who she assumed were his equally brain dead friends.
“Hey new girl, you and me can party in my car after class” another one called out, followed by a few girls telling them to shut up and stop being gross. But she was used to it, having brothers, she knew how men could talk. So instead she walked over to the teacher's desk and sat her books down before grabbing the chalk and beginning to write her name, a smile forming on her face as she noticed the class having gone silent.
“Now that you know my name you can stop calling me girl and lady. I'll also give you one chance to apologize for the crude language and give you a moment to reflect on why you shouldn't talk to women that way, that is, if all of your brain cells haven't been completely annihilated by either alcohol or stds” She spoke while turning, raising a brow at the two boys who had spoken before and watching as they adjusted in their seat, uncomfortable with the fact that all eyes were now on them…good…now they know how it feels. She waited, listening as they coughed before giving a muttered apology, and she figured that was the best she was going to get.
'Just like with the kids Layla, you got this’
“Ok, so, I'm hoping you are all in this class because you are interested in cryptids and folklore, not because you think it will be some easy extra credit. Because it won't be, sorry. Cryptids, monsters, folklore, fairytales, whatever you want to call them aren't just things that go bump in the night, or things people think they catch on some grainy footage from the seventies. They have history, some from multiple cultures, some dating back centuries. And we are going to go into detail about all of them. By the time you finish my class you'll be able to write full novels on each. So if that already sounds like too much” she gestured to the door while leaning against the front of the desk. She looked over the class, there were a lot of faces, a lot of eyes, all staring at her…But no one moved…No one left. Everyone watched her with a look she had seen on the little ones back home…a look of hunger for knowledge. With a smile she nodded and pushed off the desk.
“Alright, let's start off with a crowd favorite, who here likes vampires?”
She walked into the lunch room with her wallet and headache forming in the loud atmosphere. Man she was glad she had been homeschooled. Making her way to the “teacher” line, as the sign above the second entrance to the kitchen called it, she grabbed a tray. She wondered if Kaylee was already at a table or if she had even arrived yet, being the art teacher, she was sure Kaylee was the type to stay behind with any student who wanted to. Grabbing a bottle of water, and the shaker salad, but also a few of the chicken nuggets that were offered to her by the elderly lady who gave her a wink as if to say “I don't know if you're eating healthy, but I saw nothing just in case”, she turned and heard a voice behind her speak up.
“You must be Mrs.Matthews” she reached the register before she turned her head to look at the man while handing over the money.
“Ms, and that'd be me” she nodded, thanking the woman who gave her her change.
“Sorry, my name is Arthur Cox, I'm the psychology teacher here” he explained, causing Layla to nod at the older man.
“Oh, nice to meet you Mr.Cox”
“Likewise. I do have to say, I'm shocked the school hired someone so…young” he spoke, eyeing her up and down. She had to force herself not to roll her eyes, was every guy in this school a perv?
“Well it helps when you have friends here. And I'm thirty-two, not that young” she noted.
“Thirty-two is still young,” he smiled back.
“Meh, not when your back says your eighty some days” she shrugged, her statement causing him to laugh.
“I understand that, so what made you want to take up such a subject to teach?”
“Stuff like that has always interested me”
“So you believe it all to be real”
“I believe anything is possible. I believe the human mind can only comprehend so much so we write a lot off as fiction to save what little sanity we have. But I believe the world jades us to a lot of things as we get older, we're a lot closer to what some would consider the “spiritual world” as children, therefore we believe a lot more as children.”
“Facinating”
“What?”
“Just that as an adult you still fully believe in things like that”
“there could be an explanation behind every cryptid, from pareidolia, mass hysteria, animal gene modification experiments the government isn't telling us about, to perhaps…something real. How else would cultures who are on opposite sides of the world have stories about similar creatures dating back to when people were still discovering land”
“I prefer proof”
“Be careful what you wish for” she trailed off when she saw that same flash of gold, this time by the lunch room doors as they swung close. What the hell was that?
“Layla!” she heard Kaylee's voice before she saw her, waving from a small booth a bit away from her.
'Saved by the friend’
“I should get over there before she gets sent to the principal's office for disrupting lunch” Layla nodded towards the giggling blonde.
“Of course, she can be rather…excitable. It was nice talking to you Ms.Matthews”
“You as well Mr.Cox” she nodded and turned to quickly sit down with Kaylee.
“Thank you for saving me from that” she sighed with an eye roll.
“No problem, as soon as I saw I knew I had to step in, did he hit on you?”
“Not outright but the looks hinted at it. Though I think I turned him off when I started battling against his psychologist mindset”
“Good! He needs to be knocked down a peg, he thinks he's a big shot cause he's an author, but he's just a sleeze”
“Got that vibe” Layla nodded while eating a nugget and shaking up the salad.
“Oh! Gabriel left this for you, as a sort of welcome to the school” Kaylee spoke while pushing a small container towards her, she looked down at the slice of cake, funfetti…it was her favorite.
“Who is Gabriel?” She asked, looking at the fancy piping on top.
“The janitor, at least the one for Crawford Hall. He's a total sweetheart, and he's always got the best sweets on hand. I swear he just pulls them out of thin air or something” she laughed.
“not only does he always have a candy if you ask, but he even brought me the cutest little cake for my birthday, hang on, I have a picture,” Kaylee spoke, grabbing her phone and quickly scrolling while Layla finished her nuggets and started on the salad.
“Here is it!” Kaylee smiled while turning her phone to reveal the most colorful cake Layla had ever seen.
“He's got you pegged” she laughed.
“Right! It was so sweet!”
“Should Evan be worried?” Layla joked, knowing full well how head over heels Kaylee was for her fiancé.
“No!” She smiled.
“Gabriel is just a sweetie, you'll like him when you meet him” Layla simply nodded, finishing up her salad and grabbing the fork Kaylee offered her before trying the cake…it really was a good cake…honestly the best she had ever had.
After lunch they returned to their classes, Layla teaching the second round of students the same thing she taught the first, really only scratching the surface for vampires, but she knew it would take them a bit to really grasp everything. Though, there were a few in her classes she could already tell were going to be doing their own bit of research, if their requests for book recommendations were anything to go by.
Over all, she was satisfied with her first day, invigorated almost…she could do this…there weren't any monsters waiting around the corners, just the ones in the books. There weren't any spells to try to find cures to, no new cases to research, no random motels, long drives, and gas station food…she could breathe, take a moment…relax…there wasn't anything supernatural here except her class.
A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts, Kaylee stood at the entry, along with another woman, this one shorter than Kaylee, curvy, curly red hair and a very librarian style, her round glasses resting on her full cheeks as she smiled at Layla.
“This is Marie, she's the history teacher here” Kaylee explained.
“I mean this as a grand compliment, I would have taken you as the librarian,” Layla chucked as she gathered her books and made her way over.
“Compliment accepted, I would have been if the position had been open” Marie giggled.
“But I'm a huge history nerd so…history teacher is second best. I told Kaylee I wanted to meet whoever got to be the lucky winner of this class, the history and folklore of cryptids and such, ugh, can I take your class?” She giggled again, causing Layla to let out her own light laugh at the woman's enthusiasm.
“There's still seats open”
“Don't tempt her,” Kaylee joked as they all made their way towards the front…this was nice. Layla couldn't remember the last time she had people to just joke with that weren't her family…even they were not around that often, always on hunts of their own…when was the last time she had a conversation with someone who wasn't Kaylee? Did she ever have lunch with anyone like today? Or listen to gossip? Was this what normal felt like?
‘Nothing supernatural’
She sighed, falling behind the women who were engrossed in their own conversation, when she saw it again, the flash of gold…This time though…This time it wasn't fleeting, it didn't move, and as she turned her head her breath caught in her throat.
Wings
Large…golden…wings
They were the most beautiful and breathtaking things she had ever seen, an almost bronze color at the very base of every feather, the color slowly lighting to a honey tone at the tips. They reminded her of a sunset, or maybe it was the golden light that shown in the window onto them that made her think that, as it made them almost glitter while they shifted.
Her eyes dragged over them, going from the very bottom and inward until they met blue…blue work overalls of a man who was casually leaning against a mop as he looked out of the large window in front of him. She couldn't see his face, only his golden brown hair.
She wasn't sure how long she had been staring, but it must have been enough for Kaylee and Marie to realize she wasn't following anymore because their voices were soon right next to her.
“See something you like?” Kaylee giggled, causing Layla to look over.
“What? No! I-”
“That's Gabriel” Marie added, and as if hearing his name, even from so far away and with glass separating, he turned towards the three of them. Golden eyes meeting green.
‘So much for nothing supernatural’
Chapter 1 done! I hope everyone enjoyed it and it liking Layla so far, she's a bit of a "take no shit" kinda girl but also a protective friend. I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I can, and I'll add an ao3 link to this when I get it uploaded to there. Thanks for reading!
Summary: You manage to befriend the strange janitor at your college.
Based on the request by: @becca-boop1310
Warnings: Bullying
A/N: My hiatus is over. Miss me?
[General masterlist]
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Nobody ever notices the people in the background. Nobody thanks the lunch lady for serving food, nobody asks the librarian how their day was, nobody ever says hello to the janitor. And that's exactly what Gabriel was counting on.
As the janitor of Crawford Hall University, the Trickster could go anywhere, listen in on anyone, and nobody would bat an eye. It was the perfect disguise, hiding in plain sight. Nobody would ever know, hell nobody would ever ask, who he was.
Except to keep up this cover, sometimes Gabriel actually had to do- ugh- work. He was an archangel, for crying out loud, and he was sweeping the floor!
Cafeteria duty always sucked the most. The mess hall looked like a hurricane had hit it once the students moved out. And dear dad, the jocks ate like there was no tomorrow and cleaned up like there was no trash can.
Today was no different. The students at the university were sitting at their tables of cliques, chattering on about midterms. Honestly, it was worse than high school.
The sounds of a tray clattering to the floor notified Gabriel that it was time to move out of the corner and do his dumb job. A student was on their hands and knees, grabbing items that had been spilled, and trying to put them back on the tray.
“Don’t worry, kid. I got it.” Gabriel assured you.
Reluctantly, you got up and out of the way. Some students were still snickering, pointing at the pasta sauce that now covered your shirt. You’d been walking when all of a sudden a foot appeared out of nowhere, sending you hurtling to the ground.
“You got two left feet, freak?” Curtis, the head jock and Crawford’s reigning asshole, guffawed.
“I don’t see why that would be a problem. I mean, you’re on the football team.” You sassed.
Curtis clenched his fists with anger, but you ignored him. Gabriel tried to hide a smile at your perfect comeback.
You smiled at the janitor once he’d cleaned up. “Thank you.” You said, quietly.
The man smiled. “Hey, just doing my job.”
Back to being wallpaper, it was, to the both of you, not that you minded. While Gabriel used it as a disguise, you used it as protection. It meant fewer people to bother you, fewer people to use you as a punchline.
Curtis turned back to his friends, immediately forgetting you existed. “You hear about the professor?”
“I heard he tried to get tail and got murdered.” One of his friends retold.
The jock snorted. “No way. He just took a nosedive from his office.”
Ah, so the news was spreading. Gabriel felt a little pride that his work hadn’t gone unnoticed. But at the same time, this might attract unwanted attention.
“You think it’s the ghost of room 669?” A girl piped up.
“Ghosts? God, you’re starting to talk like the weirdo.” Curtis scoffed, looking in your direction. “Like seriously, I’d rather slow dance with an alien than read one of their dumb stories.”
Gabriel crossed his arms. This pledge master had a reputation for being a bully. You stood up to him, which Gabriel admired, but it didn’t look like Curtis would change. He’d just made his way onto the trickster’s list of targets.
Was it dangerous? Yes. Did it only make the pair of hunters that had recently arrived more suspicious? Yes. But was making Curtis think he’d been abducted by aliens, probed, and forced to slow dance worth it? Hell. Yes.
The rumour spread around campus like the plague in medieval England. People were talking about the pledge master who’d been rambling on about aliens like a madman.
It felt like poetic justice to you. You were glad to finally have some peace. Even more, it would make a great short story.
It was time to head home. Most had already left the campus. You liked this little bit of time. Just you and your thoughts.
“Hey, hold the door!”
Well, you, your thoughts, and the janitor. You stopped the door you exited out of before it could close and pulled it back open.
The janitor, hands full of boxes, walked through. “Thanks, sugar. Guess who put off moving supplies? Now an entire wing is out of toilet paper.”
You laughed. “Here, let me help you.”
His eyes peeked over the mountain of boxes and you could see his brow furrow. “You sure? It's pretty late.”
“It's fine, I live pretty close. I don't mind helping.” You replied.
“I'd offer you a hand, but…” The janitor said, causing you to laugh again. “My name's Gabriel.”
It had been over a thousand years since he said that. Over a thousand years since he had used his real name. He could have told you anything. Loki, Griffin, Sam, Richard, all past aliases. Yet somehow, he trusted you enough to say 'Gabriel'.
“Nice to meet you, Gabriel,” You said, taking a box from the top of the pile and carrying in your arms. “I'm Y/N.”
“Y/N, yeah! I've seen you around campus. Always with a notebook. You a creative writing major?”
“Yeah. I want to be an author in the future.” You confessed. “Don't think I ever will be, though.”
“What? No way!” Gabriel exclaimed. “I bet you're an awesome writer. Tell you what, we meet up for coffee tomorrow and you read me something from your notebook.”
“What? No! My stories are-”
“Erotic?” Gabriel asked with a smirk.
You tried not to laugh. “No! I was going to say horrible. Besides, what would I get out of it?”
“A free coffee and seeing me out of uniform?” Gabriel said, wiggling his brow.
“Okay, okay. I guess I need a beta reader anyway.” You complied.
“Awesome,” Gabe said, setting the boxes in his arms on the ground and taking one from you. “It's a date.”
You smiled and walked off, Gabriel was glad you finally started to talk to him. You may not have been popular, but you didn’t care. You fought back.
A cowardly archangel had to admire that.
You jogged into the small coffee shop, the aroma of ground beans hitting you right away. Your eyes scanned the room, searching for Gabriel.
The college janitor was sitting at a table in the corner, one hand holding a tabloid, the other stirring a whipped-cream covered hot chocolate monstrosity with a teaspoon.
“Sewer gators?” You asked, the faint hint of exhaustion in your voice.
“Crazy what people will believe, huh?” Gabriel replied with a grin. “Glad you can make it, Cupcake.”
You sat down, taking off your shoulder bag and placing it on the floor. “Sorry I’m late, I slept in.” You sighed.
“Not a problem. Want me to get you something? It’s on me.” Gabriel offered.
“Oh, I can’t-”
“Relax, sugar. It’s the least I can do.”
Finally, you complied, giving Gabriel your order. As he walked off to the counter, you couldn’t help but stare a little. He looked good in casual wear, especially from behind.
“So, how long have you been working at Crawford Hall?” You asked once Gabriel sat back down.
“Six years.” He replied. “Might quit soon.”
“Oh.” Your face fell. “Why?”
Gabriel couldn’t exactly say ‘because there are hunters on my trail and I’m not in the mood to get a stake through the chest.’
“Just have better things to do, I guess.” Was the excuse. Not a lie, just not the full truth.
“I can understand that.” You sympathised. “I’ll miss you.”
Gabriel grinned, tapping his fingers gently on the table top. “Aww, you care about me. I’ll miss you too.”
You smiled, hoping your cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. You took your laptop out and placed it on the table, turning it on. “You sure you want to read my stories?” You asked.
“More than anything,” Gabriel replied.
Suddenly being a janitor didn't seem like the worst thing in the world to Gabriel.
~ Murdoch’s tag list - want to be added or removed? Send me an ask! ~
Brain, brain, brain...hi...I'mma need you to stop coming up with story ideas when I barely have time to even plan out the stories you already came up with! I know it's cute, I know I haven't seen anything like it on here so therefore I should write it, but like...breathe! Cause you givin' me heart palpitations.
So...I may have wrote the first chapter of a story...but idk if I should post it or wait until I at least have the 2nd chapter planned out, but it's of our man ladies
Janitor!Gabriel with the way the uniform fits so well or doctor!Gabriel with the adorable sleeves and bounciness or cop!Gabriel with the way his hair curls around the hat?
I’m sorry, but nothing
will ever be able to compete
with the hotness that is
Janitor Gabriel.
(Look how fucking cute he is in this episode I cannot)
