Angel Wing Chapter Two
Title: Angel Wing
Pairing(s): Linkara/Spoony
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,414
Warning(s): Violence, strong language, overt Christian themes and theology
Summary: When an angel loses his wing and falls to Earth, he learns more than he ever expected and finds more than he ever dreamed of.
Spoony wasn’t sure how long he sat there. Eventually, he stopped crying and looked around, examining the part of Earth that he had landed on. It was an isolated part, with trees all around, though he seemed to have landed on some sort of road winding through the trees. It was night time and the rain was still falling-someone else must have gone to purgatory to continue his battle when he fell.
Spoony then noticed that he was completely naked, the clothing of Heaven destroyed when he fell, though this didn’t bother him much. After all, there was no one around and even if there was, they’d probably be more disturbed by the gigantic wing than the rest of his appearance.
He wondered what he was supposed to do now. He couldn’t get back to Heaven like this, but he wasn’t about to start wandering the mortal world without any idea of where he was or what to look for. His stomach twisted unpleasantly when he thought of how disappointed the Saints must have been with him-couldn’t even take on a minor demon without falling to Earth where a mortal could find him…
Shit. This was not good at all. Now that he had touched the mortal ground, he could be seen, wing and all. If anyone happened along, Lord only knew what would happen to him. He’d probably be taken to some sort of laboratory for experiments, plastered all over the tabloid news, turned into a spectacle, cause arguments between various religious doctrines… the best he could hope for was that he’d be found by someone good, someone who wouldn’t use him for their own gain…
As if in answer to his prayers, a bright light suddenly appeared around a bend, lighting up the road and the rain. Spoony threw his hands in front of his eyes-apparently being on the mortal Earth meant that he was subject to the same little annoyances as the humans, like having bright lights cause a headache. A moment later, he realized that being run over was going to hurt a lot more than being blinded by bright lights, so he stood up, intent on getting off the road.
Right. Bad idea, since that only attracted attention. The light was coming from a car-after Spoony’s time on Earth, but he had been watching the world long enough to know what was going on-and it stopped. The lights didn’t turn off, but the door opened and a young man got out.
He was tall and healthy and wore a nice brown hat, the type that Spoony normally didn’t see humans wear anymore, but it looked right on this one, as though it was meant to be there. When he stepped into the light, Spoony saw that he was rather ordinary-looking, with plain brown hair and a face that, while pleasant, wasn’t anything humans would call special. But then Spoony looked into the young man’s clear blue eyes and saw in them a sort of goodness that not every human could maintain until adulthood. Spoony could see faith in them, and kindness, and strength-so much strength. And Spoony knew that this man wouldn’t harm him.
“Hey!” the young man called. “Are you okay?”
Spoony stared for a moment before answering. “Depends on your definition of ‘okay,’” he answered. “If you’re asking if I’m hurt, then the answer is, yes, I am hurt.” He gestured to his back. “If you’re asking if I’m sad, the answer is also yes. But if you’re asking if I have lost my faith, then the answer is no.”
The young man stopped and considered this for a moment. “I meant the first one,” he said. “But the other two work, I guess.” He examined Spoony closely. “What are you?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a man with a wing before. Though if I had to guess… some sort of fallen angel?”
“Got it in one,” Spoony said. “Are you frightened?”
“No. Should I be?”
“Most humans would be. You fear what you don’t understand.”
The young man shrugged. “Angels are good, right? I mean, they were good people on Earth. So even though you fell, there has to be some goodness in you. And you said yourself that you haven’t lost your faith, so I feel almost certain you won’t hurt me.” His eyes were moving over the rest of Spoony’s body now. Spoony could see a blush creep across the young man’s face. “Do you… do you want any help? I can take you somewhere warm… where you can… get some pants on, at least.”
Spoony looked at him suspiciously. Just because he saw good in the man’s eyes didn’t mean that he didn’t have an ulterior motive. “Where would you take me?” he asked.
“Just back to my apartment,” the young man said. “It’s about an hour away from here.”
“You wouldn’t hand me over to scientists?”
“No.”
“Or use me to prove your faith is correct?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Most would.”
“If I did that, wouldn’t it prove my own cynicism? After all, faith means believing in something whether you have proof or not.”
Spoony smiled. “You’re very wise.”
“That’s basic stuff.”
“Basic stuff that most humans ignore. They always need proof of something.”
“Well, I don’t.”
Spoony studied the young man’s face for a moment. “All right,” he said. “I accept whatever help you offer.” He held out his hand.
The young man hesitated before he stepped forward and grasped it. “My name is Linkara,” he said.
“Linkara,” Spoony repeated. It was a nice name. A strong name. It fit him well. “My name is Spoony.”
*
They didn’t speak again as they drove back to Linkara’s apartment. Spoony was caught up in a stream of silent prayers that Linkara had told the truth when he promised not to use Spoony to his own ends, and Linkara didn’t seem to want to disturb him, though he did keep glancing at Spoony every few seconds as they drove. Spoony didn’t blame him-he knew that he must be incredible to this human. Linkara had given him a blanket to wrap around his waist and they had folded the seat back as far as they could to make room for his wing, and overall, it wasn’t a horribly uncomfortable journey.
At last, they reached a small town and went to a fairly large building. Linkara glanced around nervously as he pulled out his keys and led Spoony inside. Spoony knew what was on his mind. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted anyone else to know about him, either. But it was so late at night that there was no one on the street, nor did anyone look out of their doors as Linkara took Spoony up a flight of steps and to a door that was identical to all the others in the hallway. Linkara hurried him inside and locked the door as soon as it closed.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll just get you something else to wear… you can sit down on the futon if you want.”
“Thank you,” Spoony said. He sat down while Linkara went down the hallway to another room. It took a moment of adjustment before Spoony found a comfortable position for his wing, but he finally did, tucking it behind him at an angle so it didn’t hit the futon or take up too much space.
Linkara returned a moment later with several garments in his arms. “Here,” he said, offering a pair of pants. “Try those on. I don’t know if they’ll fit you, but…”
“It’s fine,” Spoony said, accepting them and pulling them on. They were black, comfortable, slightly loose, but they would hold.
Linkara fidgeted nervously. “I…I’m not too sure about a shirt… I mean, I don’t want to constrict your wing any… and I’m not sure…”
“It’s fine,” Spoony repeated. “At least, as long as you’re not too uncomfortable.”
“No!” Linkara said quickly. “I only meant… you might get cold…” He was blushing again.
Spoony smiled. “Trust me. I won’t be.” He unfurled his wing a bit. “I can just wrap my wing around myself and I’ll be perfectly warm.”
Linkara nodded. “How… how big…?”
Spoony stood up and spread his wing, letting it circle up until the wingtip was above his head, brushing the ceiling. Linkara stared in awe. “Wow,” he muttered.
Spoony relaxed, letting his wing fall back down. “It was more impressive when there were two,” he said.
“I can imagine,” Linkara murmured reverently. “How… never mind.”
“How did I lose it?” Spoony asked.
“If… if you don’t want to answer, that’s okay,” Linkara said.
“It’s all right,” Spoony said. “It’s only natural that you would be curious.” He sat back down on the futon. “I was fighting a demon that wanted to take the mortal world and he got the best of me. Weakened me enough that I couldn’t fight him, then tricked me into falling… and he cut off my wing as I passed so that I couldn’t return to Heaven. So I fell… and you found me.”
Linkara nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Why?” Spoony said. “You did nothing wrong. In fact, you’ve done nothing but right.”
“Just what people say,” Linkara muttered. “So… are you hungry at all? What do angels even eat?”
“We don’t,” Spoony answered. “We’re nourished by the good will of man. So as long as people are good, the angels will never be hungry.”
Linkara nodded. “Okay, then… I was just going to get something to eat before bed… I don’t know, do angels sleep?”
“We can,” Spoony said. “And if I’m going to be here long, I’d probably better get in the habit.”
“Futon okay? I can fold it out for you.”
“Fine.”
Linkara quickly did so and found a few more blankets, in spite of Spoony’s assurances that he would be warm enough. Spoony smiled. At least the Saints had been listening when he asked for kindness. He could feel himself regaining strength. Perhaps whatever Insano had done to block the goodness was wearing off, or maybe it was being so close to someone so kind, but Spoony knew that he would be all right now. He lay down, wrapping his wing around himself and pulling the blankets over his legs. “Good night, Linkara,” he called. “And thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Linkara said. “I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that, Linkara retreated down the hall to his own room.
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