23.
Title: By That Sin Fell the Angels
Pairing/Characters: Cesc Fàbregas, Yoann Gourcuff, Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso/badassery, (implied) Sergio Ramos/Fernando Torres
Disclaimer: Complete fiction
Summary: In which Cesc sucks at being an angel, Iker is an Ophanim in heaven and Xabi is a Throne in the Underworld, pushing Iker's buttons and burning his wings. And Sergio is a minion. Of course.
Cesc is a crappy angel. He had only scraped through in the end because of Robin. How he got to be a Virtue is beyond him. Well, Virtue on probation as Iker constantly reminds him. Honestly. You hide one halo and they never let you forget it. The Ophanim had no sense of humour.
"I can't believe you're a Virtue," Sergio says, laughing. Cackling is more fitting.
"Better than being a minion," Cesc shoots backs.
They’re at the bar where all the angels, including the fallen, mingle. The Ophanim forbade it, making the name of the bar, The Forbidden Fruit, appropriate. They’re constantly appearing and hurrying the angels out of there, berating them while they’re at it. Cesc gets jealous of the fallen angels sometimes; the Thrones don’t care what they do.
Sergio shrugs. "I regret nothing. It's more fun in the Underworld. Debauchery, lechery, all kinds of delightful depravity.” He flashes his teeth at Cesc. “Donuts."
Cesc glares at him. "Low blow."
"That’s what we do.” He has the audacity to preen. “You were so close, what happened?” He looks almost mournful at that. “I mean, god-”
“Are you allowed to say that?”
“It’s fun, but I’d have more fun with you around. I’m sort of bored waiting for Fernando to kick the bucket.”
Cesc rolls his eyes. “That’s rude, isn’t it? What makes you think he’ll end up in the Underworld anyway?”
Sergio smirks. “He’s a rent boy. I don’t think your boss approves of that.” He sighs. “He got the flu the other day, it was really bad. I thought that was it, but some john took him to the hospital and paid for his medical bills. What a dick.”
“Can’t you be a degenerate with someone else? What about Cristiano? He seems up for anything.”
Sergio waves his hand dismissively. “No, he’s off trying to tempt some priest in Brazil or somewhere. Plus I want Fernando.” He sighs dreamily. “Our Cherubim test was fun, wasn’t it?”
Cesc scoffs. “You didn’t last a day.”
When Cesc and Sergio had gone down to earth with the rest of their Cherubim class, Sergio gets in trouble right away. They’re given seven days to complete as many good deeds as possible, while avoiding temptation along the way. Even those with the best intentions tend to wander off; it was overwhelming being able to taste and feel things for the first time. And Sergio never had good intentions in the first place.
He’d been on earth for half a day, when Xabi had swooped in and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Iker wasn’t far behind. “He has seven days, Xabi.”
Xabi laughs. “Iker, come on, Sergio has been testing you since he appeared.” He gives Sergio a patronizing smile. “You were a precious cherub, but I knew you’d be mine the day you stole that feather from Iker’s wings.”
Sergio sighs. “It was so soft.”
“Of course it was,” Xabi says. “But those wings are such a hassle. They don’t fold into the suits, you see.” He smiles smugly as Sergio regards his suit in awe.
Iker scowls. “Seven days.”
“Iker, he’s tarnished. He liked it.”
“Loved it,” Sergio adds.
“You see? He’s not coming back with you.” Xabi smirks. “When will you learn, Iker? There's no turning back sometimes. Just because you went back.”
Sergio gasps and stares at Iker. “You didn’t.”
“Xabi,” Iker warns.
“What was his name? David, wasn’t it?” Xabi smiles. “You were actually fun then, Iker. I don’t know why you decided to go back.” His eyes move away from Iker’s face and fixate on a point past him. “Oh, look, there’s another one of your Cherubim approaching the same blonde boy who Sergio had fun with.”
Sergio looks up. “Get away from him, Cesc! He’s mine!” he calls out, rushing off and leaving the two Elders alone.
Xabi looks smug. “What do you teach them up there, Iker? They’re always so eager to fall.”
“You know what we teach them,” Iker growls. “You were one too, Xabi, don’t forget.”
“Oh, I haven’t,” Xabi laughs, stroking Iker’s wings. “Perhaps they too see the flaws in the grand design or whatever you saps are calling it these days. Not that I’m complaining, it makes my job so much easier.”
Iker’s wings fold into themselves automatically, shying away from Xabi’s touch. By the time that Iker notices that the edges are singed, Xabi has disappeared. He frowns when he notices that Cesc has disappeared too. Sergio is laughing with the blonde boy, so at least Cesc hasn’t gone off with him.
Iker sighs. Cesc was going to be trouble.
Sex, Cesc decides, can wait. He’s not all that interested in it and plus Sergio was being too possessive, and Fernando wasn’t even that pretty.
Cesc starts off on his own path of self-destruction. He basically walks into any store and picks up anything that looks interesting to him. Which is how he discovers Krispy Kreme. And donuts. Oh, god, the donuts. That's what does it. Fuck the pearly gates and earning his official wings. Apparently Red Bull did that anyway.
He's lounging at a bus station with his donuts and Red Bull, thinking that his mind was made up. There's no way he's giving up donuts at the end of the week, he wasn't going back.
He startles when Iker pops in. Cesc hates that. Sort of. He couldn't wait until he got to do it himself, but he hated Iker or any of the Ophanims dropping in unannounced.
Especially if they're going to look at you distastefully.
"Donuts?" Iker says, looking pained. "You're going to fall because of donuts?"
"They're really good," Cesc insists. "They probably didn't have any when you came down for your test but-"
"I am not that old," Iker interrupts. "Donuts are a one way ticket to a sugar-induced coma."
Mmm, sugar-induced coma. That doesn't sound so bad to him.
"Looks like I'll be getting this one as well."
Cesc jumps and glares at Xabi, who has appeared on the other side of him. "Stop doing that," he complains.
Xabi pats him on the shoulder. "Donuts are a marvellous thing, aren't they?" he says pleasantly.
"Come off it, Xabi," Iker says impatiently. "You never liked them. I got the sugar-induced coma bit from you."
Xabi smiles. "It's precious how you use my words to influence your cherubim." He dusts some of the powder off a donut from Cesc's chin. "I've learned to appreciate them. They got me Lampard. Or perhaps it was pies, who knows?" He bestows another smile at Cesc and says, "See you soon," before he disappears.
Iker huffs. "Consider your choices wisely, Cesc. Not everything is donuts and Red Bull." He sighs, gives Cesc a tired smile and he pops out.
Cesc blinks and notices the boy sitting next to him. He wonders how long he's been there, and he also wonders how the Ophanims and Thrones popped in and out without the humans noticing. If he ever graduated, wherever that would be, he'd get to do it too, but he wouldn't get whatever invisibility shield or whatever they called it. Cesc hates the Elders, they always hogged all the cool stuff.
He looks in interest at the boy beside him and gets excited when he notices the uniform. "Hey, I know you! You're one of those people…those…fighter people. You go off to fight in those silly wars you humans think are so important."
The boy next to him blinks. "A marine, yeah." He pauses. "Humans?"
Oh. Cesc needs to watch his words. "I mean…uhmmm, donut?" He holds out the box to him.
The boy shakes his head. "No thanks."
Cesc peers at him as he licks the icing off his fingers. He looks pale and a little sick. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He falls quiet and then sighs. "No. I don't know."
Cesc wrinkles his nose. Indecisiveness. He's not sure he likes that. A small price to pay for a lifetime of donuts though, he decides. "Are you coming or going?" he asks, pointing to the uniform.
The boy turns paler.
Pasty is not a nice look, Cesc thinks. Tanning was definitely the way to go.
"Going."
"Oh." Cesc pauses to think. He doesn't know much about war. They had learned about it in class, learned that it was never necessary and the damage wrought from it was almost always irreparable. "That sucks." That seems like an appropriate response.
The boy laughs, but it's a weird laugh and it makes Cesc uncomfortable. "Yeah, it does." He turns to Cesc. "It's just…they never prepare you, not really. I mean, yes, you get the physical training and the logistics and the codes. They teach you not to be afraid, and everything is okay until you kill someone."
Cesc shifts in his seat but doesn't say anything.
"When it's other soldiers and they're shooting at you, you don't care. They all have the same face. You blow off an arm, you don't care because it means they can't shoot at you."
Apathy. Cesc has never liked that one. He can't fathom what it's like not caring about other people.
"And then the shooting stops." The boy has turned away from him and is staring at the floor. "One of the guys in my platoon was hit in the leg and died from an infection. He has a little girl, and I thought…those soldiers I shot at, I killed, they have families too. The civilian deaths are--" He stops and rubs at his face. "I've done terrible things. The other side does too but that doesn't make what we do excusable." He glances at Cesc. "We're awful, you know?"
Cesc remains silent.
The boy gets up. "My bus is here." He hovers over Cesc. "I'm Yoann."
"Cesc," he replies, faintly.
Yoann nods. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Cesc shakes head. "No, I'm going home.”
Robin helps him scrape up enough good deeds and despite the stern look Iker gives him at graduation, Cesc thinks he’s secretly pleased.
Cesc is actually really good at his job at helping souls cross over (it’s just the other things he’s bad at-like fraternizing with the enemy all the time. And having a best friend who’s a minion doesn’t help his cause). It’s why Iker always put him on probation instead of demoting him altogether.
Yoann is one of the first souls he helps to cross over and he’s alone when Cesc comes to collect him. It makes him unhappy, the thought of Yoann’s last moments being alone and possibly feeling abandoned.
“Oh,” Yoann says, blinking at the wings. “Humans. I get it now.”
“Yeah,” Cesc says sadly.
"I had a friend. Marouane." Yoann looks panicked and guilty. "I promised I wouldn't leave him."
"It doesn't matter. You can't do anything now."
“Do you think I could say bye to my mother?” Yoann asks, sounding like he knows the answer already.
“I don’t think so.” Cesc holds out his hand to Yoann. “Come on, it’s not so bad. I promise.”
Pairing/Characters: Cesc Fàbregas, Yoann Gourcuff, Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso/badassery, (implied) Sergio Ramos/Fernando Torres
Disclaimer: Complete fiction
Summary: In which Cesc sucks at being an angel, Iker is an Ophanim in heaven and Xabi is a Throne in the Underworld, pushing Iker's buttons and burning his wings. And Sergio is a minion. Of course.
Cesc is a crappy angel. He had only scraped through in the end because of Robin. How he got to be a Virtue is beyond him. Well, Virtue on probation as Iker constantly reminds him. Honestly. You hide one halo and they never let you forget it. The Ophanim had no sense of humour.
"I can't believe you're a Virtue," Sergio says, laughing. Cackling is more fitting.
"Better than being a minion," Cesc shoots backs.
They’re at the bar where all the angels, including the fallen, mingle. The Ophanim forbade it, making the name of the bar, The Forbidden Fruit, appropriate. They’re constantly appearing and hurrying the angels out of there, berating them while they’re at it. Cesc gets jealous of the fallen angels sometimes; the Thrones don’t care what they do.
Sergio shrugs. "I regret nothing. It's more fun in the Underworld. Debauchery, lechery, all kinds of delightful depravity.” He flashes his teeth at Cesc. “Donuts."
Cesc glares at him. "Low blow."
"That’s what we do.” He has the audacity to preen. “You were so close, what happened?” He looks almost mournful at that. “I mean, god-”
“Are you allowed to say that?”
“It’s fun, but I’d have more fun with you around. I’m sort of bored waiting for Fernando to kick the bucket.”
Cesc rolls his eyes. “That’s rude, isn’t it? What makes you think he’ll end up in the Underworld anyway?”
Sergio smirks. “He’s a rent boy. I don’t think your boss approves of that.” He sighs. “He got the flu the other day, it was really bad. I thought that was it, but some john took him to the hospital and paid for his medical bills. What a dick.”
“Can’t you be a degenerate with someone else? What about Cristiano? He seems up for anything.”
Sergio waves his hand dismissively. “No, he’s off trying to tempt some priest in Brazil or somewhere. Plus I want Fernando.” He sighs dreamily. “Our Cherubim test was fun, wasn’t it?”
Cesc scoffs. “You didn’t last a day.”
When Cesc and Sergio had gone down to earth with the rest of their Cherubim class, Sergio gets in trouble right away. They’re given seven days to complete as many good deeds as possible, while avoiding temptation along the way. Even those with the best intentions tend to wander off; it was overwhelming being able to taste and feel things for the first time. And Sergio never had good intentions in the first place.
He’d been on earth for half a day, when Xabi had swooped in and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Iker wasn’t far behind. “He has seven days, Xabi.”
Xabi laughs. “Iker, come on, Sergio has been testing you since he appeared.” He gives Sergio a patronizing smile. “You were a precious cherub, but I knew you’d be mine the day you stole that feather from Iker’s wings.”
Sergio sighs. “It was so soft.”
“Of course it was,” Xabi says. “But those wings are such a hassle. They don’t fold into the suits, you see.” He smiles smugly as Sergio regards his suit in awe.
Iker scowls. “Seven days.”
“Iker, he’s tarnished. He liked it.”
“Loved it,” Sergio adds.
“You see? He’s not coming back with you.” Xabi smirks. “When will you learn, Iker? There's no turning back sometimes. Just because you went back.”
Sergio gasps and stares at Iker. “You didn’t.”
“Xabi,” Iker warns.
“What was his name? David, wasn’t it?” Xabi smiles. “You were actually fun then, Iker. I don’t know why you decided to go back.” His eyes move away from Iker’s face and fixate on a point past him. “Oh, look, there’s another one of your Cherubim approaching the same blonde boy who Sergio had fun with.”
Sergio looks up. “Get away from him, Cesc! He’s mine!” he calls out, rushing off and leaving the two Elders alone.
Xabi looks smug. “What do you teach them up there, Iker? They’re always so eager to fall.”
“You know what we teach them,” Iker growls. “You were one too, Xabi, don’t forget.”
“Oh, I haven’t,” Xabi laughs, stroking Iker’s wings. “Perhaps they too see the flaws in the grand design or whatever you saps are calling it these days. Not that I’m complaining, it makes my job so much easier.”
Iker’s wings fold into themselves automatically, shying away from Xabi’s touch. By the time that Iker notices that the edges are singed, Xabi has disappeared. He frowns when he notices that Cesc has disappeared too. Sergio is laughing with the blonde boy, so at least Cesc hasn’t gone off with him.
Iker sighs. Cesc was going to be trouble.
Sex, Cesc decides, can wait. He’s not all that interested in it and plus Sergio was being too possessive, and Fernando wasn’t even that pretty.
Cesc starts off on his own path of self-destruction. He basically walks into any store and picks up anything that looks interesting to him. Which is how he discovers Krispy Kreme. And donuts. Oh, god, the donuts. That's what does it. Fuck the pearly gates and earning his official wings. Apparently Red Bull did that anyway.
He's lounging at a bus station with his donuts and Red Bull, thinking that his mind was made up. There's no way he's giving up donuts at the end of the week, he wasn't going back.
He startles when Iker pops in. Cesc hates that. Sort of. He couldn't wait until he got to do it himself, but he hated Iker or any of the Ophanims dropping in unannounced.
Especially if they're going to look at you distastefully.
"Donuts?" Iker says, looking pained. "You're going to fall because of donuts?"
"They're really good," Cesc insists. "They probably didn't have any when you came down for your test but-"
"I am not that old," Iker interrupts. "Donuts are a one way ticket to a sugar-induced coma."
Mmm, sugar-induced coma. That doesn't sound so bad to him.
"Looks like I'll be getting this one as well."
Cesc jumps and glares at Xabi, who has appeared on the other side of him. "Stop doing that," he complains.
Xabi pats him on the shoulder. "Donuts are a marvellous thing, aren't they?" he says pleasantly.
"Come off it, Xabi," Iker says impatiently. "You never liked them. I got the sugar-induced coma bit from you."
Xabi smiles. "It's precious how you use my words to influence your cherubim." He dusts some of the powder off a donut from Cesc's chin. "I've learned to appreciate them. They got me Lampard. Or perhaps it was pies, who knows?" He bestows another smile at Cesc and says, "See you soon," before he disappears.
Iker huffs. "Consider your choices wisely, Cesc. Not everything is donuts and Red Bull." He sighs, gives Cesc a tired smile and he pops out.
Cesc blinks and notices the boy sitting next to him. He wonders how long he's been there, and he also wonders how the Ophanims and Thrones popped in and out without the humans noticing. If he ever graduated, wherever that would be, he'd get to do it too, but he wouldn't get whatever invisibility shield or whatever they called it. Cesc hates the Elders, they always hogged all the cool stuff.
He looks in interest at the boy beside him and gets excited when he notices the uniform. "Hey, I know you! You're one of those people…those…fighter people. You go off to fight in those silly wars you humans think are so important."
The boy next to him blinks. "A marine, yeah." He pauses. "Humans?"
Oh. Cesc needs to watch his words. "I mean…uhmmm, donut?" He holds out the box to him.
The boy shakes his head. "No thanks."
Cesc peers at him as he licks the icing off his fingers. He looks pale and a little sick. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He falls quiet and then sighs. "No. I don't know."
Cesc wrinkles his nose. Indecisiveness. He's not sure he likes that. A small price to pay for a lifetime of donuts though, he decides. "Are you coming or going?" he asks, pointing to the uniform.
The boy turns paler.
Pasty is not a nice look, Cesc thinks. Tanning was definitely the way to go.
"Going."
"Oh." Cesc pauses to think. He doesn't know much about war. They had learned about it in class, learned that it was never necessary and the damage wrought from it was almost always irreparable. "That sucks." That seems like an appropriate response.
The boy laughs, but it's a weird laugh and it makes Cesc uncomfortable. "Yeah, it does." He turns to Cesc. "It's just…they never prepare you, not really. I mean, yes, you get the physical training and the logistics and the codes. They teach you not to be afraid, and everything is okay until you kill someone."
Cesc shifts in his seat but doesn't say anything.
"When it's other soldiers and they're shooting at you, you don't care. They all have the same face. You blow off an arm, you don't care because it means they can't shoot at you."
Apathy. Cesc has never liked that one. He can't fathom what it's like not caring about other people.
"And then the shooting stops." The boy has turned away from him and is staring at the floor. "One of the guys in my platoon was hit in the leg and died from an infection. He has a little girl, and I thought…those soldiers I shot at, I killed, they have families too. The civilian deaths are--" He stops and rubs at his face. "I've done terrible things. The other side does too but that doesn't make what we do excusable." He glances at Cesc. "We're awful, you know?"
Cesc remains silent.
The boy gets up. "My bus is here." He hovers over Cesc. "I'm Yoann."
"Cesc," he replies, faintly.
Yoann nods. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Cesc shakes head. "No, I'm going home.”
Robin helps him scrape up enough good deeds and despite the stern look Iker gives him at graduation, Cesc thinks he’s secretly pleased.
Cesc is actually really good at his job at helping souls cross over (it’s just the other things he’s bad at-like fraternizing with the enemy all the time. And having a best friend who’s a minion doesn’t help his cause). It’s why Iker always put him on probation instead of demoting him altogether.
Yoann is one of the first souls he helps to cross over and he’s alone when Cesc comes to collect him. It makes him unhappy, the thought of Yoann’s last moments being alone and possibly feeling abandoned.
“Oh,” Yoann says, blinking at the wings. “Humans. I get it now.”
“Yeah,” Cesc says sadly.
"I had a friend. Marouane." Yoann looks panicked and guilty. "I promised I wouldn't leave him."
"It doesn't matter. You can't do anything now."
“Do you think I could say bye to my mother?” Yoann asks, sounding like he knows the answer already.
“I don’t think so.” Cesc holds out his hand to Yoann. “Come on, it’s not so bad. I promise.”