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He could hardly remember what it was like to feel heaven's grace, he'd been cast out so long ago. Earth was a mess but it was better being a demon here than in hell. So he'd given himself a name and watched as the world was cast deeper into despair. He liked humans, it was hard to live so long amongst them and not like a few. There were others however that he couldn't stand to see get away with vile things, he had been an angel once and still possessed a sense of righteousness. But he was a demon now and knew there was nothing worse that could happen to him so would sometimes take things into his own hands.
When the dead started returning Rick had thought it was God but there were no other signs and he couldn't understand how the good should have to suffer such torment. If it was God then it was proof that he didn't care. Rick had stumbled onto a small group of survivors and somehow become their leader. A couple of them had seen his eyes turn pitch black but hadn't called him out or tried to get rid of him, they understood that he was the reason they'd lasted this long and didn't want to jeopardize their own survival.
One day Rick was out on a supplies run by himself, he didn't need back up when he saw a man fall out of a tree and crash through the roof of a convenience store. Rick instantly went running to see if there was anything that could be done to help or at least to the merciful thing and put a bullet in the man's brain. Rick was beyond shocked to see a man with broken angel wings lying on the floor.
“Angel” Rick growled in disgust.
“Demon” the angel shot back before passing out. Rick had been tempted to leave him, he was an angel so he probably wouldn't be hurt by the walkers but then again he didn't know that for sure. Plus the angel had broken wings meaning he must have done something bad and Rick couldn't help but be a bit curious. It had been so long since he'd been in the presence of an angel that wasn't trying to kill him. A few times over the centuries Rick had run into trouble and needed to defend himself against heaven’s soldiers. But for whatever reason Rick felt drawn to the unconscious angel so carried him out to his car and then back to camp.
***
The angel’s name was Daryl or at least that was the name he had chosen for himself. Daryl's wings had been pretty banged up, Rick couldn't tell if he'd been cast out of heaven or not. When Rick had been cast out his wings had been taken and he was left with two nasty scars he could never conceal. Daryl had marks on his back too, but nowhere near as bad as Rick's. They never talked about it, granted they had only known each other a few months but they never mentioned heaven.
Daryl had taken to using a crossbow, he was a natural which told Rick he had used the weapon before, probably to kill demons. One day Rick startled Daryl as he'd been tracking something and the angel had pointed the crossbow right at Rick, his eyes as turned pitch black and Daryl's pure white they had stared at each other for several moments waiting to see if the other would attack before they snapped out of it.
“Sorry,” Rick muttered.
“S’fine just not used to demons” Daryl explained awkwardly. “Not used to demons.”
“And I'm not used to being around an angel that doesn't want to hurt me,” Rick said lightly.
“You saved me, I ain't gonna hurt you” Daryl grunted, turning away.
That was when Rick realized he was still showing his true eyes, they didn't just show darkness but when a person looked into them they were filled with dread and despair and guilt and shame and all the other things humans hated to feel about themselves. Rick didn't know it had the same effect on angels. “Shit sorry” Rick said before blinking and having his eyes shift back to blue. “I know better than to let anyone in the group see my eyes.”
“S’okay, can't be easy having to conceal yourself.”
“No it's not,” Rick sighed. “But I don't like making people scared unless they've deserved it. What about you, can't be easy keeping your wings hidden all the time.”
“It's better that way” Daryl muttered before walking away back to the prison.
Rick followed him, he could sense there was something bothering him. The two of them shared quarters in the warden’s office. It wasn't that their group didn't trust them, it was simply that they hardly slept and when they did they often had nightmares and they were the only ones strong enough to hold the other down and keep them from doing anything reckless. So the two shared the room, which was wonderful anf tortuous for, sometimes it was soothing having the other there at other times they would wonder the prison and keep out of the other's sight.
“Daryl” Rick asked softly, closing the door behind him. “Is something wrong with your wings, I thought they were healing?”
“They did but their fucking useless, all the breaks have healed but I can't fly anymore” Daryl explained trying to hold back tears.
“But your eyes your not-”
“I don't have demon eyes like you but it's obvious I've been cast out.”
“But you still have them, you didn't have a part of your body ripped out and forced to fall. I think you might have a chance to regain whatever you lost.”
Daryl turned around and slowly pulled off his shirt, Rick had to suppress a growl he liked the angel's form. Daryl's wings were disguised as tattoos on his back and Rick watched in fascination as the inked skin rippled and stretched, eventually transforming into a pair of white wings. He had scars and burns all over his back but he still had his wings, and that was so much more than what Rick had. He could sense that there was something missing from Daryl, his grace was gone, but there was still something divine within him.
“You really think this can be fixed” Daryl asked bitterly.
Rick stepped closer and ever so gently ran a finger over the angel's feathers. It had been so long since he'd felt something so divine. Daryl shivered on the touch but he didn't pull away. “I think someone like you doesn't need fixing, you're not broken Daryl, just lost, and I think you'll find whatever you've lost, I can feel that there's a small part of you connected to heaven” Rick said softly, continuing to stroke Daryl's feathers.
“Are you Lucifer” Daryl asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Rick stopped stroking his wings in shock. “You think I'm the Devil?” He wasn't mad at Daryl, just curious as to why he'd think that. He moved around to face the angel, but Daryl kept his eyes on the ground.
“Nah, not really, but sometimes the way you shun the humans or attack the ones that threaten us sometimes I wonder just who you were before you were cast away. It was said that Lucifer was the most beautiful of all the angels” Daryl explained.
“So you want to make sure I'm not him, that I won't tempt you into anything? Well I've been to hell, I've seen the devil but refused to do his bidding.” It was so long ago that there were times Rick wondered if it had been real, if maybe God was tricking him, but then he would remember that if God didn't seem to care about his favoured creations then why would he go to so much trouble to torture a lowly fallen angel like him.
“Your eyes,” Daryl whispered softly. The angel had finally looked up at him.
“Sorry” Rick muttered looking down. He hadn't meant to switch back to his black eyes.
“No,” Daryl said, quickly reaching for his arm. “I like your eyes,” he muttered.
“What” Rick asked in shock. In all the years Rick had roamed the earth no one had ever said they liked his eyes, everyone was always afraid once they saw.
Daryl gently cupped the side of his face and forced Rick to look up at him. “I like your eyes Rick.”
“Why?” Rick asked quietly.
“Can't explain it” Daryl sighed in frustration, as though he'd been thinking about this for a while. “I'm just drawn to you Rick.”
Rick felt Daryl's wings wrap around him and pull him even closer so their bodies were pressed together. “I'm drawn to you too” Rick whispered, pressing his forehead to Daryl's. They might be both castaways stuck in a world that seemed to be ending but they had each other, and for the moment that was all that mattered.