the_baking_vampire | On a wing and a prayer

This isn't the first charge he's ever had as a guardian angel, so it's not exactly as if he's new at his job. He's never broken the rules before or failed in his task. He's always followed strictly to the rules and protected his charges with the utmost care and diligence.

He never thought things would be so much different with John Grimm.

As a boy, he'd lost his parents, and Seere had been tasked to him without any real explanation of why. Sometimes, that's how it goes; an assignment without a reason. It's never bothered him. All he knew was that he needed to protect the boy, and by extension, that usually meant protecting his twin sister, as well, inseparable as they were.

For years, Seere watched him grow, a sad, shy, and reserved child who turned into a handsome young man.

It was difficult when John entered the military. Seere can't fix mental anguish. How does one protect against that sort of thing without keeping a soul from gaining the necessary experiences to benefit from having lived? So, he watches as John struggles through bootcamp, watches as he struggles with the deaths of his friends, with the guilt that comes with it. He wants to help, but there's nothing he can do. He can't protect everyone. Only John.

Seere is wary when John gets selected for the RRTS. It's such a dangerous squad. Protecting him becomes a full-time task, flitting in and out of John's vision, exploiting those fractional blind spots that all humans have to subtly change the trajectory of bullets or nudge him away from a falling object or protect him from an explosion.

During these years, he's grown closer to John. He knows he shouldn't get attached, but John is such a sweet, loyal person, Seere can't help but care for him. He's gentle and protects those around him, gives everything he's got to try to keep his friends safe. He's grown into a man that Seere is proud to watch over, even if it's become dangerous to do so. Angels aren't allowed to love.

Still, his job goes well up until John is in his 26th year -- and he suddenly disappears.

Seere tracks his last signature to the point where it disappeared. It's a portal to Mars. Seere knows this, but he can't go. He can't leave the sphere of influence that Angels have on Earth. He can't travel to Mars with him, can't protect him. For once in his eternal life, Seere is afraid he will fail. He's not afraid of the punishment for it, he's afraid for John.

So, he heads back to Heaven to wait, and never have two days seemed so long for someone with as much patience as he has.

As soon as John's familiar tug reappears on Earth, Seere seeks him out.

He finds him at the hospital, beside the bed of his sister, and he immediately looks the both of them over for injuries. John is perfectly healthy, as far as Seere can tell, but Sam seems as if she has been wounded. Not fatally so, thankfully.

He breathes out a sigh of relief. He is so glad to see his charge is safe.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

beautifulanimal

"Yeah, I can feel that."

Snicker.

From:

the_baking_vampire

"Really? How?" Maybe John has some way of feeling differences in muscle types?

From:

beautifulanimal

"We're pressed together pretty tight. How could I avoid it?"

He also still has his leg wrapped around Seere's. They're pretty much locked together at the hip.

From:

the_baking_vampire

"Oh. That is a valid point." Seere supposes that makes sense. "Still, I am harder than I look. You should refrain from biting me."

From:

beautifulanimal

"I'd never bite. That would be cruel."

Since they're joking, though... he's not fully sure that he is anymore, he adds:

"You know, if you're hard, I can take care of it for you."

From:

the_baking_vampire

"What? How?" Is John offering him a massage? That will not make him any easier to bite. Now he's even more confused.

From:

beautifulanimal

...

He bites his lip and turns a bright shade of red, but still manages to blurt out a nervous "I could show you?"

From:

the_baking_vampire

"Alright." Seere still looks perplexed, but he completely trusts John. "What do you want me to do?"

From:

beautifulanimal

"Just relax. I'll do everything."

He's so nervous suddenly. He's only ever been any sort of intimate with one guy and he's not sure if this is the best idea, but he promised he'd do anything Seere wanted. So... he leans in and presses little kisses against his neck as his hand slides down to palm at him.

From:

the_baking_vampire

WHOA. HELLO.

Seere starts, and it's only after a second that he realized his panicked backpedaling ended him up in Egypt, so he quickly wings back to John, standing beside the bed, feathers still fluffed in surprise. Even his hair frizzed a little. "What were you doing?"

From:

beautifulanimal

John doesn't get much time to process what just happened. Sure, Seere vanishes, but before he can run through why, he's back and looking like he got electrocuted. So John sits up and stares at him.

"You said you were hard!"

From:

the_baking_vampire

Seere stares right back at him.

"I said I was harder than I look. Knives won't cut me unless they're made from special materials."

From:

beautifulanimal

"... I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT YOUR COCK!"

Oh God. He's just going to hide under the blankets now and never come out.

From:

the_baking_vampire

"What?" Seere looks around for a rooster, but then it slowly dawns on him what John is talking about. "Oh. ...Oh. I... no. I've never, um-- Angels aren't supposed to have sex."

From:

beautifulanimal

And the muffled voice from under the duvet is saying: "You're not supposed to fall for a charge either, but you ripped through that rule. How was I to know you didn't mean- I'm sorry."

From:

the_baking_vampire

Seere smiles and comes to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out to pet that lump under the duvet reassuringly. "It was a misunderstanding on both our parts. There is nothing to apologize for. Though... I'm flattered you would want to do that with me."

From:

beautifulanimal

"I thought it was what you wanted..."

From:

the_baking_vampire

"Is that the only reason?" He won't be offended if John says yes.

From:

beautifulanimal

"Yeah- I mean, I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't want to, but I was just joking around and I thought you were, too, but then I thought you were serious and I really wanted to- I'm sorry. It's so wrong. You're an angel."