"Patrick?"

The blond looks up from where he's reading, hands gripping the book gently. For the past two weeks since Travie showed up, he's been much more empty. He never snaps and he's never angry like his initial personality showed.

Patrick doesn't speak, just lowers his eyes from the dark haired boy. He's shirtless, wings limp behind him and smaller because they're not stretched out and Patrick licks his lips at his presence. It's not that he doesn't want him there, it's just that they haven't talked in a while and he has a lot on his mind. He doesn't exactly want to talk. He hasn't since Travie showed up. Too many memories have come up and all he really feels like doing is trying to make them go away. He doesn't like to think about Travie... doesn't like to think about him as the father figure he was supposed fill.

His own dad? He doesn't talk about that. His mom? Nope. His sister and brother are long forgotten. He left everything at 12 and never looked back.

Travie is dead. Patrick knows that, but he can't sleep any better at night. Years of Travie trying to help Patrick and years of him getting fed up time and time again. Eventually it just got too much for Travie and he decided that 40,000 should be able to cover how much he grew to hate Patrick.

Patrick blinks.

Travie is dead. It's over now. Gerard is here.

The angel sighs and throws his hoodie to Patrick's clothes hamper before sitting beside the boy, back against the headboard. Patrick can't help but stare at him, taking in the long, greasy hair that falls to his shoulders. It's wavy and messy but beautiful, a dark black in color. Like charcoal pencils. His eyes are the color of coffee in the dark room, not much emotion shining through besides the sadness that usually fills them. Lowered to his hands and looking anywhere but Patrick. It only gives the man more chance to really look his opposite over.

He notices the small bits of hair on Gerard's chest, but they aren't black. They're a light blond in color and hardly noticeable. He even notices a few brown strands sticking out here and there and internally wonders in Gerard's natural hair color is really black.

His happy trail disappears into his jeans in a path of curly hair and that's where Patrick sees the dark hair along with beneath his shoulders.

"So... uh..." Gerard swallows and bites his lip, letting go not long after, though and leaving the flesh redder than before. Patrick feels his mouth to dry but tries to ignore it, "you wanted to know how I got my wings."

Patrick perks up, looking right into Gerard's eyes, "You gonna tell me?"

"If you want to know. After Travie I... I think I'm ready."

Patrick swallows and with an interested stare, he parts his lips and speaks, "Tell me."

Gerard gives a small smile, then sits back a little and sighs, gazing over at the wall opposite them. His eyes look distant. Broken. He looks broken. Then again, he's not the only one.

"It started with a man named Frank," Gerard says, "I met him in my senior year of high school. He was the most beautiful person I'd seen. Black hair and brown eyes and this goddamned lip ring he'd always bite. An absolute cliché bad boy and... well I managed to change him past all that. I'll skip most of the details, but we fell in love. He grew a soft spot for me and I was still so young and so naïve. We loved each other so much, rented an apartment together, got jobs and while I continued onto college, he provided most of the money for us. It was just so perfect, y'know? We were happy. High school sweethearts that made it on."

Patrick can see the way Gerard is smiling, all the fond memories coming back to him. He looks so happy and Patrick can't help but feel a stab of heartbreak for the poor boy.

"So when I found out he had cancer, it was only fitting I cry and scream for him."

Patrick swallows as he watches Gerard's eyes lower in pain, eyes flickering across the blanket as he holds some loose strands in his hand.

"He said it would be okay, he would survive. He said he would get better, promised it. I had plans to propose. I wanted to spend a life with his. I wanted... so fucking badly... I loved him..." Tears are rising to Gerard's eyes, "It hurt, 'Trick. Seeing him so weak and in so much pain and I wanted anything to just help him. But, of course, he just said it would be okay."

Patrick wipes a tear from the angel's cheek and gives the man a sad smile.

"He died six months later. I was heartbroken. I couldn't fucking take it. So I started going to some people. Satanists. God it was stupid. But they set me up and I was desperate to get Frank back. I met with the devil himself. It was so crazy and bizarre. I couldn't believe I was actually meeting something out of myth and books. And you know what I fucking did, Patrick?" He smiles hysterically and Patrick can see all the pain behind his eyes. How hard it must be to say this, "I fucking made a deal with him.

"I had to kill 1,000 evil men and only then could I get my Frankie back in my arms. I fucking agreed and I went out to kill. I killed criminals, robbers, thieves, sinners. He was in my head almost the whole time. Guiding me through each killing. One turned to five. Five to ten. Ten to twenty. Twenty to fifty and so on. Nine hundred and ninety nine later, he stopped me. He stopped me and put my hand to my head. Put that goddamned gun to my head and I fucking realized.

"I'd made a deal with the devil. The devil cheats. Makes catches," Gerard stares at the wall with a lip between his teeth and after a moment looks back at Patrick, "I killed myself because I was the last evil man.

"So Brendon took me down to hell where I found Frank and we fucking burned. Hell is a horrible place, Patrick. Please for the love of Ryan, don't go there."

Gerard takes a break right as Patrick parts his own lips, "Who are Brendon and Ryan?"

The vampire chuckles, "Brendon is the devil, Ryan is god. At least that's how the angels refer to them as."

Patrick only nods.

"So, Ryan gave me one last chance to save myself. He sent me back to Earth as one of his angels, because he knew my intentions were not ill. He said, I would become someone's guardian angel and I would have to obey their wishes and if they ever died, I would have to accept it. I agreed, it was much better than hell. So I was sent here where I've been living my life for a while. I was bitten, obviously, but I've learned to deal with the Vampirism."

Gerard sighs, "This is gonna sound really crazy, but I think you might be the one."

Patrick blinks as he looks up at Gerard, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I think I'm supposed to be your guardian angel. There's no way that three times in an alleyway was a coincidence," Gerard replies, "I don't wanna leave you, okay? I want to help you with... everything that happened."

Patrick bites his lip but makes no move to leave, only gazes at the blanket for a moment, then shifts onto Gerard's lap and nuzzles into the angel's chest. Gerard gasps in surprise at first, but after a moment of tension, he relaxes and a small smile creeps onto his face.

The man spreads his wings a little before pulling them around the two of them, holding them both in gently.

"I'm gonna fix you," Gerard whispers.

"I swear on my life I will."