There's peaceful quiet, and then a loud crashing sound. Logan looks up from his book with a concerned, confused, and alarmed expression on his face. What on earth could have possibly made that sound?

Something not of earth, apparently.

When the young man went out to his backyard to investigate the loud crash, he thought he might've been dreaming. There was a man laying in the grass with his back to him, but what caught his attention wasn't exactly the man itself, but rather the fact that said man was glowing and had two large, feathery, white wings attached to his shoulder blades.

Logan froze in his as the man moved. He shifted to hold his upper body above the ground with a slight groan, clearly in pain. At this moment, he had to figure out whether or not he was actually seeing a man with wings, and he needed to decide whether he wanted to help him or demand what he was doing in his backyard. As the man rubbed his head and turned around to see him, his eyes widened.

The man was beautiful, and quite literally had a glow about him that was very clear in the darkness of the evening. "Where.... where am I?" he mumbled, rubbing his arms as though he was cold. He only then realized he was only wearing silky white pants. They were now covered in dirt and grass stains. The man looked around in confusion. "What happened?"

"How about you answer my questions first?" Logan suggested, raising an eyebrow at him as he took a step toward him. "Who are you, why do you have wings, and what are you doing in my backyard?"

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he looked down at his hands. "I... I was just flying around and then suddenly my... my wings wouldn't hold me up anymore," he said, looking at the feathery appendages worriedly. "I don't know what happened, but I was suddenly just falling, and now I'm here."

"Who are you?" he then asked softly, looking at Logan properly for the first time.

"My name's Logan Sharp," the young man said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "Do you mind telling me your name?"

The man with wings closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just a little freaked out from that fall," he explained as he struggled to his feet. He started to stumble, so Logan moved forward and offered him support. "Thank you, my name's Roman."

"Come on, let's get you inside and you can tell me what you are and what's going on," he said with a nod.

~

"So let me make sure I have this straight," Logan began, rubbing his temples. "You're an angel, and you were flying around when suddenly your wings stopped working, and you fell into my backyard, and you have no idea how to get back to heaven?"

As impossible as it sounded to the logical young man, it was the truth. Roman Prince was a young man who had been killed in a shooting almost a year ago; he'd thrown himself in front of his fiancé to protect him, but died from the wound hours later.

He didn't wake up in the hospital, but rather in a very white palace with two very heavy things attached to his back. A woman came over to him as he sat up, telling him that he had died and that he was now an angel.

Roman was expected to panic, to freak out and demand the truth, deny that he was dead, but instead he simply sighed heavily and then without looking up asked: "Is my fiancé okay?"

The angel had guided him from the recovery wing to through the palace to meet with the head court of angels. They welcomed him, apologized to him because his life had been taken so early and so violently, and explained to him what it meant now that he was an angel.

Evidently because of his heroic act and generally protective nature of others, he was now a guardian angel, assigned to protect a human on earth.

The only problem was, they couldn't tell him who it was he was protecting. He had to find them on his own. Once he found them, he could return to heaven and check up on them routinely to make sure they're alright.

This was how he found himself flying through clouds, scanning the cities and towns below, looking for a sign or signal that would tell him that his person was there. He'd thought he was getting closer, because there was a warm tingling feeling in his chest, but then he found himself falling toward the earth, landing painfully in a young man's backyard.

"So you don't know why you fell?" Logan asked for clarification. "And you tried to fly again and it didn't work? Why?"

Roman looked at him with anguished eyes. "I don't know! They didn't tell me how this guardian angel thing worked! Well, they did, but they never mentioned what to do if my wings stop working!" he exclaimed, fluttering said wings for affect. "I'm supposed to find and protect my person, but they don't tell you who your person is. You have to find them. They told me I'd be able to feel them, like I'd take one look at them and know."

"It's not me, is it? Cause I'll have you know I have a boyfriend," the young man said, arching an eyebrow.

"No it's not you, and that's not what being a guardian angel's about," Roman retorted, crossing his arms. "I mean, I guess some of us might be assigned to previous lovers, like if you died but your spouse is still alive- oh my god!"

He gasped, hand flying to the spot on his chest where the bullet had gone in. "What if it's him? I have to find my fiancé!"

Logan scowled. "Your fiancé?"

"I bet he's my person, he's who I'm meant to protect!" he said, breathing fast as a shaky smile crossed his face. "I have to find him!"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on," the young man said as the angel tried to run back outside, presumably to find his fiancé. "You can't fly remember? And even if your fiancé is your person, that doesn't explain why you fell. We need to figure out what's wrong, or you might be stuck on earth forever, and something tells me bad things happen to angels that stay in the mortal realm too long."

Roman paled; well, as much as an already pale skinned person could. "We disappear forever if we stay too long without direct permission from the court," he whispered quietly. "I don't think they- technically I'm not supposed to stay here forever, especially considering that I can go back to heaven while I'm searching and then continue whenever I'm ready."

"Then we need to figure out why you can't fly, and probably fast," Logan said, checking the time. "But we should probably get some rest and you- um, you some normal clothes. Is there any way you could hide your wings?"

The angel frowned. "Hide them?"

"Well, we'll have to walk in order to find your fiancé," he explained with a roll of his eyes. "I think you'll get quite a few strange looks if you walk around with two big wings coming out of your back."

"Oh... oh! Right," Roman said with realization. He closed his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows together as he focused. His wings glowed, and he opened his eyes, carefully folding them behind his back. Logan watched with astonishment as they disappeared entirely from view as if they'd never been there at all. "There, that should do it, I look normal now, right?"

He was about to point out that he was still shirtless and glowing slightly in the dim lighting of his house, but he refrained, simply nodding. "That's fine, there's a guest bedroom that way," he said, pointing down the hall. "We'll look for your fiancé tomorrow."

"Hey Logan?" the angel called as he turned for his own bedroom. He turned around, eyebrows lifted in a question. Roman smiled warmly. "Thank you."

He felt his chest expand a little as he smiled back and nodded, saying a friendly goodnight before disappearing into his room.

The angel gnawed on his bottom lip as he headed into his temporary room. He hoped he was correct about his fiancé being his person, because that would mean he would get to check on him often and protect him from afar. That's all he's ever wanted to do; protecting him always came first, and it cost him his life.

Roman didn't regret it.

He could never regret jumping in front of that bullet. The man he loved meant more to him than his life, and he didn't regret it at all. He did regret not being able to tell him that he loved him one more time before he flat-lined.

With a sigh, he crossed the room and fell onto the bed. He turned over onto his back, looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling as exhaustion washed over him. He'd been flying for about three hours before he fell. There had been a small part of him that wanted to go back to heaven and rest before continuing, but he is wings stopped working before he could make the decision, and now he was here.

Roman didn't know why he'd fallen, but he hoped he'd figure out and fix it soon so that he could protect his person. He hoped his person was his fiancé.

The angel drifted off to sleep thinking about deep brown eyes and faded purple hair.

~

The next morning arrived with no forgiveness for the restless sleep the night had given Roman. The sun streamed through blinds, striping his face and landing on his closed eyelids. With a grown, he sat up and opened them, blinking to get them to focus. His gaze landed on his hands, and he opened and closed them to try and remember where he was. It was disorienting to wake up in different places several times in the past year.

He remembered clearly though, landing in Logan's backyard, needing to find his fiancé, needing to figure out how to fly again so that he could get back to heaven before he disappeared entirely from existence. He'd never be able to see him again if he did; he couldn't let that happen.

There was a knock on the door, making him jump. "Good morning, Roman," the young man greeted as he opened it. He was holding a pair of jeans, boxers, and a t-shirt in his arms which he laid at the foot of the bed. "We looked about the same size and weight, so these might fit you. They might be a little tight around the shoulders because you look like you were a bit more physically active when you were alive than I am, but they'll do."

"Thank you," he replied, getting out of the bed and picking up said clothes. "We're in Orlando, right?"

Logan nodded, looking a little curious. "I'm from Gainesville," he explained. "My fiancé and I always went to this ice cream shop down here, it was called Marble Slab Creamery. We always went there, every other Saturday actually, what is today?"

"Fortunately, it's Saturday, otherwise I'd have to go to work," the young man said with a nod. "We'll check there first after you get dressed, see if we can find him."

Roman nodded in agreement a moved toward the bathroom. He hoped it would be that simple, but he was also scared of what it would mean to see his fiancé again in person. What was he going to say? He didn't know how to drop the whole 'I'm an angel' now bombshell. It's not as though he was alive anymore either; he lacked a pulse to prove it. It wasn't as though they could go back to normal; he couldn't stay on earth for too long without permission, and one of the first things the court had told him was that there was no way for an angel to return to earth permanently as though they never died. He feared that seeing him again would hurt him more than help him.

Once he was dressed, he came out of the bathroom and stepped into the living room, seeing Logan sitting on the couch waiting for him. "So, do I look normal enough?" he said, smiling charmingly.

"As normal as you could look," the young man replied, making huff indignantly. "But yes, you look normal, are you ready to go?"

"Well, actually, I wanted to know if you had some spare glasses I could borrow," he said, biting down on his bottom lip. He wanted to do anything he could to prevent his fiancé from recognizing him. "I don't want him to recognize me..."

Logan nodded, getting up from the couch and disappearing into his bedroom. He returned with a pair of plane black glasses. "They're not prescription, so you should be fine," he said as the angel slipped them onto his face. "Now come on, I promised my boyfriend that I'd go to the movies with him tomorrow at noon, so I'd prefer if we solved this problem before then."

"Wow, in such a rush to get rid of me," Roman said jokingly, pouting. The intellectual rolled his eyes and led the way out to his car."One would think you'd be more excited about having a literal angel in your midst."

"Yeah, definitely excited about some weird man with wings landing in my backyard."

~

Roman was sitting at a table at Marble Slab Creamery, looking out the window at the street. He was sitting across from Logan, who was watching him curiously. "Are you alright?" he asked finally, looking cautious about the question.

"Just a lot of memories," he murmured in reply with a pained smile. "I'm really going to miss not being able to come here all the time..."

His voice trailed off as a young man entered the ice cream shop. If his faded purple hair wasn't enough evidence, his black hoodie with purple flannel patches gave it away immediately. "Virgil... it's him," he breathed, watching as he went up to order. A sad and disbelieving smile crossed his lips. "Chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and M&Ms, his usual."

Logan turned around to look at the man, eyes widening a little as he scanned him. He saw that there was a single black engagement ring on his ring finger, but no other rings; a wedding had been called off. Though he hadn't thought the angel was lying about anything, it became undeniable that he was telling the truth about everything.

They were quiet as the purple haired man headed for the booth behind them, Roman staring down at his hands. He paused, a gasp escaping his lips that made the two of them look up at him. Virgil was staring at him with wide eyes as though he'd seen a ghost. He seemed to catch himself staring, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. His eyes were glassy with clearly unshed tears. "S-Sorry, you look like someone I used to know," he murmured before hurrying to his seat with his ice cream before he could say anything.

"Virgil..." Roman whispered to himself brokenly, looking away with a bit back whimper. It was clear how much pain his death had caused him.

They stayed there, speaking quietly between themselves as Virgil are his ice cream at the booth behind them. It was stressful for the angel to be so close to his fiancé without being to go hug and kiss him, hold him close and tell him it's going to be okay. He could see the pain still lingering in his eyes and it hit him then that even though it had been nearly a year since his death, Virgil had continued their tradition.

He hadn't moved on, and didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.

The darkly dressed man suddenly got up from his booth and threw away his now empty cup of what had been ice cream. Roman watched him as subtly as possible, feeling a little strange. As he exited the ice cream shop, a sharp pain struck his chest, making him gasp out and clutch it.

"Roman? What's wrong?" Logan asked, alarm in his voice as he hissed and gasped in pain.

The angel shook his head. "I don't know- it just- hurts," he managed to get out, looking up with pained eyes.

His eyes landed on Virgil standing on the sidewalk outside, seemingly waiting to cross the street, but there was something wrong. There was a black aura around him. Suddenly, Roman knew, jumping to his feet and running out of the shop.

When Virgil purposely stepped out into the pass of a fast driving bus, he was there to pull him back on the sidewalk. He was panting and the darkly dressed man that had been his fiancé was now staring at him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he muttered, looking away. It clearly hurt him to see someone who looked so much like Roman.

"Because I can't watch someone take their own life away," the angel said, sighing in relief as the black aura faded. "I know... we don't know each other, but I'd have to be a really horrible person to let you get hit by that bus."

Virgil gnawed on his bottom lip, looking as though he was fighting back tears. "T-Thank you..." he whispered, hugging him. Roman gasped, freezing in surprise. It had been almost a year since he touched his fiancé. "I don't know what came over me, I just wanted to end everything. The pain got too much..."

"I know..." he murmured, hugging him back. I know, baby, I know, the angel thought with a heavy sigh. "But you'll be okay, you know that right?"

He nodded into his shoulder and pulled away, wiping his cheeks quickly. "Yeah, I know," he said halfheartedly. "Thank you, again."

"Hey! It was my pleasure," Roman said, bowing to him. He saw Virgil's eyes flash with nostalgia as he did so, making him stand up straighter quickly. He didn't need to remind him anymore of what he lost. "Get home safely, okay? I'd give you my number, but I currently don't have a phone, so I can't, but be careful, hopefully we'll see each other again."

He nodded, smiling the little that he could. "Farewell," the angel said, walking back into the shop where Logan awaited his return.

The pain had faded, and suddenly he understood. He hadn't been able to fly because his person was in danger, more specifically from himself. The pain in his chest had started when he only had a limited amount of time to stop him before he was killed. As Virgil's guardian angel, it was his job to protect him from himself more than anything. If he was in danger, he'd know it.

He sat back down at the booth, smiling widely. "I take it you can fly again," Logan asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Only one way to find out."

~

Roman stretched his feathery wings, sighing in relief as they felt more normal. They had gone straight back to Logan's house after the incident. Once he was back into his original clothes and in his backyard, he could reveal his wings all he wanted. He pumped them a couple times up and down, a grin spreading across his lips as he hovered into the air.

Once his feet touched the ground again, he ran over to Logan and gave him a hug. "Thank you for all your help!" he said excitedly. "I'll be sure to come visit you when I check on Virgil!"

"Or don't, you know, that's cool too," Logan replied, awkwardly getting out of the hug. The angel poured and smiled. "Kidding, now go!"

"Oh, right! Thank you!" Roman exclaimed as he jumped into the air. With a couple powerful pumps of his wings he was high into the night air, just another twinkling star in the blue-black abyss of the endless sky. He smiled at the feeling of the wing through his hair and feathers, making him twirl through the sky. He looked down at the city below, a grin on his face. "I hope Virgil got him safely, I have time to check on him before I go back."

The angel directed himself toward his fiancé's address, which he still knew by heart. Their house greeted him like a shock to his system.