Unconditionally

Description

Inspired from Unconditionally by Katy Perry.

Touches on biuality and polyamorous but the main point is love and angels. Literally angels :)

Foreword

From the gates of heaven, beamed down on a golden holy light, a man stepped down on to Earth in human form once again.
The man was unlike mortals nor spirits, he is one of the low-ranking angel that comes to Earth every year, to different places, as different people.
This time the man's given name was Lucas, quite a common name in the United Kingdom which is the main purpose. 
Do not fit in. 
Act like a mortal. 
Report back. 
Die a human death.
His job was simple, observe human life and write reports to the Heavens and by the end of the job, use his two 'lives' and he'll die a human death, usually by heart attack since that is so popular during these times and then become an angel once again, free from the of flesh and bones.
The 'lives' he had to sacrifice are two eldritch miracles, where upon using one on a mortal, that mortal will have a blessed and somewhat happy life. Positive vibes would come their way and they would never be bothered by evil, malicious spirits.
Lucas walk down the empty streets, it was dawn, the sun barely crawling up the sky.
He had to find clothes, shelter then food and he'll be set and prepared to live this human life.
A year later, Lucas did just that, he lived in a small apartment in Brighton, England and had a volunteer job at a church and a salary job as a bag boy at a supermarket. He could constantly be seen in the evening sitting in the park bench, supposedly reading a book but actually just reading people's thoughts and make mental notes of what is considered cool and modern nowadays.
It was quite hard to fit in as humans, century after century they have different views on beauty and everytime angels are sent to Earth they embody the love and lust of that Vanity.
This time Lucas was muscular, tan and had slightly long brown hair. He was Caucasian to fit in in England but even if he was of another race he would most definitely have the same body type. It wasn't hard for people to start being attracted to him, such as his colleague at the supermarket and the teenage girl who always sit at the adjacent park bench that don't even notice her magazine she's reading is upside down
Sadly or sadistically, depends on how you see it, angels rarely fall in love, it's not the end of the world if they do, but they know that they have to die before the human sooner or later.
Lucas had had some past romances before, but this time, he had two. And this is the first time he ever felt something as strong and luxurious as the emotion of love.
Two years later, he found them. The teenage girl from before finally got the courage to talk to him and for the first time Lucas felt such a rush of emotion and the next year, one of the volunteers at the church finally asked the question and again, Lucas was surprised that he was blessed enough to have two people that make him feel such exhilarating joy as 'Love'.
Lucas was not greedy, he made sure he talked to the girl, Emma, first, they talked and she was fine with it, even in the deepest parts of her mind, Lucas could see that she really had no objections. Lucas then went and talked to Asher the guy working at the church and told him Lucas already had a partner too and he didn't object too.
This befuddled the angel very much, it is rare to see mortals with this amount of generosity and compassion, may be they knew it wasn't going to last or may be they could really trust this guy or may be it's destiny.
Either way Lucas hadn't known it but this trip he would 'die' the fastest because of these two relationships.
It started when he went to Emma's house to pick her up for their date, with his enhanced hearing he could hear an argument going on in the house. When he got close to the door, Emma stormed out with tears in her eyes. 
Emma drove Lucas to a cliff where other mortals like to hang out, but that night it was empty. Emma was reluctant to speak her problems but after some coaxing and angelic charisma she finally spilled.
Her parents had always been fighting but this time they are going to get a divorce and Emma was very upset, she was really only close to her two parents, they were her best friends and now they were separating and she can't do anything about it.
After hearing this, Lucas doubled over in pain, luckily Emma had tears in the way to see this, but Lucas never felt such a surge of sympathy, of course he was kind to the poor and needy but this time it felt different, he really cared for this girl.
She reached over and buried her face in his chest, crying some more and Lucas comforted her, ruffling her hair and using his angel voice to calm her, that's all he could do, for now at least.
The very next day, he had a date with Asher, they went to the amusement park at the pier and had an amazing time that Lucas forgot about Emma's problem for a while, until before Asher sent Lucas home, Asher had to check on his grandmother first.
She was bed-ridden with a mortal disease and wasn't going to last long, the way Asher sat next to her, talking to her, feeding her with such patience and love, Lucas' heart again wanted to lurch out and plunge down at the same time.
Asher had told him it was his grandmother that took care of him when his parents passed on and now she was sick before her time of passing and there's nothing Asher could do about it.
When they reached Lucas' home, Lucas invited him and they held each other on Lucas' bed, talking about life and death and what's in store in the future.
When Asher left, Lucas was a wreck, he remembered Emma and now Asher and his tears finally came out. It wasn't that he was trying to act tough for his partners but they would freak out if liquid bronze tears came out of Lucas' eyes.
There were only a few and Lucas stored them in a bottle.
The tears had mystical healing properties sadly not strong enough for humans but enough for plants and small animals.
Lucas went into the bathroom and washed his face, he looked in the mirror and saw his irises, multicolored and vivid, he had told everyone that asked or stared that it's a heredity, but actually those were the 'lives' or miracles he had. Two.
Yes, the miracles, he thought to himself, those could help Asher and Emma, but it would mean he had to go back.
Lucas wore back on his jacket and scarf and took a walk outside, strolling to the beach.
If he helped them, they would be happy, but he would have to lose them. It seems trivial and childish to be sad about losing them, he'll have to do it eventually but it seems too much right now. He would also be punished in the Heavens for not reporting back enough, but he wasn't scared of that, he was one of the best in his field, they'll get over it, it's just that he can't get over Asher and Emma.
He was deep in thought when he reached a baby sea turtle, it looks like it has tried to be eaten by a big eagle but it just survived and was barely breathing, Lucas took out the bottle of tears and poured half of it into the turtle's mouth.
The little sea turtle immediately got better, flipped over and waved a flipper of gratitude to the angel and waddled into the sea, living it's own life.
Lucas then kept on walking and saw a couple having an argument, Lucas walked away and went to a patch of dead flowers near the beach, he poured the rest of the bronze liquid and the flowers sprung back to life, colorful and full of life, it was going to be a decade before these dry out. He brought the bouquet back to the couple and after the act of kindness from a stranger they realized how stupid their problem is and talked it over.
After those predicaments, Lucas went back to his apartment, knowing what his choice.

**

The next day was a Sunday, Emma was going to be going to church, Lucas called earlier to say that he'll meet them there. He found her outside, everyone was already inside. The puffiness of Emma's eyes and redness of her cheeks gave Lucas even more reason to sacrifice his 'life' for her.
He told her how about just his once they be late for church, Emma just wanted to be with her boyfriend so they walked away from the church and to the park close by where she used to sit stalking Lucas.
They sat down just looking at each other and holding each other's hands.
Emma broke the silence. "How could you still stay with someone as messed up as me?" she asked, crying for not the first time that day, "You should just leave me, I'll only slow you down."
Lucas just smiled and used an angel trick he rarely used, his fingernails glowed and shone out white light and soon his palms and he waved his hand over Emma's face.
"Tell me, tell me everything that is messed up about your life," he coaxed.
Emma did. She talked about how her parents were so close and romantic when she was young, how school kids bullied her body weight and how her parents were the only one who stood up for her, her horrible ex-boyfriend and how he abused her verbally and how her parents were the ones who kicked him out when she didn't have the strength to.
All her insecurities, all the dirty laundry had finally been put out and Lucas never blinked one time. Her parents are her entire life, sure she'll have to be independent in future and Lucas can see, she will, but for now she's just girl with blessed parents.
This made what Lucas had to do all that much easier, he focused on the eldritch power in his iris and focused it on his lips. Normally he would do it on his palm and touch the person, but this time... Lucas didn't know, it felt right.
He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, Emma didn't flinch, she kissed back like she waited for this moment. Lucas could feel the power sapping away from him but for the first time, it felt good to kiss, it was not his first but it was powerful for the first time.
He pulled back and fell on the bench arms exhausted, he looked up to see a stunned Emma.
She looked at him, "Are you okay? You look beat, your eyes...."
Lucas knew what she was talking about, his right iris is now the color of pure silver.
He faked a laugh "Heterochromia," he tired.
Emma was not believing it, but Lucas just giggled at her adorable blue eyes with one eyebrow ached.
His heart went from light and airy and dropped down to cold and gloomy when he realized what he had to do.
Lucas' expression turned serious and Emma went from disbelieving to frightened.
Lucas grabbed her hand, "There is no fear now, let go and just be free, no matter what happens, I will love you unconditionally."
He smiled and brushed at Emma's blonde hair and drew with his finger on the side bones of her beautiful face.
Two bronze rouge tears spilled from his eye and dropped on the bench and one slipped through an opening and on the patch of grass at the bottom.
The bench went from weathered black-brown to a young light brown and the metal arms lost their rust and instead sheened with luster. The grass underneath the bench which rarely get a ray of sunlight grew back to life and a ring of blue wild flowers grew around the bench.
Emma was speechless, "Lucas," was all she could whisper.
"Emma, my darling, life is going to be changing for you, but for the better this time, so open up your heart and just let it begin," said Lucas, pulling away.
"Goodbye," he whispered.
He stood up and turned around and began to step away.
"Lucas!" Emma shouted crying for the third time, wrapping her arms around Lucas' arms and body, holding on the tightest she ever could.
"I love you, Emma, unconditionally... No matter what happens to me... I just want you to know that," he breathed and another tear leaked out.
He disappeared in a shimmer of gold light and all Emma held on to was shimmer of heavenly light.
The tear had finally reached the grown and out sprung a pink rose, Emma plucked it up and looked to the heavens, she breathed in the rose and she could smell Lucas' scent, from the first time she saw him sitting at the park, face glued to a book but eyes darting to people-watch strangers, he was so intriguing and after talking to him so hypnotizing. His scent had always been the same, some lemony soap Emma just couldn't find anywhere fused with a flowery scent that can only be described as heavenly.
Emma held on to the rose, somehow knowing that it'll never die, like the love she had for Lucas, her guardian angel.

**

Lucas landed in Asher's house, he walked in to his grandmother's room and she smiled when she saw him.
They talked for what seems like eternity, Lucas didn't even have to use the revealing white palm trick for Asher's grandmother to talk about everything about her grandson.
She talked of how he had to deal with the loss of his parents at a very young age and his younger sister a year later, he then realized that he liked guys instead of girls and got a whole lot of bullying and even contemplated suicide but it was his grandmother that got through to him at the last moment, he had to get a job at a young age to support his grandmother and soon he'll have to deal with his grandmother's death.
Lucas was shaken by emotion, he told Asher's grandmother he's going outside for a breather and broke down outside, not wasting his tears, he healed the neglected flower bushes outside the house ever since Asher's grandmother was bedridden she couldn't water them and pet some on Asher's pet dog, sometimes Asher would be so busy he forgotten to feed it and it wasn't good for the dog's stomach.
Church was over and Asher came back on his motorcycle, Asher's somber face brightened up when he saw Lucas, he immediately walked over and hugged him with out taking off his helmet.
Asher went back and took off his motorcycle helmet, on the walk back, Lucas sung, 
"Come just as you are to me,
Don't need apologies,
Know that you are worthy,
I'll take your bad days with your good,
Walk through the storm I would
I do it all because I love you, I love you!
"
When angels sung it's like bells ringing and doves fluttering, everyone is affected and everyone calms down and their facades break, so did Asher's.
Asher ran and broke the distance between them and slammed Lucas gently against the wall of the house and cried into Lucas' neck.
All the sadness, reluctance, anxiety, frustration and anger came out of Asher and what was left was a vulnerable humane mortal, that only Asher's grandmother and Lucas ever saw.
Asher always put up this tough exterior from all the years of grief and bullying and it got even thicker to prevent his grandmother from seeing the cracks of weakness and sadness in him.
His grandmother was already sick, Asher didn't want her to worry even more. Everyone believed him, well except for his sick guardian and his guardian angel.
Lucas pulled Asher's forehead to his and looked at Asher's handsome face and his wavy black hair, tears from his hazel eyes going down his cheeks. They both breathed heavily.
Asher was leaning in for a kiss and Lucas let him.
Amazing emotions just as strong as before flooded through Lucas, his brain went numb and his heart beat faster. He was going to miss this.
He let the rest of his eldritch power flow to his lips and into Asher, the surge of energy made Asher grab Lucas' palms and put them against the wall.
After all the magic was gone, Lucas slumped down against the house wall.
Asher looked at him puzzled, "Whoa, you okay? Your eyes.... They're silver man, when did that happen?"
Lucas smiled and said to Asher "I know Ash, that your life hadn't been the best and it was tough and grueling, but it's going to get better know I promise, just open up your heart and let it begin."
"Asher?" called his grandmother's voice from inside "Come in here."
"In a sec," replied Asher, still thinking about what Lucas said.
Lucas stood up and hugged his boyfriend as tight as Emma held him, both of the hugs felt the same love and reluctance simultaneously. It was getting cold, so Lucas wrapped his scarf around Asher, a stupid tear spilled on it, the scarf morphed from a thin, worn out piece of fabric to a thick woolly, light blue scarf. Asher didn't even notice.
"I love you, babe, unconditionally, remember that" whispered Lucas.
"Asher! I can walk!" his grandmother called.
Asher grew excited and rushed in the house.
"How?" he sputtered, holding his grandmother to support her.
"Our angel," said his grandmother pointing at Lucas standing at the same spot and could be seen from the main doorway.
But he was already shimmering gold and waved smiling happily. Lucas knew his grandmother was going to die of old age properly and had a resistance to the stupid diseases that keep coming up.
Asher just looked in awe and in sadness, "Lucas!" he whispered. But the angel was gone.
But he could still smell Lucas like his arms were around him just a few seconds before.
He looked down at the thick scarf and breathed in, Lucas always had a soapy smell like the dude just got out of the shower and a floral scent like he used some type of limited edition cologne that Asher couldn't find anywhere, from the first moment Asher saw him helping out in the church, he knew he had fallen for him, seeing that Lucas could carry two pews on each shoulder without any help also contributed to that.
This scarf Asher somehow knew would last until his great-grandchild's time, just like his love for Lucas.

**

Lucas landed back in his apartment, so exhausted all he could do was lay on his bed, he used the apartment land line to call the church and the supermarket that he won't be going to work, like ever.
He just laid there, waiting and waiting. He drifted off to sleep eventually.
When he woke up he could feel hands on his face and a wet towel on his head.
He opened his eyes. He was shirtless and his pants were folded up.
Asher was wiping his body with wet towels and Emma was his hair.
He smiled at them.
The two of them looked worried at first but when they saw him conscious, words couldn't describe how happy they looked.
Their relief was short-lived.
Lucas felt his mortal body shutting down, his heart was in so much pain but not as painful as losing these two mortals.
He screamed in pain and cried tears, clear human tears leaked out, that even signifies more that he's going to die.
Emma jumped and cried from the scream but Asher mimicked a ghost and became a white pale, he never saw Lucas cry before, something was definitely wrong.
Even in pain and oxygen loss, Lucas smiled.
"I love you both... Unconditionally"
And Lucas' soul was free.

**

The rest of the mortal days were fast, he obviously got punished but it's just getting locked in a magical angelic birdcage and you still could eat whatever you want, heaven is still heaven.
But he got out fast, they saw his report and was surprised at the intensity of the emotion Love and Sacrifice in them, no doubt very useful in the archives to understand human emotion better, so they let him go and even gave him a medal.
Even the toughest of Archangels know the pain of sacrifice.
He was even allowed to go to his own funeral, every angel can, but rarely they go, either it is too painful to remember the memories, too boring of a life to bother or they've been to too many to be a big deal.
In the cemetery, there was his headstone, probably used from the charity money from the Church, he had a few admirers from the Sisters, but that's still not acceptable, they were using the money for the needy on a fake mortal body that had no reason to exist if humans could take care of themselves.
However, it did give the mourning Emma and Asher clarity.
Emma's parents were behind her, they seem together and stronger than ever, they know that they can't let anything between them get in the way of their only child and ever so after her boyfriend died, so the talked things over and as of by some force from above, they're okay now.
Asher's grandmother was also there, healthy and strong, with a faint smile, she had to be strong for Asher now, she thanked her and her grandson's guardian angel in her heart, promising she'll take over taking care of Asher now, till the day she too passed on.
The angel noticed that Emma held on to the enchanted pink rose even in her vice-grip the rose will never falter, a part of the angel that he left behind. Asher too was wearing the blue scarf, soaked in tears by now, the scarf will never get torn nor dirty, like the scarf's creator itself, indestructible and incorruptible.
The angel looked at the name of the headstone,
"Lucas Ramiel Heavenbright
Good Samaritan
Selfless Boyfriend
Guardian Angel
"
Ramiel giggled at the last name he chose, awed at the titles and moved by the middle title.
Soon, the ceremony was over, everyone went home, well mostly they were volunteers at Church, his supermarket colleagues and people who know him from the park, even the couple at the beach attended the funeral.
Only Asher and Emma stayed.
Emma's parents and Asher's grandmother left and waited for them by their car and motorcycle.
Ramiel looked at his past, no, eternal partners. Ramiel was standing above the soil where Lucas is buried.
Asher and Emma were just so close but they can't see him nor touch him.
Ramiel supposed they could feel him, as they calmed down a bit.
Moving on is never an easy emotion, he had always read the feeling from records of other angels and he was feeling it now, may be he'll write a report on it later, help other angels move on too.
But now, he can help these two mortals.
An angelic singing voice can be heard through out the cemetery, the spirits of the dead mortals rejoice at this merciful sound and only two living mortals could hear it.
"Acceptance is the key to be
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?
"
That was all Ramiel could do before he was utterly exhausted.
But it got through, Emma grabbed Asher's hand and they both nod responding that they were not crazy and that their dead boyfriend sang to them.
With one last glance, they turned around, walked out of the cemetery hand-in-hand without looking back.
They stop at a crossroad, they both had different directions to go.
They hug each other, comforting each other for the pain that is left behind by Ramiel or Lucas and turned around and went on with their lives.
Many decades later, Ramiel too was ready for his next mission, although nothing could trump Lucas Heavenbright.

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