All For You
All For You"Kris!" Her voice called out to me, laced with fear and anxiety. Why wouldn't it be? How else could I expect her to react in this situation? I fell to my knees, my teeth grinding together in pain as the angel behind me braced his foot against my back, mustering all of his strength and relentlessly ripping my wings from their place on my body. He and two others of my former comrades ignored the screams tearing from my throat and destroying my composure as I writhed in their arms. The searing pain shot through my entire being, shaking me to the core. It all happened in less than fifteen minutes but the agony was so intense I could swear it lasted hours. The two holding my arms relaxed their grip, allowing me to slump down towards the ground. The pull of gravity never felt so heavy before.
I slowly raised my head, locking my eyes with Sunmi before fixing an emotionless gaze on the one who tore my wings from my back, condemning me to a mortal life on earth with no chance of redemption.
"Don't look at me like that Wufan...you broke the rules, you did this to yourself."
My eyes flickered back to Sunmi. I had no clue what had come over me, probably the hatred that arises within all freshly fallen guardians. I wanted to blame her, I wanted to throw the burden on her shoulders alone. An inexplicable dark feeling coiled around my heart, the weight of the entire situation finally settling on my shoulders. I was mortal. I would live, fighting to have any sort of worthy existence on a planet that always fell short. And after all of that fighting, after realizing I had accomplished nothing, because I could never be as close to perfect as I was only a few weeks ago, I would die. I would live out this pathetic existence, I would never see my home again, I would never fly again; all because of a mortal woman. Only when Sunmi whispered my name, weaving past our captors, placing her palm on my cheek and blinking away tears did I remember why I was in this predicament. I broke one of the first rules of being a guardian angel; Don't fall in love.
I couldn't blame her for the blood streaming down my back or for the pain I'd endured. I couldn't blame her for all I'd lost, all I'd given up. I'd done it for her. For us. I'd been faced with an ultimatum: leave her forever or join her on earth. There was no way I could leave her, she'd made me experience human emotions. An angel, a guardian angel for that matter, experiencing the most sinful passions. Not only had I experienced them but I'd acted upon them, breaking rule after rule. I'd told her of our world, held her and chased away all of her fears, put her above all else and now I'd given my life for her. I was told it would have been easier to just leave her. She'd forget me and move on with her life and I would receive a new assignment. Not many were given this option, the chance to start anew, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't imagine her with someone else, I had become selfish and I couldn't fathom guarding a soul other than hers.
"Sunmi..." I mumbled, my gaze softening as I melted in the depth of her bottomless brown eyes, a slow smile breaking through my pain and spreading across my face. I was looking at her in a new light. Her cobalt hair curled haphazardly and falling past her shoulders, the lines of both worry and relief etched across her forehead, her skin a shade paler than usual and unshed tears still pooled on each eyelid. She looked exhausted but she had never looked so beautiful before this moment. This wonderful moment when she could really, truly and finally be mine with no more reprecussions. I watched her smile pull up the corners of , her dimples hidden from sight as it was a weak smile, only put in place to respond to my own. I gathered as much strength as I could, pulling away from the hands of the angels and cupping my hand around the back of her neck, my thumb gently gliding across her soft skin as I brought her closer and my lips pressing against hers in a feather light kiss. The simplest of kisses and yet the entire world seemed to stop. Nothing mattered other than Sunmi and the feeling of her velvet-soft lips against mine. No kiss, no touch up till this moment could compare. As an angel I'd only been able to feel the faintest ghost of a touch. I had never realized how wonderful feeling could actually be.
I reluctantly pulled my lips from hers, hungry for more but too weak to continue. A carefree laugh burst from my lips as I rested my forehead against hers and looked into the eyes of the woman I adored more than life itself. I spoke softly, conveying the weight of my words through the emotion in my eyes, "I love you, Kim Sunmi."
Those five simple words lifted that dark weight from my chest, my breathing came easier and my pain seemed to subside. Because with those five simple words, I realized I was free to stand by her side for the rest of our lives.
"Wufan," One of the angels spoke, pulling me from my momentary bliss. I turned to him, clearing my face of emotion once more and eyeing him warily. I never knew what happened after a guardian had their wings torn off. I'd never been to a sentencing and I'd never thought to ask. Fear curled it's way into the pit of my stomach at this moment, however, as I realized the danger we could still be in. It would be cruel of them to take anything more away from me, especially the one thing I'd just given up everything for, but I couldn't put it past them. We were built upon forgiveness, yet our world could be unforgiving in most circumstances.
"Congratulations." He chuckled, a tiny smile softening his features as his form slowly lost it's solidity. I cast an incredulous glance at the other two angels, slowly disappearing as well. I must have been missing something. Nothing was frowned upon more than a guardian breaking the rules, especially falling in love. So why would they look at me in such a friendly manner, smiling and expressing happiness for me, when I'd just turned my back on them? None of it made sense to me.
It wasn't until a couple of days later that I understood.
I was perched on a stool at the bar, waiting for Sunmi in a simple cafe. I was still adjusting to my life as a human and she'd decided the best way to do that would be to keep me out and about, whether I wanted to be or not. The day after I'd been re-born she'd already had me out buying necessities and searching for a job to get me by. I turned my gaze to the double doors on my right as I heard the ringing of the bell hung overhead, signaling another customer walking in; signaling Sunmi's arrival. That was when it hit me. Something about the way the light was hitting her or maybe something in her smile or the sparkle in her eyes as they located mine from where I was waiting for her, I don't know for sure but it was in that moment that I understood.
We weren't forbidden from falling in love because it was a corruptible evil as we were led to believe, we were forbidden because it was powerful. It had the power to lead us into passionate sins, though angels were supposed to be pure. It had the power to change us, to open us up to possibilities we never knew existed. It endowed us with a strength we never knew we could possess. It was wonderful and awe-inspiring. Love would make us human in order to fulfill unknown desires. Becoming human wasn't a punishment, it was a blessing. They granted us a lifetime to stand by the one we fell for, our own personal eternity to guard and protect the one we loved.
It was only truly a punishment if you succumbed to the hatred.
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A/N: Forgive me if there's any mistakes, I'm terrible at proof-reading my own writing. OTL
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