Sanders Sides AU August

When Demons Fall

AU: Demon/Angel

TW: Mentions of Suicidal thoughts

WC: 967

Date: 8/3/2021

"Hello, Angel," Remus appeared right next to the angel who was standing next to his charge. They had both taken their positions of influencing this boy, being stuck with one another for just about sixteen years. It had been the most interesting sixteen years of Remus' life.

There were certain angels he enjoyed working with more than others. Patton was one such angel. He was easy to fluster and anytime that Remus wanted to get a rise out of him, he had no trouble doing so. Not to mention that despite them being on opposite sides and having very opposite morals, Patton was always willing to have a debate and discussion with Remus. Sure, those discussions were rarely productive, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

"Hello, Remus." His voice was quiet and melancholy, a dramatic change from the ever-present chipperness. It was strange, and it made something deep in Remus' soul rumble in a way that he didn't like. Where was the enjoyment of tearing Patton down if he was already low?"

"What's wrong feather daddy?"

Patton let out a sigh, "you're going to win."

"What?"

"I can't convince Virgil of all of the reasons to live, and I can't do anything to stop him." Patton let out a shaky sigh but Remus could hear the tears that never fell. They drowned the fire in his heart, smothering the flames of glee and happiness. If their charge died, he would be reassigned.

"T...that's not what I wanted."

"Of course it was. My job is to protect him and lead him down a compassionate path, your job is to get him in trouble."

"Yeah, trouble!" Remus threw his hands in the air, "Mischief, excitement, maybe a bank robbery if I'm lucky, but not this."

"Well then why did you keep telling him about all of the ways he was a bad person?"

"Those weren't the ways he IS a bad person, those were the ways he COULD be a bad person, but I knew he wasn't going to do any of it. I was just trying to push him towards doing smaller things, especially if he thought about the larger things and could justify that he wasn't that bad."

There was silence between the two of them for a bit, before Patton whispered, "That's not how he took it. He thinks he is a bad person because he is thinking about all of those things. He thinks he is going to become a murderer, or a criminal, or... I don't know, a bad person."

"Where did he get an idea like that? It's not like I told him any of that."

Patton deflated, the glistening tears returning to his eyes. "It's my fault."

"Wait, wait, don't do that." Remus did not know how to handle a crying angel, especially not....

"Look, we can fix this," Remus reached out, gently wiping Patton's tears away. He knew that Patton was fragile, like a baby bird he actually wanted to protect rather than throw into a jet plane. The angel had to be treated with concern and care so he made sure his sharp nails didn't sink into his delicate flesh.

"We can fix this," he repeated. "We just need to be careful about how we handle him, okay?"

"Why... why would you do that?"

"Part of being a demon is about breaking rules right? What's more fun than breaking the rule of not working with an angel." He wasn't going to say that it was because he liked Patton's smile.

"O...okay, but... I shouldn't work with a demon. But... Virgil."

"Look, I'm enjoying tormenting you, so I'm not ready to give up on this job assignment, is it really such a bad thing to work with me if it's for the good of Virgil?"

He could see Patton thinking about this, really mulling it over in his head. "I... I guess not."

"Exactly, and if you get in trouble, just blame it all on me." He gave Patton a toothy grin, receiving a shy smile in return. He immediately knew, if they succeeded, it would be worth any punishment he might get for working with an angel. "Here's my plan."

The two of them couldn't interfere in major ways, they could whisper thoughts to Virgil, and those around him. Remus was a bit more intrusive and more difficult to ignore, so he went to bother some of Virgil's friends, finding the right ones to call Virgil, to give him someone to talk to.

Patton stayed behind and gave Virgil soft encouragements. He tried to pull Virgil's mind to happy memories, to the possibility of a happy future, until he heard the first phone call. Then he filled Virgil's heart with the longing and desire to pick it up.

He took a deep breath and sat back as he waited to see what would happen.

"Back daddio, is he doing better?"

"A little bit, we aren't going to fix this overnight, but it's a start," Patton said as he looked over at Remus. "I don't know why you really wanted to help." His voice was soft and gentle, but the tinge of melancholy was gone. "I know your reputation Remus, but I really care for Virgil. He's almost like a son to me. Silly I know, right? So, thank you." Patton leaned up and gave Remus a kiss on the cheek before walking over to their charge, sitting beside him as he talked to his friends on the phone.

Remus just stood in awe, eyes glistening. He had never felt affection like that directed his way. It was so pure and wholesome.

"Fuck," He muttered. "I'm screwed." Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to care as he sunk out, leaving Patton time to heal the cracks they had made.