Chapter Text
Keegan is an angel. A guardian angel, to be exact. He was born in Heaven, but he’s been down to Earth enough times to know their customs and to know what they do. He’s been down there to protect people since he was 14, and it’s been…stressful. That’s a nice way to put it, honestly. There was never any real way to tell what you were getting into when you were assigned someone to protect. The higher-ups would sugarcoat it all to make sure they had people to send down. Keegan had been one of those young teenagers who got sent down a lot.
He was a good person to send down. He was always focused and he always protected the person. He never once let them get hurt, even if it ended with him getting injured. Keegan had protected a variety of people. Little kids, teenagers, young adults, the elderly. He’d been told to protect them all. When being realistic, he probably should’ve stopped accepting the things that were proposed to him by his higher-up, Adonis.
When Keegan was 17, he was sent down to protect this man. He was around 25 and he seemed like a genuinely good person. However, the angel had found this particular arrangement kind of odd, because he never got someone significantly older than himself. Most of the time it was only 4 years older at most, but Keegan didn’t question it. Adonis had chosen, and this person obviously had reason to why they needed protecting.
Over the course of that first month, Keegan realized just what type of shit this man had gotten himself into. The angel was protecting the man from many groups of people who were trying to hurt him. The man was at least good to Keegan. He’d always treat any injuries he’d gotten while fighting and he’d frequently buy stuff for Keegan. It was all great. Until the man found out that Keegan was an angel. That’s when things between the two took a turn for the worse.
One of the most memorable is the time the man tried to force Keegan to Fall. It wouldn’t work, of course it wouldn’t. If it’s forced upon an angel, then they don’t take the punishment. If the angel does whatever it is intentionally, then they get punished for their actions. That’s when they Fall. But this wasn’t something Keegan had wanted. It was late at night, around 10 pm, and storming outside, so Keegan did not want to go to the hotel he was staying at. The man offered to let him stay the night and Keegan accepted the offer gratefully.
That was his mistake. If he hadn’t accepted the offer and just got an Uber instead nothing would have happened. Presumably, nothing would’ve happened. He can’t say for sure, the man could’ve very well tried something at a different point in time.
The man had offered Keegan a glass of water and the angel took it, not thinking much of it as he drank it to the dregs. Thinking back on it Keegan does recall the water looking a little foggy. And the sound of silverware clinking against the glass.
After about 10 minutes, the angel had felt himself growing less and less aware of everything. His head felt fuzzy and his surroundings seemed to blur. In a strange way, it was…kind of a nice feeling. Keegan didn’t have to think about anything and he didn’t have to feel anything. He could just be. But of course that had to change.
The man had walked away for a few moments and came back holding a bottle of something. Water? Keegan’s mind had initially thought, momentarily breaking through the fog and haze clouding his mind. But it didn’t make sense for him to bring water right after just giving it to him. Fuck, Keegan wasn’t nearly aware enough for this. At all.
The next thing Keegan had felt was a hand curling around his chin. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, but it wasn’t a very welcomed gesture. What was he even saying? His fogged-up mind didn’t give a damn whether or not the man’s hand was on his chin. All he wanted was to pass the fuck out and not think anymore.
The angel felt the rim of the bottle being pressed against his lips and he felt his chin being tipped back. A soft murmur of a voice, presumably the man’s, as the contents in the bottle were poured down his throat. Keegan felt a burning sensation as the liquid went down his throat, and he gagged slightly, the feeling unpleasant. The angel made a weak attempt to push the man away, but he just tightened his grip on his chin and poured more of the liquid down his throat.
Keegan was spluttering, coughing, and gagging as the liquid was forced into his mouth and down his throat. He didn’t like it at all. What is this? He thought to himself, still feeling fuzzy, even more so than before. The man had a cruel grin on his face as his hand slid from Keegan’s chin to his throat.
Oh.
That wasn’t a place Keegan liked to be touched. He squirmed against his touch, a few words escaping his lips but no true sentences. At least he doesn’t think any true sentences made it out of his mouth. The man tightened his grip on Keegan’s neck and forced more of the liquid down his throat. It fucking burned.
Please. Keegan mentally flailed, fighting against the fog in his mind to beg and plead in his thoughts. Please get me out of here. Adonis, anyone, please. He hoped they would know something was wrong. Keegan knew they had to be watching. They had to be able to pull him out of this. He was scared.
The next thing Keegan felt was a hand on his waist. The angel felt panic rising inside himself and he tried to fight back, but he was in no position to be able to fight back. The man was stronger, without a doubt, and Keegan was fucking drugged up on something. The man slid his hand from Keegan’s waist to his upper thigh.
“Stop.” Was all Keegan could manage to force out of his mouth. He mentally cringed at the way he sounded. He sounded weak and pathetic. He hated it. The man laughed cruelly and pulled Keegan close, forcing his lips upon the angels. Keegan is pretty sure he cried.
He didn’t want this. Not like this, at least. The angel couldn’t think, his head far too foggy to be able to hold a thought and cling to it. All he could do was take what was being forced upon him. The man got up after a few minutes to presumably go get something, and that’s when Keegan was pulled out of there.
Adonis was standing in front of him, concern and guilt written on his face. Adonis meant Keegan was back in Heaven. Heaven meant safe. Adonis knelt in front of Keegan and held his arms out, offering a hug but not forcing it, and Keegan crumpled into his arms.
He’s pretty sure he cried into Adonis’ shoulder for a few hours, and Adonis let him. Adonis simply held Keegan close and let him cry. He occasionally murmured soft things to him, making him know nothing like this would ever happen again, but other than that he just stayed silent while Keegan sobbed.
Keegan is still forever grateful Adonis held him and let him cry. He’s still grateful his higher-up cared enough to pull him out. Not every angel would’ve been lucky to get out of that situation. That situation happened about 11 years ago, but Keegan, even at 28 years old, is still nervous every time he has to go down to Earth.
“Keegan, I have someone new for you,” Adonis called, snapping Keegan out of his daze. The angel was up immediately and he walked over to Adonis, raising his brow.
“Who is it, boss?” He asked, folding his arms over his chest and looking at Adonis.
“A military lieutenant and his team.” Keegan paused, the words registering in his head. “A military lieutenant needs a guardian angel? ” When he said the words out loud it sounded stupid. Why wouldn’t a lieutenant need a guardian angel? They were risking their lives all the fucking time, they could at least have an extra layer of protections
“His name is Simon Riley. He goes by Ghost out on the field,” Adonis explained to him, looking through his file. “He’s gotten himself into some trouble with enemies and he doesn’t seem to know how to handle it.” Keegan snorted.
“He got himself into a mess he can’t handle? Kind of pathetic if you ask me.” Adonis shot Keegan a glare and the angel held his hands up in mock surrender. “My sincerest apologies, boss.” His higher-up rolled his eyes and audibly groaned.
“Look, he needs help, and you’re one of our best.” Adonis gave him a look and Keegan’s playful demeanor dropped in an instant. “I need you to go down there and help him. You can occasionally come back up to give me reports, but other than that, you’re staying on Earth for a while.”
Keegan’s brow furrowed and he frowned, his wings fluttering slightly where they were pressed against his back. “How long will I be on Earth?”
“Two years at most.” Keegan’s eyes widened.
“Two years?! ” Keegan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I am not staying on Earth for two years. ” He snapped, glaring at Adonis. He was showing way too much attitude to his higher-up, but at the moment Keegan couldn’t give a damn.
“Keegan, you’re going and that’s final ,” Adonis growled, glaring at the angel and grabbing his shoulders. “Am I clear?” Keegan twisted away from Adonis and he huffed. He was acting like a toddler who didn’t get what they wanted.
“No, you’re not ‘clear!’ I’m not going! That’s too fucking long for me to be down there.” The angel didn’t understand why he’d have to be down there for so long. What was the point of being down there so long? It was almost always only a few months and then he’d come back. It’s never been two whole fucking years.
Adonis was getting annoyed with the angel. Why did he have to be so damn difficult sometimes? “Keegan, I’ll say it nicely one more time. You. Are. Going. ” His tone had an annoyed edge to it and Adonis knew that. He needed Keegan to listen to him, and he thought maybe by putting an annoyed edge to his voice, he’d be able to convince Keegan.
Adonis was wrong. If anything, the annoyance in his tone made Keegan’s attitude get more annoyed. “I have a choice in the matter, Adonis. I’m not going!” Keegan and Adonis were both on their last nerve by this point.
“As your higher-up, I am ordering you to go.” Adonis snapped, his eyes narrow slits as he looked at Keegan. “And if you defy me anymore I’m sending you to Hell.” That seemed to flick off something in Keegan’s brain because he stopped bitching and listened .
The better part of Keegan’s mind knew that it was an empty threat, that Adonis would never send Keegan to Hell over this. The other part of Keegan’s mind didn't know this, and that was the side that listened. “Of course, boss.” Keegan heard himself saying. “Sorry for arguing, I’ll go when you need me to.” Adonis relaxed and he picked up his file again.
“You leave tomorrow.” He announced, flicking through the file. “You’ll go down disguised as a recruit for the Task Force. Kate Laswell, their inspector, will know who you are, she’ll give you more details about this.” Keegan listened intently and nodded, his brow furrowed.
“Will they let me do…well, will they let me do the protecting if I’m just a recruit?” Keegan asked. “Why would they listen to me in the first place if I told them they needed to let me protect them?” Adonis hummed his approval of the question.
“Be firm about it, Keegan. They’ll listen to you.” Adonis placed a gentle hand on Keegan’s shoulder. “I know it’s a long time, but you’re allowed to come up and visit occasionally.” Keegan nodded and Adonis smiled.
“Alright. Go get some rest, kid. You leave tomorrow after breakfast.” Adonis gave Keegan’s shoulder a small pat before he let go and took a step back.
“Thanks, Adonis.” Keegan turned and walked away, the weight of his new task finally settling in his mind as he went to his room and got ready for bed. Lord give me strength. He begged silently. I feel like I’m going to need it.