Wings

People called us strange. Strange, weird, different, abnormal. It was not so much that they were calling us strange, it was more like they didn't know what to think when they saw us together. We were exact opposites. We were best friends.
That was years ago now. Way back before we had ever heard of SOLDIER, or ShinRa, or mako, or degradation, or even Midgar. One thing we had heard about, however, were angels.
I knew an angel, once. He was my best friend. He was always so kind, so innocent, so genuinely sweet, that I knew he was not of this world. This filthy planet could never give birth to something so pure, so wonderful.
I spent the majority of my life searching for the 'gift of the goddess'. I find it odd, that as I sit here dying, I can see the truth. I had the gift of the goddess all along. Most of the time it was right in front of my eyes, only an arms length away. It was with me constantly, yet I was blinded by jealousy and hate and so could not recognize it. Only once my angel left could I see the truth. The angel had been sent by the goddess to help me on my way. My literal guardian angel, in more ways than one. My angel was my best friend for a good decade, and even after I denounced him, letting our friendship die, he still cared.
People say that to get the best taste out of wine or cheese, you have to let it age. I've never been patient. I always wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it. Maybe if I had waited, our friendship would have gotten stronger too, like the taste of the dumbapple juice did after being left out in the sun for a week.
Long story short, my angel started growing more distant from me, spending time with other people, and I'll admit it now, years after the fact, that I was dead jealous. I missed my angel. A lot. Also, I was furious that my angel seemed to be friendly with that silver-haired freak. I hated that man. He had never needed to work for anything, always had everything he ever wanted; Hell, the bastard even had a fan club. A frickin' fan club. And on top of that, he was stronger than my angel and I combined.
So I pretended to be nice to the silver haired bastard too, and for a while my angel was happier. And then the freak training session happened, degradation started, and the shit hit the fan.
I got a wing. Jet black, sprouting out of my left shoulder, with a weird kink or extra joint in it. And I could fly. I was both horrified and euphoric. I was finally better than Sephiroth in some way, and I was at the same level as my angel. No, more than that. I was greater than my angel, or so I thought.
And then I left and my angel didn't follow me. We were apart for the first time in years, and it hurt. I guess the goddess got a bit upset with him, though, like guardian angels weren't supposed to leave their charges, 'cause he showed up again, and turned his back on everything he believed in. For me. It felt wonderful at the time, in two ways. First, because I felt like I had this incredible control over him, and second, because a small part of me that was still that innocent little Banoran boy was glad someone cared.
And he died. My angel went and died on me. Or rather, he made his protege kill him, after seeing me supposedly die. And even then, I was glad, because I had power over him still, even when I was supposedly dead.
And now I sit here, slumped against a wall, with not even enough strength to hold my sword. It's pathetic. I'm pathetic. The 'gift of the goddess'... I couldn't even realize what it was until any chance of obtaining it was long gone.
But I can understand now, far too late. The gift of the goddess... My gift from the goddess... My angel. My guardian angel, the one who befriended me so long ago, one day amongst the apple trees... The trees that are burned now, dead as my angel is.
He literally was an angel. He even had the wing of one. On the right side, no unnatural kinks, only a pure white angel wing. Fitting, really.
People always called us strange, different, abnormal, and they were right. We ended up as monsters. They said our friendship was impossible, unrealistic, and that it just didn't make sense, and once more, they were right. It didn't make sense, but it worked. We were exact opposites; one a rich kid, the other a poor woman's son. If i was a forest fire, out of control and raging, then he was the rain that cooled my temper. If I was lightning, he was the earth that absorbed my deadly fire and channeled it so that bystanders would escape harm. I was electricity, and he was the conductor that carried my charge safely from one spot to another without himself being incinerated. We were exact opposites. We were best friends... My angel and I… My 'gift of the goddess'…
My Angeal.

A/N: Hey, if anyone is actually reading this, I have a second chapter/omake thing already written. However, before I post it, I want to know if anyone actually cares. A review or pm would be nice...