A/N: Okay so ffnet is a butthole. Apparently they blacklisted practically all websites to link to, so this assignment will be more difficult for you all but worth it. My dear lovely fellow Dyle/Damile fanatic MiroirTwin did a amaazzziinnnggg fanart for this story. It's already the coverart but guys. GUYS. Seriously you need to see it full-sized I am not dicking you around there's so much fucking beautiful detail that little bitty icon ain't doin' shit for it and the perfection that is Kyle's naked, pert ass.
So since I can't fucking LINK ANYTHING SERIOUSLY WTF FFNET YOU DICK...Please. Go to their deviantart page, username MiroirTwin, and find this shit. And follow them. Because holy hell the art will make you cry the tears of the joy. I don't promote bitches unless I think they're worth all your time, and dis bitch is worth all yer time. Go forth, minions and reek havoc on their lovely art of loveliness. Is minions cool to call you? Dearies? Buttpirates? Faces I want to caress? Idk I've been high on cold medicine for seven days now and I have no idea what's going on anymore.
SO ITS A GREAT IDEA TO TRY TO WRITE A COHESIVE NARRATIVE. Let's have some fun with a short Ken chappie. Enjoy~
"He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven." -Psalms 107:29-30
Walking through the city of Paradise was something that Kenny thought he'd get to enjoy; to take in the grandeur of the metropolis in the clouds, each item towering so highly above him and shimmering as the beacons they were meant to be. However, every angel seeing the blonde stomping through the array of lightened pathways would think he'd found himself wandering through the filthy alley of a ghetto.
A permanent scowl seemed etched on his face anymore, whispers flummoxed about as he passed the glowing figures lazing around the numerous buildings. The rumors had flown immediately after Damien's departure, and Kenny didn't have enough collective sense to correct how wrong some of them had been. He'd heard flitters of how Damien came asking him to fight on his side, how it was his 'brother' being threatened, and how it wasn't even Damien, but just a trick. The blonde bristled. He wished it was just a trick. He wished so desperately that what had transpired only two weeks beforehand was nothing more than a convincible illusion brought on by his own despair.
But no. Kenny knew better than that.
Unfortunately, the beings surrounding him did not. The other archangels kept what had transpired to themselves, knowing full and well that having angels coming up to Kenny expressing their sympathies could very well send the already-tumultuous man over the edge. But even through their silence, the truth had managed to show its face now and again, floating through the gossip train thin as air, the idea only passing through under the cover of others. Whispers occasionally breached Kenny's sharpened hearing. 'Lover', 'hostage', 'poor, poor boy...'; Common words linked together that sent his deadened heart into a hysterical frenzy.
He looked down at his hand as he walked, seeing the way his fingers trembled and clutching them into a fist. His sword rested in its sheath, smacking against his leg as he walked through the busy hustle and bustle of Paradise. He could feel their eyes. He could feel them all; Pitying, worrying, warning.
Kenny knew as well as any other: He was on a time limit. Unfortunately, his anger was preventing him from getting any further than flying around. His emotions were out of control and the archangels refused to help him begin wielding any bit of power, he was far too unstable to unleash anything. Their reluctance was only seating him deeper into the thralls of uncertainty, making him wonder if he'd ever be well-suited enough to make something of this power that he'd been entrusted with. He wasn't feeling overly hopeful. He could barely calm himself down enough to get a drink let alone wield the powers of Heaven in his slender hands.
"Kenneth!" a voice shouted from above.
He glanced up, seeing Michael and Gabriel swooping down towards him and taking a deep breath. Seeing nothing but these two and Raphael was starting to wear on his nerves a bit. Only a month had passed and he was far past the point of wanting to break his lease and get away from them. Gabriel looked at him with those pitiable eyes that sent his edging nerves into an absolute stir. "How are you, Kenneth?"
"Fucking fantastic," he muttered. "Still shaking. Still pissed. Fiancé's probably dead or being tortured. I'm just a bundle of joy, I'll tell ya, Gabe."
The two of them let out long sighs and shook their heads. Michael walked over, pushing long hair out of his eyes and placing a hand on Kenny's shoulder. "Kenneth, we need you."
"I know," he murmured, guilt flickering within him for the cause but refusing to acknowledge it. Only one thing in his universe required his guilt as far as he was concerned and he was trapped down in Hell with Damien doing who knew what to him.
Gabriel frowned, "Kenneth, wallowing will not get him back. You need to get yourself past this-"
"I know," he snapped, blue eyes bursting with a sudden spark of fury. "You think I don't fucking know that?" He looked between the two of them and took a deep breath. "All I've been hearing from all seven of you fuckers and Jesus is 'if you calm down you can fight and save him'," he mocked in a high voice, making faces all the while. He dropped back into a stony expression and let out a long breath through his nose. "Easier said than done."
"We know," Michael nodded softly. "We know how this is tearing you apart, Kenneth...which is why God wishes to speak to you."
"Oh? The one person who could've saved Kyle wants to talk to me?" he raised his brow before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms like a teenager throwing a tantrum. "I'm not interested."
Gabriel shook his head, walking over and grasping Kenny's other shoulder, the both of them turning him down a long pathway leading towards God's domain. "We know that you harbor anger towards Him," he said quietly. "You believe it to be His fault, but, Kenneth, God never would have wanted Kyle to be hurt."
"Some omnipotent being," he grumbled, reluctantly letting them lead him on. He wasn't particularly up to fighting them off regardless, but the idea of talking to God wasn't exactly high on Kenny's lists of 'wants' at the moment. He'd been avoiding the deity like crazy, hearing Him calling for him but flying away whenever he could. He just couldn't stand to think about that soothing voice, the man filled with pure, boiling rage at the mere idea that God could foolishly tell him something along the lines of 'everything happens for a reason'. It took Kenny nearly a week to convince himself that he shouldn't just give up to Damien if God should spout something so juvenile at him in what he knew was an inevitable conversation.
"He will give you answers, even if they're not ones that you wish to hear," Gabriel continued, patting his shoulder.
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, they tell you that shit in church, too. That's what the preacher says when they don't want to give an actual fucking reason for something happening."
"For someone literally standing in Heaven and being an archangel, you're sounding rather secular," Michael pointed out.
The blonde scoffed, "Well, I know this shit's real, but it doesn't mean I have to believe in it."
They looked at him silently for a moment, Gabriel holding up his hand subtly as Michael's temper tried to spiral out from under him. "Kenneth," the noirette said softly, "We need you to believe in Heaven. Kyle needs you-"
"Okay, stop fucking using him against me," he shot, blue eyes blazing and locking into the older angel's stare. "Stop telling me how Kyle needs me to be strong or whatever."
"Well he does," Michael insisted.
Kenny growled, ripping his shoulders from their hands and stepping back away from them. They turned and watched him, blinking confusedly. "No," he hissed. "He needed me to protect him from getting fucking kidnapped for your fucking fight. And I wasn't. Fucking. There." He clutched his arms around each other, fingers digging into his muscle as he dropped his gaze to the clouds, grating his lip. "I wasn't there," he repeated in a whimper. Anger started to melt, dripping like tar into a heavy, sickening sadness that he'd been trying to avoid for two long weeks. The archangels stood in silence, the three of them drowning in the misery leaking off of Kenny's defeated stance, his still invigorated veins pulsing almost painfully in the quiet. They screamed of his heartache, of his overwhelming shame in what he believed he'd caused. He'd never felt like this before, like he literally caused the end of the world, or at least, his own.
"And he is thankful that you were not there," a voice poked through the tense moment. They looked over to see God meandering towards them, eyes firmly locked on the poor blonde.
"Whaddya mean?" he whispered.
His dark pupils softened and He let out a long sigh. "Kyle is not a fool, Kenneth, you know this. He knows that had you been there, Damien would have killed you both, maybe even found the way to keep you gone permanently. He knows what the potential alternative could have been."
Kenny gulped, dropping down to his knees slowly in front of the creature, refusing to release his grip around his over-stimulated body. "God?" he whispered, raising his eyes, filled with glistening tears up to His face, "why didn't you protect him?" He wanted to be furious, he wanted to grab the being and shake Him...but he couldn't. All he could feel was such overwhelming depression, such loss as he stared at who was supposed to be the guiding light. Kenny couldn't help but feel betrayed, feeling as though the only place he'd been guided to was his own personal Hell and he'd just gotten lucky with the locale.
God's shoulders slunk at the pure emotion He could feel waning off of Kenny onto Himself and He let out a long breath. "I...hate to admit this to you, Kenneth, but I know you won't accept anything less than the truth." Kenny nodded, grateful to an extent that He knew not to bullshit the blonde anymore than need-be. "Kenneth, I didn't think of it," He admitted. "It never once crossed my mind that Kyle would be in danger. I sincerely apologize. Otherwise I would have found some way to keep him from Damien's hands...I am deeply sorry," He said, voice filled with genuine regret.
"But...you know everything," he emphasized.
"Doesn't mean I can keep up with it," He smirked sadly. "If I knew everything and could handle it all, there would be no war for us to be thrust into. There would be no need for any archangels. The idea of Kyle's vulnerability passed through the motions without me recognizing it as a tangible threat to you. Once again, I am truly sorry."
Kenny sat in silence for a few moments, clear eyes listlessly scanning over God's sympathetic face. He knew it wasn't God's fault. It wasn't his fault, either. It was Damien's. Every ounce of every problem could all be traced back to the conniving son of a bitch. But Kenny still couldn't help but feel such an anger, such a slap of pure, deep-rooted fury against himself. He should've been able to do something.
"Kenneth," God's voice brought him back out of his self-loathing. He paused, staring at the helpless blonde and reaching forward with a paw, placing it on his arm with the geniality of a father. "Love is a terrible, terrible thing," He said.
Kenny blinked, not quite sure that he heard Him right. "What?"
He smiled, stepping back and motioning for Kenny to follow Him before pivoting and beginning to slowly saunter away. The blonde stumbled onto his feet, making haste after Him with Michael and Gabriel silently trailing behind the two of them in observation. "Love," God continued, "Can do many things. Make someone's life better, feed the hungry, clothe the homeless," He shrugged. "Love can make it seem as though it is the reason for the world turning. And, in some respects, that's correct."
"Okay..." Kenny raised his brow, walking beside Him and looking down at Him feeling completely stumped.
"However, love can so very easily be your undoing. Everyone knows this," He said simply. "Love can make a man go mad, can make the sweetest of people turn into an absolute monster..." He looked up at Kenny in concern. "You and Kyle share a very fatal flaw."
He cocked his head, "We do?"
The deity nodded solemnly. "To save each other, you would both let the world turn to ashes."
Kenny frowned, "Look, we love each other, no goddamn doubt..." he paused. "Uh, no offense."
"None taken," He chuckled lightly.
"But we also know that others come first," he continued softly. "I'm pissed to shit and scared out of my mind for him...and I know Ky, he's the same for me. But we also know that we're not the only people that matter."
"To each other, you are," He raised his brow, stopping his gait. Kenny stumbled as he noticed and tried to stop beside Him, watching as God slowly floated Himself up onto the ledge of a window to stare straight-on at the blonde. "Your love is valiant, it is pure...but it is dangerous," He warned. "On Earth, what you two share is a wonderful thing. Trapped in the afterlife...it could spell both of your deaths, as well as everyone else on Earth."
Kenny scowled, "I told you, we-"
He held up His paw, stopping the blonde's repetition and shaking His head. "Kenneth, I want you to think of how you've been these last two weeks. You haven't been thinking about how to fight Damien, only how to save Kyle."
"Which is by fighting Damien," he scoffed.
"You're focusing on the wrong aspect of this fight, Kenneth," He said sternly. "You cannot think about the goal, only the journey."
He rolled his eyes, "God, come on. You sound like a fortune cookie."
"Kenneth, watch your tongue," Michael warned from the side, leaning against the building with Gabriel and staring at him intensely.
God held up His paw, "Michael, thank you, but stay out of this." He turned back to look at the man in front of Him. "Perhaps I do," He nodded. "But you know I'm right, don't you?"
He shifted, crossing his arms and shrugging listlessly. "I guess."
The hardened look on His face dropped as Kenny's position slouched a tad. "What's on your mind, my son?"
He was silent for a few moments before letting out a long breath. "I'm scared," he admitted. He dropped his gaze to the ground, kicking at a cloud listlessly. "Of everything. I could die. I could lose the war. I could get Kyle killed...there's so much here that I could do wrong and everyone's counting on me and the most I've ever been counted on for is picking up dinner now and again and sometimes I even fuck that up because Kyle's allergic to so fucking much and sometimes I forget and-" he stopped his nonsensical rampage as God put a paw on his arm lovingly, staring at him with those kind eyes.
"Whatever you need, we will help you," He assured him. "We know how much pressure you feel, but the world is not only in your hands, Kenneth. You will have help every step of the way, I swear this to you."
Kenny took a long breath, wiping at his eyes and sniffling, giving Him a small nod. "Okay," he whispered.
"For now, Kyle is safe," He promised. "Focus on you. Focus on your enemy. Fight for him, but not by being dependent on him. Do you understand what I mean, Kenneth?"
He nodded again. "It's hard," he said meekly.
"I know," He mused. "And it will be. But the sooner you get yourself to that point, the sooner you learn to fight, and the sooner you destroy your target. All right?"
He took a long, shuddery breath. "All right."
"Good," He nodded curtly. He grasped Kenny's hand and smiled, "you're already calming immensely," He said in approval. "Soon you'll be able to begin your training."
"How soon?" he asked, chest hurting with an overflow of emotions that he didn't even want to begin trying to sort into something understandable within him.
He gave him a grin and chuckled. "You are stable enough now that I believe you can at least begin on your swordsmanship," He shrugged. "Go to the arena, Raphael will start you off, all right?"
"Okay," he nodded. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "God...I know I need to focus on Damien or whatever...but..."
"I'm sure he'll be fine," God said, reading his question with ease. "Should anything go awry, I will know, and you will be informed immediately. All right?"
Kenny's entire body visibly relaxed and a grateful smile ghosted over thin lips. "Thank you," he whispered, hesitating before leaning down and clutching the deity in a brief hug. He released Him just as quickly and pivoted, his wings arching up and propelling him off into the sky, the remaining three watching as he headed out towards the arena.
God sighed tiredly, shaking His head. Gabriel stepped beside Him, eyes still on the sky. "Poor kid," he murmured. "So much on his head."
"Indeed," God agreed with a nod. "But he's a strong boy. He'll find a way to stave through this all, I'm sure."
Michael took a deep breath, shifting uneasily. "God?" he asked timidly, watching for those serpent-like eyes to drift back onto him. "God...you said before that the world was in Kenneth's hands. Were you just trying to make him feel better just then or...?" he trailed off with a small, questioning shrug.
God sighed again, His shoulders dropping along with His head. "No. I was right before...but now the situation has changed. The world's got more to hope for than just Kenny now."
"Whaddya mean?" Gabriel asked blankly, eyes tracing over a cloud shape.
The deity's eyes slipped shut; hazy, muddled visions of red and green irises and fangs flashing through His mind along with the rest of the jumble of the world. A clear voice screaming for Kenny echoed within the mess, rising above the rest with a strong vibrato of power and fear. He looked back and out towards where Kenny had flown, sharp teeth biting over His lip gently. "Let's just hope that for once, the devil won't know how to best a mortal."
A/N: So yeah the Ky/Dam chaps will always be longer and more interesting most likely. And not every chap will go back and forth between Heaven and Hell. Most of them will be down in Hell because they have the most that's going to go on. Kenny is *mostly* just gonna be training. A few important things will happen but, let's face it, you're here for the Kyle torture and so am I. Ain't no shame. (okay there's a lot of shame but shhhh). We'll be back there next time and I'm pretty excited. Ky and Dam are going to be such assholes to each other throughout this entire story and I'm just so ready to write what I consider 'witty' banter even though it's just me spacing out and writing whatever the fuck I want. ~My process~
Also, as you probably guessed from the first a/n, I'm recovering from a horrible cold that fucking knocked me on my ass this past week so hopefully this shit makes sense and isn't a drug-induced chaotic disaster of a chapter. My hopes aren't high but eh. We havin' fun, Kids? Cuz that's all that matters B)
Thanks for R&Ring!