Angel Heart (Ianthony AU)

Chapter Twenty: The End (Happy)

*No one's POV*

Ian blinked his eyes open. He felt.. strange. The air around him smelled sweet and pleasant, the sky above him a piercing blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds.

He sat up straight, feeling at ease and comfortable despite being in an unknown location. He blinked a few more times to let his eyes adjust to the brightness. And he was dazed by what his eyes took in over the vast landscape.

It was a field of wildflowers. The green of the grass was split through with shots of color; blue, yellow, red, pink. A breeze of wind gusted, ruffling the grass in a wave of air. Ian closed his eyes as the wind touched his face, pushing his hair back and ghosting over his skin.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder blade, making him turn his torso. Mari stood behind him, wings extended as she kept her feet just above the ground. White wings. "Hello, Ian."

"Mari? What's going on?" He asked, rising to his feet on slightly shaky legs.

She just smiled at him softly, putting a hand out to steady him. "Be careful. Your body is still recovering in the real world." He tilted his head in that curious way he did and she continued, "Ian, don't you remember?"

He blinked a few times, shaking his head. Mari sighed, reaching up to give him a tap on the forehead. He froze on the spot, eyes rolling to the back of his head.

The letter, the week, the love, the torture, Anthony coming to the rescue, Anthony.

He jerked away from her hand, eyes wide in concern. "Anthony! Is he okay?" He asked, desperately hoping for a positive answer.

Mari grinned. "Thanks to you, he's going to be just fine."

Ian nodded, his body relaxing with the relief that came with the knowledge of Anthony's confirmed safety. But then a thought crawled its way into his mind. "What about me, why am I here and not with him?" He sucked in a sharp breath suddenly, blue eyes wide. "Am I dead?" 

Mari smiled softly. "You were. But you're okay now, kind of."

Ian sighed deeply, shoulders sagging. "Can you just explain what's happening? Why was Anthony even there in the first place?" 

Mari sat down in a single motion, crossing her legs as she spread her wings behind her. She patted the ground beside her and Ian didn't hesitate to plop down next to her. "Anthony was there because Melanie and I brought him there." 

Ian just nodded, fiddling with a strand of grass that was tickling against his ankle. "Why would you do that? He almost died."

"He was the only one who could help you. Mel and I weren't supposed to help at all, but we've been on the run for months now. We were coming to save you both with some help from our allies- but everything just happened so fast. We were too late. And I know that you think you don't deserve to be saved, but, trust me, you do. More than anyone else I know." 

Ian wasn't mad. A little confused and very much concerned, but nowhere near mad. "Why are your wings white again?"

Mari smiled, fluttering the feathers  on her spotlessly white wings. "I knew you were going to ask that. I have redeemed myself, much as you have. Two banished Angels, returning home again." 

Ian blinked a few times. "Two?"

"You made them forgive you with acts of kindness and bravery, my dear friend. They will allow you to return to Heaven, back under respected Angel status."

"But I can't. I- I can't leave Anthony. I won't leave him, not after everything we've been through." 

Mari looked surprised at his words, her wings stilling in their fluttering. "What are you saying? That you want to stay on Earth, with a human?"