For Those With Wings (Angel/AngelKiller!Brothers and Reader)

Chapter 1

The old cathedral towered over me as I stood in front of the main doors, the aging statues carved meticulously into the stonework looking down on me with resentment in their lifeless eyes. They seemed to mock me, as if they were judging me for not visiting since I attended school here as a child. I dipped my head in reverence to the large statue of the named saint that stood alone on his own pedestal while giving the gesture of invitation over the main entrance.

Pushing open the heavy wooden doors with plaques of the saint the cathedral was named after, I walked through the arching doorway and into the looming annex, watching the doors close and seal me in the quiet cathedral, the flickering candles lit while the electric lights were dimmed for ambience.

The sanctuary itself was nearly devoid of people, only having a handful scattered throughout the many pews facing the large altar-like table, decorated with a white runner and candlesticks that flickered in the brief wind that I had created by opening the doors.

I kept my head down, mumbling a prayer of thanks quietly for allowing me to arrive here safely before moving towards the wooden confessional booths against the west wall. There was a small scattering of people in front of the left side of the closest booth, with only two to three people waiting to confess their sins to the priest inside. I found myself looking up at the familiar cathedral ceiling, admiring the sculptures and paintings that had been renovated and brought back to life.

Memories of my childhood friends came to the forefront of my mind, looking towards the little nooks that we'd play in before the archpriest caught us and threatened us all with punishments of cleaning the chalkboards in our classrooms. They were three brothers, one half of a sextuplet family that was split by their parents divorce, and I was by myself, an orphaned child raised by the church -- we were an unlikely quartet of nearly limitless childish energy. I had always wondered what happened to them after I was fostered out of the children's home...

Noticing that the person in front of me left the confessional door open, I quickly signed a cross on my body with my right hand before stepping into the cramped space. I never liked confessional booths, as it seemed to be an unnecessary step and allowed the human on the other side of the blocked screen to know what was wrong with someone's life. I shook my head to clear my thoughts before reciting the confession that I had whispered so many times years before.

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been five years since my last confession," I muttered softly, enclosed in the soft darkness of the confessional booth, "I have sinned by not being a loving partner, for I have been deemed impure by the one I...by the one I used to love."

"My child," A male voice sounded out on the other side of the screen, his tone light and caring, yet strangely familiar, "Is this the only sin that separates you from God?"

"Yes, Father..." My mind raced as I tried to recognize the male voice before finishing the sentence, "Though there are none that come to mind, there may be smaller sins that God looks at me unfavorably for."

The booth was silent for some time before the priest on the other side spoke again.

"God forgives you of your sins, both spoken and unspoken. Be at peace and go with God's grace."

"And also with you," I barely uttered the knee-jerk response before I left the booth to see someone turn around the corner towards the entrance, his priesthood clothing making him stand out like a sore thumb amongst the regular people starting to leave the cathedral. The details of his side profile looked familiar, but I didn't want to risk calling out a name that didn't belong to him.

As he turned to face the leaving group of people, I instantly recognized him despite the spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose. The green colored inlay of his garb was also telling, but the clincher was the partial frown that seemed to be cemented onto his face.