A/N: Look familiar? If so, that's because I posted this story earlier in the year but took it down after I think three chapters due to lack of motivation. But in my free time I've been writing just for the sake of doing so and actually like what I've written for this. I've decided to post this and keep it up since I now have a clear idea as to where I will take this story.
Michael/OFC, and a somewhat AU take one the movie.
From what I understand, there are a lot of arguments floating around on whether or not there are female angels, but the seemingly most accepted view that I've come across is that angels are asexual. Well, in this fic there are male and female angels. This story really wouldn't work out otherwise.
Reviews are always welcomed, and something that I absolutely love reviewing on any story. So, please, I ask that you review. As always, something as simple as a smiley face is enough to make my day. I don't require much to smile!
Summary: Michael fell to protect humanity, but Ava fell to be human. Two years after falling from Heaven and cutting her wings, Ava has made a life for herself working at a diner in the middle of nowhere. But her freedom can't last forever. When the end begins, the fallen angel is reunited with the archangel she was once closest to, Michael, and things between them change forever even as the true consequences of her fall is revealed.
Disclaimer: I do not own "Legion". If I did, Ava would have been in the movie and things would have gone differently.
Staring out over the seemingly endless array of clouds, Ava thought over what she was about to do, tucking a long lock of light blond hair behind her ear.
Any angel who dared to fall from Heaven would readily be sentenced to death, but Ava would gladly face death if falling meant she could be free. She loved her Father very much, but she couldn't live like this anymore.
For centuries she watched the humans, watched them interact and live their lives as they saw fit.
For centuries she longed to be one of them.
Not many angels felt as she did. In fact, the only other angel she could think of who may understand her feelings was Michael.
The archangel was her closest friend and they'd stood by each other's side since the beginning. If she had any true friends in Heaven, it was Michael. Lately, however, things between them had started to change. A hand on the shoulder lasted a few seconds longer than needed, a glance at one another lasted longer than necessary, and the mere desire to be near each other had intensified. Something between them had changed and she wasn't sure what. Angels didn't feel emotions the same way as humans. Perhaps once she fell she would understand it all, but for now she couldn't be sure of what she was feeling and dared not ask for advice on the matter due it being personal in nature and inappropriate to feel in the first place.
The only thing that she was sure was that no matter how close they were, no matter how much Michael also wanted to walk among the humans, he wouldn't fall from Heaven. He was a soldier of God, and loyal to a fault, a trait she both admired and despised.
Once she had been like that, but not for a long time.
Sighing, she leaned against the dark pillar beside her.
Things in Heaven were falling apart at the seams to the point where Ava considered calling it a civil war. Gabriel, an egotistic and cold archangel, felt as though the humans deserved to be "cleansed" from the Earth and that they didn't deserve the life God had given them. Many others thought just as he did. From the rumors she'd heard in passing, it seemed as though God Himself was losing faith in man once again.
For a long time she'd considered falling and removing her wings, and now seemed like as good a time as any to do so. If a civil war or something was going to break out across Heaven she didn't want any part of it. She wanted to understand why humans did the things they did. Perhaps she was selfish, but just once she wanted to live life the way she wanted to, if only for a little while.
Gathering her strength, she took a few sure steps towards the edge of the balcony. If she was going to do it, it had to be now.
"I see you've decided to go through with it," a low and familiar voice said from behind her.
Ava's steps came to a pause at the very edge and she closed her eyes. "I can't do this anymore, Michael. I can't continue living like this. Every day I watch the humans live with the freedom to make their own choices. It's torture."
Coming up to stand beside her, Michael said, "If you fall, you'll be hunted down by every angel in Heaven and killed."
A small smile found its way to her lips. "I doubt I'll be hunted for very long, if at all." Looking up at Michael with crystal blue eyes, seeing the frown on his handsome face, she explained, "You know as well as I do that too much is going on for most to be concerned about one subordinate who has decided to fall. Besides, I don't have Lucifer's intentions. I just want to… to be free. Is that really so much to ask for?"
Michael didn't answer immediately, but both knew the answer to the question. In Heaven, true freedom that was experienced by humans was too much to ask for.
"I wish you wouldn't do this," Michael sighed.
Ava stared off into the clouds. "I wish you'd come with me…"
Taking her shoulders, the archangel turned her to face him and tilted her head up with his thumb and index finger to meet his eyes, a shade of blue darker than her own. "You know that I can't."
"I know," she whispered, placing her hand against his cheek.
Reaching up to hold her hand with his larger one, he asked sadly, "Is there nothing I can say to make you change your mind?"
She shook her head with an apologetic smile.
"You remember that it is my duty to kill any angel who attempts to fall?"
A lump formed in her throat and she nodded. Ever since Lucifer was cast out of Heaven Michael had been given the order to kill anyone who attempted to fall or follow their fallen brother's example. By all rights he should kill her where she stood for even uttering her intentions.
For nearly a minute, Michael didn't speak, but when he did his voice was practically a whisper. "Gabriel will not understand and will try to hunt you down. I won't be able to keep your actions a secret for very long. I suggest you hurry and use all your knowledge to hide."
Blinking away the tears that had yet to fall, Ava stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thank you, Michael."
Before he could even return the embrace, tears already spilling down Ava's fair cheeks, she stepped out of his arms.
"Ava…" Michael started, taking a step towards her.
Giving him a tearful smile, stepping away from him, she murmured, "Goodbye."
Opening her arms and wings, she tilted back until she was toppling over the edge in a free-fall, leaving behind the only home she'd ever known and Michael.
…
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!...
Groaning, Ava reached out and hit her alarm clock, ceasing the annoying sound. Rolling to her back, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the dream she just had, the memory of the day she fell from Heaven two years ago. So much had changed since she cut her wings from her back, nothing but ragged scars left in their place.
For a while she'd just wandered around aimlessly, unsure what to do and where to go. She wasn't hunted by her fellow angels, much to her relief, and some stress was taken off her shoulders. After about a week of walking down a road to nowhere, she was picked up by a man with one arm who took her to the diner he worked at. Apparently she looked hungry and homeless, which she was. She'd been starving, and she certainly did not look her best. Her clothes were too big for her, the shoes worn to nearly nothing, and she'd been covered in a layer of grime that saw to her demanding a shower.
Shortly after getting a good meal into her, the man, Percy, asked her what her name was. Thinking fast for a last name, she told him that her name was Ava Walker, and that was about the time his boss, a guy named Bob, started with the questions. To the best of her ability, she answered them but most she had no answer to and had to lie.
In the end, the man reluctantly allowed Ava to stay with him and his son Jeep in exchange for keeping the diner clean. It was meant to be a temporary arrangement until she got back on her feet, but it didn't turn out that way. In no time, she, Bob, Jeep, Percy, and Charlie all came to think of each other as family, as dysfunctional as they were. Roughly a year ago she'd managed to move into a small camper when a man trying to get rid of it stopped by the dinner and asked if he could just dump it there, tired of carting it around behind his truck and telling them they could keep whatever money they made from selling the scrap because he couldn't find anyone willing to pay money for the thing and just wanted it gone, unable to stand it anymore. That was hardly a shock, given that the unbelievably small camper smelled funky, was falling apart at the seams, and was just... unpleasant. Even with the repairs and touch-ups she and Jeep had done with it, all the pine scented air fresheners she hung, the thing was far from what could be called a home. It was so cramped, containing only a small bed, counter, and a small closet-like space, forcing her to head over to Bob and Jeep's larger trailer if she required a bathroom. And yet, she called it her home because that was what it was to her, and she happily kept it out back with the others. She didn't have much, but that shitty camper was hers, and she was happier than she'd ever been in Heaven.
Stretching and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ava got out of bed. She had to be in the diner and working in roughly an hour and forty odd minutes. She really didn't have to be up so early to get ready, but Percy had a habit of making everyone breakfast about an hour before opening, and she wasn't missing Percy's pancakes.
Snatching up her clothes for the day and slipping on her shoes, she threw on her sweater, grabbed her toothbrush and shampoo, and headed outside towards Bob and Jeeps trailer to shower and brush her teeth. As expected, the two men were already gone, busy doing whatever it was they had to do.
Showering and taking care of other necessities, the fallen angel threw on the clothes she brought with her which consisted of a pair of faded jeans with holes worn through both knees and a white camisole. Adjusting the camisole, she threw on a short-sleeved, light blue blouse over it. Makeup was never her thing so the kit Charlie gave her sat untouched back in her camper.
Once she was all done with her morning routine, she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, pondering over how much she'd changed since falling from Heaven.
Her light blond hair, its length once to her hips, had been cut to her shoulders, her once pale skin had tanned from being out in the sun often, and it was only a matter of time before she showed signs of aging. Angels didn't age, but now that she technically wasn't an angel anymore she would. Though she would retain her angelic agility, strength, and a few other perks, she would age and one day die like a human. Until that day, she strived to live life to the fullest.
But she feared that her happiness would be short lived.
Lately she'd been having terrible, horrific nightmares. Bob, Jeep, Charlie, Percy, and others played a part in each and every nightmare, even Michael. The dreams left her sweaty and shaken. Sometimes tears were even shed. Every night she prayed, but she longed to contact Michael and seek his guidance.
Her superior and friend always knew what to do. She missed him terribly to the point where sometimes she thought she might cry. To contact him just once would be enough, but her link to her fellow angels was broken the day she fell. Unless another angel was on Earth she would be unable to communicate with them telepathically. The silence often filled her with a sense of loneliness that she never felt in Heaven.
Sighing, she found some earrings she'd left in her sweater pockets and put them on before grabbing her work uniform and leaving the trailer, shivering slightly from the cool morning air that would soon turn into a sweltering heat as she dropped off her clothes and toiletries in her camper before heading into the diner.
As soon as she walked through the door, she was hit with the mouthwatering aroma of pancakes.
Looking over his shoulder when the bell above the door rang, Percy smiled and said, "'Bout time you got up, sleepin' beauty. How many you want?"
"Two, please," she replied, taking a seat at the counter while the one armed man mixed up some more batter. "Where are the others?"
"They already ate. Bob's in the office, Jeep's workin' in the garage, and Charlie's doing Lord knows what."
Ava huffed. "How much do you want to bet she's smoking?"
"Sweetheart, I'd bet my good arm that she's out back smokin'.
The fallen angel laughed a bit for a second the rested her head on the counter, fighting a coming headache. Before long, two pancakes and a glass of milk were set in front of her.
"You doin' all right, Ava?" Percy asked, concerned, fixing her with a look of fatherly worry. "You seem out of it."
Lifting her head from the counter, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache."
"Another one?"
Before she could answer, Bob walked out of the office. "Why don't you go get your head checked or somethin'? Take Charlie with you and get 'er out of our hair for a few hours," Bob grumbled, making her smile.
At eight months pregnant, Charlie had been giving them all grief. Especially poor Jeep who was so fond of the woman that he tried daily to get her to keep the baby that wasn't even his. If she had a car or a license, Ava would have gladly taken Charlie into the city for a while.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said instead, smile still in place, and cut into the pancakes.
Despite the lighthearted talk, Ava had a sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.
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