"Wow," I murmured to myself.
It was… strange to have a bonafide angel standing in my kitchen, stuffing his face with food. I had searched my cabinets for anything and everything to satisfy his hunger; maybe it was just me but it seemed like a fall from heaven really seemed to take it out of a person.
Michel finally laid down his fork and looked at me expectantly, my eyes searching for what was missing. And then it hit me, my head running into overdrive. "Do… you know… what you would like to drink," I asked, pulling out a cup. He looked at me blankly and I swallowed, reaching for the jug of milk. I poured it with an unsteady hand at the table, Michael reaching over to wrap his fingers around mine. An instant calm overcame me and I looked up at him, "Thank you."
I pushed the cup toward him, Michael smiling.
"Thank you."
His wings were tucked behind him and I knew he must have been feeling overtly cramped in my small kitchen- and I was mildly pissed that I hadn't taken the time to clean up, but then again, I hadn't expected to bring an angel home. I sat down across from him and turned the fan on him when I saw the sweat starting to soak through his simple linen clothes, thankful that he had though to pile his armor by the door. "The air- it feels so good," he said, closing his eyes as he ran a hand back through his hair.
I sucked in a breath as he moved, noting that the deep cut shirt and clingy fabric left nothing to the imagination when it came to his body. And then I felt bad thinking of such a heavenly being like this.
"Can you talk to me," I asked, Michael looking up at me. "Of course- I would love to talk to you. What would you like to talk about," he asked honestly, cocking his head slightly. I smiled weakly, glad that I was sitting. "Maybe we could talk about what it is that you've chosen me for? I don't quite understand."
He rested his chin on his hands, sighing deeply before he looked away from me. "After."
I was flooded with confusion. "After what?"
"I will tell you after you help me take this off," Michael whispered, his hand going to the thick collar around his neck.
"Easy," I whispered, Michael sinking into the half-full tub. My eyes rolled back just a little as my stomach tightened into knots, my hands balled into fists at my sides. He was naked, baring himself to me as he sank down into the water, leaning forward slightly as he tucked his wings behind him the best he could. This was definitely something I should have never seen- it was much too beautiful of a sight for my weak human eyes.
"Don't you think I should use your sword instead," I asked, looking at the rather small paring knife in my hand. Michael shook his head, his hands gripping the sides of the bathtub, "Its too heavy for you Lily. Just… do it."
I grasped one of his gorgeous wings, the battle raging inside of me as I raised the knife. "I really don't want to do this," I whispered before beginning to hack at his wings.
It was undoubtedly the most morbid thing I had ever had to do, the blood pouring as feathers began to go everywhere, Michael's screams of pain heartbreakingly piercing. I cried even as I continued to mutilate him, slumping to my knees once I was done. I heard the collar unlock itself from around Michael's neck and dent the tub where it feel between his knees, looking up just as the eerie glow left him. I mustered all my strength after what seemed like a lifetime and stood, kicking off my shoes to climb into the tub in front of Michael. I cupped his face in my hands, my touch seeming to bring him around. He finally affixed his gaze on me before closing his eyes, pressing one of his hands over mine. "I'm sorry Michael- I'm so sorry," I whispered, leaning forward to press my forehead against his.
We stayed like that for a long time before I noticed the sheer amount of blood, sniffling.
"I have to stop the bleeding Michael or you'll pass out," I said, kissing his forehead before moving to sit behind him.
I reached for my bag of medical supplies sitting on the back of the toilet, fumbling for a needle and thread. "Are you trained in this kind of thing," he asked weakly. I chuckled softly as I began to stitch his wounds up, "There's a lot of things I'm trained in, but this is definitely not one of them. As demonstrated by my multitude of ugly scars…"
"I have seen every one of your scars Lily and although they may be numerous, I could not say that a single one was ugly," Michael replied. I smiled to myself, knowing that his words were not meant to be as flattering or as flirty as they seemed but enjoying them all the same.
When I was done, I helped Michael to stand, the water streaming off his body soaking me more thoroughly than I already was. He draped his arms around my shoulder and I pressed my hand against his stomach, trying my best to support the brunt of his weight. "I should have gotten you a towel or something," I said as I got him into bed, Michael chuckling softly. As I moved to go back into the bathroom to clean up, he grabbed my wrist, holding me at his side. "Lily… God is amassing His army. Man has lost its faith, its humanity and so it was our order to cleanse the Earth of its sin... to baptize this world in blood," Michael murmured. "Its why I chose to fall; He may have lost His faith, but I believe in your people with all my heart… in you Lily. We watch over the Earth and we see everything- you. You pray and you still have faith and therefore so do I. Mankind needs you to spread the faith Lily; it falls to your shoulders to make God a believer."
I blanched completely, Michael releasing me. "Me? I'm just a girl- I sin well enough. I drink and I have premarital sex and I smoke-"
"And you believe. And you love unconditionally, not because you have to- but because you want to, because you choose too. Mary, Gabriel, me- people you have never met and entrust everything to; and that is unconditional love. And I have seen that here, tonight, when I needed your help. I have faith in you," Michael replied, sounding very sure of himself.
"Faith and love are two different things," I whispered.
"Yes they are."
I looked away from him and sighed, "I should- I have to go and clean up."
Michael nodded and released me, falling back into the bed as I ran towards the bathroom, wanting nothing more to escape his gaze. I sank down to the linoleum and hid my face in my hands, shaking my head in disbelief.
"I cannot believe this," I whispered to myself before looking around my bathroom.
I took another moment before standing and brushing myself off, moving to pick up a bloody wad of feathers.
When I had finished cleaning up the bathroom the best I could, I moved back through the bedroom before pausing to look at Michael's still form.
I sighed and stroked his hair back away from his forehead, taking in the weary look on his face. I climbed into the bed to sit at his feet, swallowing as I pulled my knees to my chest to sit and think. "I was expecting you to sit beside me at least," Michael murmured, his eyes still closed. I sucked in a breath, making to move off of the bed. "No. Don't do that."
"I'm sorry, I thought you were sleeping."
"I wish you would not respect me so," he said, turning to face me. "I have sinned now too. I have gone against the will of God and His Angels, something you would never do-"
I chuckled and shook my head, running my fingers back through my hair. "You're wrong about. I love my God and you know that, but- but they deserve a chance, do they not?"
Michael nodded and rolled over onto his stomach, moving so that he was more parallel to me than he had been previously. "And that is all that I have to give them- a chance. We don't have much time Lily, but I believe that I will need a few days to recover. Then we must gather ammunition; you do still have your gun, correct," he asked. I smiled wryly and shook my head, "I may have thrown it to the wayside in the church…"
"Well then we'll just have to find others," Michael replied, laying on his arms. "Lily, you must stay with me now. You are my only hope until-"
As if he had almost let me in on some massive secret, Michael silenced himself and shook his head. "We will talk more tomorrow, but for now, I must sleep and I believe that I would find sleep easier with you by my side."
I laid down beside him, almost in the fetal position as I listened to his breathing slow.
My hand was gripping my rosary for dear life and I could only attempt to keep the tears at bay, finally allowing myself to be overwhelmed with all of the emotion I had struggled not to deal with.
What had I gotten myself into?
