Author's Note:

First and foremost, thank you so much to anyone that has made it this far. This has truly become a labor of love, I didn't think when I started this out it would end up this long, and I believe I'm at about a half way point, or nearly there. Leave a review if you can, just a few words of encouragement would be lovely.

WithLove,

Reira

P.S. Huge thank you again to Mythyra Mystic for letting me play in her universe.

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Michael watched Zuriel, she pushed her reheated food around her plate for a long time before she managed to eat any of it. Her expression seemed blank as she stared down at her plate. The angel moved to sit across from her which seemed to catch her attention. Her golden eyes roamed over his face and torso before stopping at his wings. Something about them always seemed to keep her attention.

"Why couldn't you take me away from my mother?" Her eyes look terrified as she speaks, as if the answer will just crush whatever is left of her fragile soul.

"God had no legal right. If your mother had aborted you, there wouldn't have been a guard more suited for this child. Being half mortal, half angel, gives you an empathy and fierceness that a human or angel alone wouldn't have. So my stepping in to stop the abortion was one thing, but your mother wanted you.

Had she chosen to give you up for adoption, I would have been able to find a suitable home for you." Michael paused, his arms folded across his chest as he sat back in the chair. His wings ruffled lightly at the thought, though he was looking at Zuriel, she could tell he wasn't actually seeing her.

"Before you were born, Zona had a sister and her mother. They both urged her to put you up for adoption, but she wouldn't listen. They died in a car accident about a month before your birth. I think Zona wanted you so she could love someone else, but after the accident she wasn't the same." Zuriel is looking into the ocean that seems to be Michael's eyes, as if staring into them long enough will let her see the memories that haunt him.

"What was she like, before I was born?" His long lashes blinked rapidly, his attention focused on the girl before him. Zuriel was lovely, with a pale caramel complexion and thick wavy hair. He could already visualize how she'd look after her healing.

"Zona was always cold natured, cruel, but didn't turn violent until after her sister and mother died. I believe she did love you before you were born, she was strong enough to accept the rape and pregnancy. Though after their deaths, I think it made something in her break and she blamed you for it. No one else was around to tell her otherwise and it's easy to blame an innocent being." His eyes are sympathetic as Zuriel's mouth forms into a frown, her lower lip trembling. She pushes her plate forward slightly and lets her body fall back into her seat. It's uncomfortable by her expression, her body being thin and pressing back into the wood of the chair.

"Didn't God see I was being abused? Why didn't you come sooner?" Zuriel won't look at him, fear and sadness radiating off her. "You have been of age, you could have left. You only need a few years of training to prepare for what is to come, and until now, you have never been in fatal condition. You were going to die without my help."

"What if I hadn't been dying? When would you have come?" Michael looks nearly undone by the question, his eyes looking huge inside his face. "I would have come in another year, when you were twenty-one. Those were my orders, Zuriel. Do not doubt my affection and devotion to you. I am your guardian angel, I've watched over you, I've helped lessen your abuse, your pain. You do not know what it was like, having to watch those things happen to you. And, not being allowed to stop it."

Michael's voice had trailed into a shaky whisper, his heart constricted tight against his rib cage. He held so much regret for not coming to her sooner, but his only option was to obey or become a fallen. He let his hands fall to his lap, his fists clenching tight around his knees.

Zuriel felt her heart hammering rapidly, she hadn't known Michael very long, but somehow his slight break down seemed out of character for him. Had her torment really affected him that much? Even without him looking at her directly, she could tell he wanted to come to her. Yet, he was holding himself back.

She stood abruptly and crossed the small ways to him. Zuriel stopped as his gaze followed her movements, standing just a few inches away. She placed her hand on his shoulder, their eyes meeting as he reached out to take her into his arms. Michael held her small form in his lap, pressing his nose against the curve of her neck. He stayed like that, breathing hard against her skin for a long while.

The angel didn't think much in those moments, letting his instincts guide him. He could feel her arm rest around the back of his neck, the other placed over his heart. She didn't speak, her body leaning into the cage of his hold. It felt natural, he realized, to want to be near her; to touch her. He wasn't sure if it was because he was her guardian or if it was because of her being half angel.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to imply you didn't want to save me sooner." Her voice is smooth, though he thinks she might be near tears as her lips move in a slow breath against his ear. The angel's wings make a shivering movement, curving to wrap them both in a semi-shell, shadowing over them. Michael remains quiet, his arms tightening around her waist and hips without hurting her.

Zuriel stares at his wings, the silver feathers looking rough and sharp yet somehow soft and pillowy. She reaches out to touch his left wing, her fingers sinking into the fluffiness of it. Michael doesn't make a move to stop her, so she continues; her fingers stroking through the feathers in a steady movement.

It takes more restraint than he thought possible to remain unmoving as her small fingers move against his wing. He hadn't realized until then just how sensitive they were to another's touch. Or is it just hers? He can remember a time the enemy had grabbed his wing, he had jerked back against the grip and his steel wings cut through the demon. Maybe it was about her hands being on his wing.

Her small hand moved along the upper appendage, where the first row of feathers began and to the base of his wing where it was imbedded into his back. Zuriel was leaning ever so slightly over his shoulder now, her fingers tracing closer to the tender area of his shoulder blade. His skin felt as though it was buzzing with heat under her hands.

Michael let out the softest of sounds, something along the lines of a groan and whisper of her name. It made Zuriel stop and lean back, her hand sliding to rest on his shoulder. The angel let out a soft breath as he leaned away and into his seat. "Did I do something wrong?" Her face is creased with soft lines of concern, her left hand still pressed over his rapidly beating heart.

"No, no, love. It is just that they're terribly sensitive." Michael decides to leave it at that, withholding the fact that he wanted her to continue along with another thought that hadn't been quite so angelic. Zuriel seems caught between uncertainty and questioning when he rubs the back of his knuckles against her cheek. "Everything is alright, I promise."

It's a simple statement that seems to calm down whatever negativity swirls through her mind. His gaze moves along her bruised skin, from her cheek to her collarbone; the damaged flesh disappearing under the fabric of her light blue top. "I think it's time I dealt with this." The tip of his index finger traces a swirl along the side of her throat where a particularly ugly bruise was, sending a little shiver through her.

"Okay." His wings fold back against his shoulders, his arm slipping under the bend of her knees to lift her off his lap as he moves to stand. Zuriel's arms wrap around his neck as he carries her back into the bedroom, sitting her at the edge of the bed.

"Do you trust me?" She blinks once at his question, her golden eyes looking almost puzzled, though she answers within the same breath. "Yes, I do." The angel smiles, his fingers cupping her unbruised cheek. "Close your eyes."

Zuriel does so with only slight hesitation, feeling his lips pressed tenderly against her forehead before a warmth spreads through her body. The warmth tugs at her senses, pulling her under the soft lull of sleep before she can ask what's happening. She can feel herself go limp and Michael's reassuring hands catching her. He lays her down onto her back, just as he whispers against her ear.

"Rest well, sweet girl."

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His hands moved up her legs with a certain pressure, carefully pulling apart each fiber of her body to rebuild it and have each molecule born anew. He kept his mind focused and prayer steady, his fingers gliding up her thighs as a sheen of sweat broke across his forehead. He glanced at her relaxed face, little moans slipping passed her lips.

Michael kept his movements slow, allowing enough time for the flesh, muscle and bone to break apart and reform. A single thought stayed strong at the forefront of his mind, she was worth every ounce of love, time, and pure pleasure he was pouring into her. The healed portion of her body buzzed with joy at being reborn, being unharmed, no longer being broken.

By the time his hands had reached her collarbone, her eyes were fluttering under the lids. He paused, only briefly to place his fingers at her temple and send her off into a heavy sleep once more. The angel smiled as either hand was placed onto her face, he bent forward with his lips pressed against her forehead. Even in rest she gasped, the tingle of his mouth on her skin being nearly too much. A searing burn, near painful, but enjoyable, sizzled across her cheek. The skin tore apart and rebuilt slowly, shining with fresh life.

The angel pulled back, just long enough to gaze down at the perfect skin glowing with rejuvenation. Zuriel was nearly there, he only had to release her wings. They had been suppressed for so long, and now, now she'd be completely free.

He had turned her carefully onto her front, his hand skimming along her bare back. Her body no longer remembered the aches or pains, her skin being free of bruises, scars and marks. Except the two thin lines over her shoulder blades where her wings were hidden away. Michael was still smiling he realized, the tips of his fingers grazing over her shoulder blades.

He had noted somewhere in the middle of this process, that he felt a love and devotion for Zuriel that angels often felt amongst each other. He couldn't bring himself to feel any guilt despite being her guardian.

Michael turned his attention to the task at hand, his thumbs rolling into the muscle just under her shoulder blades. He pressed his mouth above each scare, kissing her with gentleness and honesty pouring into the soft flesh of her back. His fingers move up and down, surrendering himself to the purity and sin of it all.

Zuriel arched her torso ever so slightly, a moan of his name escaping her lips despite her unconsciousness. He breathed against her spine, watching in awe and beauty as her wings began to break through the flesh of back, just over her shoulder blades. The angel was so madly in love with the sight, with her. Her wings held a pure flush of light that was only scaled back by the touch of her humanity. Her wings shiver against her back, stretching out as Michael paused his healing touch against her lower spine.

Blue orbs watch as the base of her wings settle outwards on her shoulder blades, the skin healing around the new appendages. There is silky feather fluff at the base, closest to her skin. Her wings go limp as her soft little groans fade, the pale glow receding. Zuriel's wings were ivory with the tips of her feathers looking as if they'd been smudged in a pale grey ash, gradienting upwards into the ivory.

They were limp against her back, making her black hair look even darker against her pale skin and stunning wings. Michael's eyes traveled over the beauty of Zuriel, her body was more evened out with body fat, her complexion a pale caramel, unflawed and rejuvenated. Her wings, finally being free.

The angel wipes the layer of sweat from his forehead, lying beside Zuriel. Her body shifts to press against his torso, his arm slipping under her body; hand settled under one of her wings. As Michael slips off into sleep, he easily ignores her nudity. Though she held a beauty that captivated him like no other, he knew it was time to rest.

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