Chapter 15

                                    

                                          
I collapsed onto the bed the second I was in the room. Michael had Rachel go back to sleep while he would take care of me. 
                          
"Tell me what happened." Michael said, wiping blood from my wounds with a damp washcloth. 
                          
"It was just a little vamp nest, then a werewolf, and I ran into a couple demons that did not like me."
                          
"You idiot."
                          
"I know, I'm sorry."
                          
Michael paused when I apologized while looking down at my hands.
                          
"I didn't mean it, I was just worried. Ever since we became partners, you've been a pain. Not because you're annoying or anything, but because I'm constantly worried about you even though I know you can take care of yourself. It's just that I..."
                          
"Michael?"
                          
Michael looked up from his position on kneeling in front of me. His eyes were silver now. We stared at each other for a long moment before I cleared my throat and looked away awkwardly. 
                          
"Um, there's something rather embarrassing I've got to ask of you. If I could do it myself I would, but..."
                          
Michael immediately adopted a look of concern.
                          
"Rina, what's wrong?"
                          
I unfolded my wings. Chunks of feathers were missing and the feathers that remained were matted with blood. Some of it was even my blood from injuries to my wings. Michael stared at them in horror, it was probably the worst conditions he had ever seen a pair of wings in. But Michael quickly got to work on fixing my wings. He gently cleaned what feathers he could and removed those he couldn't. Wounds were cleaned and bandaged, and extra grace was use to heal and grow new feathers. By the time I was patched up, red streaks stained the horizon. 
                          
"Let's sleep all day, Michael." I mumbled sleepily.
                          
"Alright."
                          
Michael nestled himself in our shared nest alsong side me. I wiggled closer, pushing myself under his arm to use him as a pillow. He was just as tired as I was and made no move to stop me or even complain. Michael just nestled his face into my hair and wrapped his arms around me. Normally I would complain, but I was far too exhausted. So we slept, and slept till the evening.
                          
"Michael."
                          
"Nghh."
                          
"Michael, come one. Wake up sleepy head."
                          
Michael mumbled again and rolled over, taking me with him. I grumbled beneath him as he crushed me and squeezed me at the same time. While trying to shove him off, I hissed in pain as I hit a wound. Michael woke up immediately and pulled back to figure out the source of my pain. He held my face between his hands, examining my face. I brushed one of his hands away, smiling lightly. 
                          
"I'm fine, just a little pressure on a scratch."
                          
Michael frowned.
                          
"I'm fine! Don't be silly, I'm not that fragile."
                          
"Right, sorry."
                          
"Let's go downstairs, we've been asleep all day."
                          
"Mmm, why can't we jsut stay here? It's comfortable." Michael groaned, flopping back.
                          
"Because, we can't stay in bed all day. And Rachel's probably worried."
                          
"No, I'm not!" Rachel called from the other side of the door.
                          
"Rachel!"
                          
"Get your butts out here."
                          
*****
(Play the song here)
                          
The sun had set when I sat at the grand piano. Michael seated himself besides me, while the rest of the family curled up on a sofa. I played scales and little melodies that had no lyrics to match. I could hear rain outside, hitting the leaves of the tree just outside the window. A really melody began to form. It was followed by words. It was the same song Michael had sung to me, just like a lullaby. From my seat at the piano, I could see Rachel nodding off, curled up with her already asleep parents. Michael snapped his fingers as I continued to play, transporting the family to their beds. Michael put his hand over mine as I finished playing the song. The last notes faded away as I stared at our hands.
                          
"It took me a long time to realize something that was right in front of me." Michael said softly. "You believed I hated you, right? I realized that I didn't hate you, I was frustrated. I was jealous, and upset, and selfish of something that was mine to claim. That's why I looked down on your view of humans. That's why I wanted to see what made Rachel so special. I was frustrated by how you gave more attention to the humans than the angels. I was frustrated because I knew there was so much more to you than you let show, and I wanted to be the one to find it. I selfishly tried to claim the attention that wasn't mine. And even when you did give attention to the angels, I was still jealous and selfish. I never realized that by being so selfish and acting like a child, I was hurting you. I could have stopped everything, but I didn't out of spite that I believed to be hate."
                          
"Michael, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known what was going on. Yes, you were foolish not to even try to at least speak to me, but look where we are now."
                          
"I don't...."
                          
"Think about it. Would we be right here having this conversation if you had talked to me?"
                          
"I don't know. We are powerful, archangels even more so, but even we do not have the power to know that."
                          
"Exactly, you couldn't have known. But this," I turned my hand over and laced our fingers together. "This right here is what matters. We're partners and we'll always be there for each other. And when you find a mate, I'll be making sure they're just right for you. And when it comes time to fight, I'll have your back. And I'll be right here to help you learn about the human world and how to become the best archangel of them all. Because we're partners and that's what we do. You're my wingman after all."
                          
I nudged him gently with my elbow, smiling softly down at the keys of the piano. Michael nudged me back with the same smile. We looked at one another, the distance small between us. Soft, warm light shone in the room behind Michael's head, the shadows making Michael's features even more striking. Michael reached up and brushed back my hair. I looked down at our hands and pulled away, playing the song again. But there were no words this time, just fingers brushing along keys. And Michael copied my fingers on a lower scale. The two tones of the song mixed and made a beautiful sound. It was like two voices in perfect harmony, like our voices forming a harmony. Everything was peaceful in that moment, just the sound of soft notes, and bodies so close they touched, and warm feelings left unspoken.