The Beauty is in the Flaw

Chapter 3

Dawn spread across the desert in what seemed like the blink of an eye. The light had been slowly growing and spreading across the sky creating a watercolour-like blaze of blues and oranges. But in an instant the sun had breeched to horizon, spreading its beams of light shooting over the expanse of sand.

Michael paced the roof of the diner, scanning that horizon for any sign of danger. At the moment all was calm save for the yelps and howls of coyotes. His mind however was a different story.

The episode between him and his brother before he had made the concrete decision to disobey their Father's orders ran rampant though his thoughts. Gabriel was a creature of duty, and he lived to obey the Father no matter the cost to himself. This troubled Michael. No matter what his brother believed in his heart, he would complete the mission their Father had given him. However, as dawn grew closer, thoughts of the angel in the diner below him had begun to command his attention.

Ever since he had met Tessa centuries ago, he had sensed something special about her. He'd been the one to escort her soul to Heaven, taking her from her horrible, mortal fate to a new existence. He'd even begun to develop feelings for the troubled young angel. She'd made an excellent addition to the Army of Heaven, her anger and aggression making her deadly in battle against the demons they fought. She was always victorious, striking down demon after demon and not seeming to tire at all. But there had always been more to her than that. Michael had always sensed a deeper hurt in her, one that couldn't be made to go away when she unleashed her fury on the demons of hell. This concerned him, as most humans shed their resentments and pain upon their entry to Heaven. She was normally genuinely kind and gracious, her compassion a shining star within the boundaries of Heaven. Perhaps understandably, that compassion was hard-pressed to be passed to humans when one considered her past. Yet, Michael had seen that single hard part of her soul begin to soften in recent times.

He suspected that had something to do with his brother, who had taken her into his care shortly after she had arrived and discovered her own wings. Michael, who had also grown close to her, was forced to focus more on his duties as the General of Heaven's Army, so Tessa had found comfort in his brother's arms. He didn't begrudge either of them that. He loved his brother dearly, and anything that brought Tessa healing and peace was all right by him. In fact, to that point, he had never seen her more content and more at peace with herself than when she was in Gabriel's presence.

She had also brought out a side of Gabriel that he had rarely seen in his twin. The Messenger of God was always hard and cold; he had to be in order to do what was often demanded of him. She had brought out the softer side of his brother, allowing him to show the true depths of his compassionate heart. Michael was sure that his brother truly loved the young angel that brought out this unseen aspect of him. But that hadn't halted the tugging in his heart when he saw them together.

However, the sight of them together had become rare in recent years, and Michael had watched them begin to grow apart, saddened that neither of them had found anything more than temporary comfort. Yet even as she had grown away from his brother, Michael valued the continued attention and trust that Tessa gave him. Throughout the centuries that she had been among them, he had always considered her a close friend, but had never presumed that she wanted more. She had always seemed so contented to just possess his friendship. She had been skittish enough around males upon her entrance to Heaven that he had never dared to try and be more to her. Gabriel had seemed to be one of the few exceptions to that rule along with him. Now it seemed that she felt more than the bonds of friendship for him, and he was beginning to wonder how he had missed the signs of her growing feelings.

Tessa also had been watching the sky brighten, scanning the horizon for any sign of trouble. Her thoughts were just as chaotic as Michael's, for similar enough reasons. She was just now beginning to realize the true depth of emotion that stirred when she was in his presence, and when she was not. Gabriel had satisfied her longings for companionship and physical comfort and security, but she found she no longer needed that. Michael, however, allowed her to let out all the hidden secrets and wounds of her damaged psyche. He gave her a certain amount of physical comfort in that she always felt safe near him, but he'd also done a great deal to sooth the emotional hurt. There was nothing she felt she couldn't go to him about. She could always talk to him and he always lifted her spirits. He had become essential to her without her even realizing it. The instant she had heard of his fall, she hadn't hesitated to follow, though not quite to the extreme he had. She had never dreamed that he would actually sever his beautiful wings in effort to defy his orders.