Briseis could've slept all day cuddled up next to her exhausted reaper. In fact, the thought of it continued to spin in her head that she was just left with laying in bed staring at him like a creeper. His dark blond lashes swept down resting, she brushed his curly hair back and kissed his stubbled face. She smiled as he softly stirred.

"I can feel your eyes on me, human," his groggy voice rumbled against the pillows. 

"It's not my fault that you look like a sweet angel when you're in slumber?"

He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "You humans have a very warped and misguided idea of angels. It's terribly annoying, but I know none of you know any better."

Briseis appeared curious. "Really?"

His eyes opened and nodded. "If you only knew how insulting it is to be compared to one, you'd apologize instead of thinking it was a compliment."

"You mean all the thousands of celestial images of archangels with beautiful wings adorning every Christian place is completely wrong?"

He sucked in a breath, trying not to let his hatred of them bleed through his explanation too much. "It's their greatest achievement. The best PR campaign eternity can buy."

Briseis sat up. "You can't just say something like that and not expect me to wanna know more. So are they not beautiful and powerful? Are they demons?"

Micah scoffed. Dammit. He just wanted to make use of his erection, especially staring at her gorgeous nude body wrapped up against him. "I was trying to relax, Bree. Can't we just lay here, naked, and see how restained I can be by not pouncing all over you again?" 

She shrugged. "Can't we do both?"

He sighed. Fucking angels. They rob him of everything. Even when they aren't around.

Briseis stared at the angst on his face, not that he was hiding it very well. "What's the matter? Did it go away?"

Micah laid on his back, annoyed. "Yes, it did. Now we can talk about those assholes you like to call angels. And no, they aren't demons. Demons do not exist."

"Wait a minute. No demons? So, I'm --I mean, my gift isn't from the Devil?"

He chuckled. "No, Bree. Demons serve as a scapegoat for the angels. They are made up because humans crave binary thinking."

She nodded. "Good vs. Evil."

He nodded. "Yes. The greatest lie ever told was a belief that a living thing is either one or the other. That's not true at all. We, Bree, are both and neither. Angels are no more inherently good than so-called Demons are evil. They are both because everyone is both. Angels wanted to shed their dirty legacy of manipulation of humans and therefore invented a creature that embodied all the horror and pain they were perfectly enacting themselves. They did it because they needed something that made them be perceived as good. Or at least far better than their supposed demon counterparts. But, it's all smoke and mirrors. We are all good and evil. Everything that lives."

Bree frowned. "But--what about---"

"The Divine?," he interrupted. "They have no intention to intervene. If it's human's free will to believe what they want, there's no need to punish the angels that pulled the crafty joke on humanity."

"That's not a joke, Micah. People have done terrible things in the name of such beliefs. For centuries. Countless scores of people have been tortured, maimed, and murdered all in the name of this."

Micah reached out and touched her hand. "I know it's not a joke. And you do too. But like I said. Angels are assholes."

"Ugh," Briseis muttered with disgust. "I feel so dirty learning about that. Ignorance is truly bliss. You're right. They sound like serious assholes. Screw 'em."

Micah froze and his eyes widened in shock.

She straightened. "What?"

His face stern and serious. "You shouldn't have done that. Humans insulting them, summons them to the mortal coil."

Briseis jumped back and pulled the sheets to her in fright. "What?" She looked around at the ceiling. "You never said that!" She stared at him and Micah's hard stare began to break into a chuckle. She sobered into a frown. "You shit ass!" She threw her pillow at him as his laugh deepened and warmed the whole room. "You scared the shit outta me!"

"I'm sorry. You should've seen your face."

"And where are reapers on the hierarchy of celestial a-holes, hmm? And stop laughing. Just because you're great in bed doesn't mean I won't kick you out of one." 

She jumped on him and he grabbed her staring into her eyes. The thin sheet was the only thing separating them from being one. He wished he could regret last night, but nothing could dare take it away from him. It was the first time that he could remember that he felt joy. A feeling so foreign it both scared and excited him. He could still feel her everywhere on his body, as if she was tattooed on him. Her lips hovered so close to his, her breath slightly escalating. He wished he could be like this with her longer than forever. He sighed. "I'm in a lot of trouble."

Briseis pulled back and rolled off him.

Confused, Micah sat up. "What's the matter?"

She looked away. "Last night was a mistake, wasn't it? Is that what you're saying? I'm sorry."

She shifted to get up when Micah caught her arm. "No. That's not at all what I meant. I don't regret any of it. Ever." He pulled her closer. "Come here." Gazing into her eyes, those eyes that haunted him, he tried to find the words that his heart kept buried. "I..." he started, but the words whispered a warning. Despite his lack of regret, he was on very dangerous ground. What kind of life could he even give her? None-He wasn't even alive. His life, if he could even call it such, belonged with the dead. But not Briseis. She deserved better. He could see a world of paradise behind those turquoise eyes and he's been around long enough to know that even she couldn't see her fate. She watched him, waiting for him to complete his thought. Those words that could change everything, and yet not change anything. Instead, he claimed her lips as if he'll never get that chance again. To taste the very sweetness that possessed him with an unfathomable hope that one day it wouldn't be the last. She moaned against his mouth and tightened her grip on his arms as if she was afraid to let go. He didn't want her to.  The feel of her body against him aroused every atom within him, urging him to have her again. That peace and touch only Briseis had over him. He was so raw and vulnerable, his heart peeled away to the very core and yet he seemed stronger than ever. Micah slipped the sheet from her, allowing his hands and lips to explore her until she called his name again. 

And again.

Briseis wasn't shy and wrapped her hands around his member, stroking a hiss of pleasure out of him. She held him in her hand as if he belonged to her. And it was then he realized why the gesture was so erotic to him. 

He wanted to belong to her.

He was ruined, whatever that meant. But better to die having been in her light than without it. That, to him, would be the ultimate abyss. 

Straddling him, Briseis guided him home, her silken body gliding against him. Their eyes locked as they made love. His once cold heart, now alight and if at that moment she'd ask him to tell him all the secrets of the universe, he would have. 

Briseis stared into Micah's dark blue eyes and saw such heated passion and grit, she feared it would overpower her. He looked at her as if she was to be worshipped, and yet his dark aura enveloped her and heightened her pleasure. She rode him with wild abandon, addicted to the connection they possessed. No regret hid in his eyes and she was desperate to hold on to him before both of them came to their senses. His lips blessed her skin while his teeth teased.  Climbing high towards coming a second time,  she cried out as his ambitious fingers sought out her aching clit and his hips met her stroke for stroke. The release so powerful, her heart palpitated. She immediately regaled him as a fast learner of her body, as if they have been together for centuries. A haunting familiarity that she couldn't place, but enjoyed all the same. 

What was next for them, she had no idea, nor did she care. For now, they were enough. 

Hours after they spent in bed, Briseis convinced Micah to get up so they could get something to eat. She never thought he would protest to them putting on clothing, but the promise of pizza managed to drag him to his feet.  As she went to shower and dress, Micah comtemplated making a guest appearance and assist Bree with getting clean. I mean, he was quite familar with every curve she possessed. He groaned. Stop it, you addict. he scorned himself as he threw on a t-shirt and jeans. It would do them some good to get some fresh air and think. 

He walked past the shelf where a picture of Bree and her mother stole his focus. A dark dread threatened to steal his light in a secret he held that he had to come to terms with. Bree needed to know what happened. He owed her the truth of that day, and ultimately, his part in it. He wished he could have remembered what Tara's soul felt like when he took it home, but so many souls through his hands, he couldn't.  She was a transaction and it shamed him. How could he tell her that he was responsible for taking her mother away from her? She'd hate him. How could she not? Like a tumble of bricks, that realization fell on him and uprooted every seed of hope he held, whether it was false or not. Being the source of her pain was untenable.

"What are you doing here, Micah?" A familiar voice echoed behind him. He turned to find Abraham standing before him.

Anger twisted Micah's face. "Were you here watching me?

The corner of Abraham's lips curved the slightest. "An innocent reaper doesn't mind another dropping in. Word is you're supposed to be disposing of a certain necromancer." He looked past the door, both of them enough to hear Briseis singing in the shower. "By the looks of things, you either have a very different definition for disposing or you're just plain confused."

Micah pushed him, but Abraham barely moved. "You son of a bitch. You better leave  or--"

"Or what, Micah? You're gonna put me in my place?" He circled him with a sneer. "You are in no position to command me. Look at you. You've fallen, and your disgrace has been the most pathetic thing I've ever witnessed in this cosmos." 

Briseis walked in, her attention turned to towel-drying her hair, "Who are you talking to?" She paused at the sight of Abraham at the foot of her bed. Micah's heart sank as her eyes told him she recognized not only the danger they were in--but Abraham himself.  She covered her mouth. "Micah!"

"Run Briseis! Get out of here!"

She shook her head, distraught but defiant. "I'm not leaving you!"

Abraham moved in until he was between the star-crossed lovers, facing Micah. "She's not going anywhere, Pale Rider." His sinister grin darkened. "Oh, there's much for the necromancer and I to discuss. Isn't it, Briseis?"

Briseis grabbed the aluminum bat she kept behind the door. Fear flooded her eyes. "You were the monster in my dreams. Y-ou fucking tortured me. Violated me." Angry tears trailed her stone cheeks, cutting twin rivers into her face.  "You're a piece of shit."

 "That's a compliment coming from you. You're a fucking soul thief."

Her body visibly shaking. "Why are you here? Let us go, now."

"Forget it. You've caused enough havoc here twisting Micah all up, stealing. You really should be more worried about yourself at this point, witch. If you had any inkling how screwed you were, you'd not be standing there. Your very existence is an insult."

Micah stepped towards him, his eyes dark with warning.

"What are you going to do?" He shook his head in pity. "Unless you decide to finally do what you came to do, there's nothing else waiting for you. You want her to think you'll protect her, but given how you had a hand in her downward spiral, you are just as guilty as she." He stood watching the fire grow in Micah's eyes. "I see I struck a nerve. Good. The Eye has shown me what you keep from the little bitch. "

Micah swung and connected a jab to Abraham's cheekbone, but was quickly overpowered. He gasped as Abraham locked his arm around his neck, forcing him down to his knees. 

"Micah!", Briseis screamed. 

Abraham chuckled. Gratification drugged his eyes. "Go on, Pale Rider, tell her you're taking her soul just like you did her mother."

Briseis stilled. "What is he talking about, Micah?"

"Don't," he choked out.

Abraham chuckled. "Should you tell her or should I? Hmm?" He tightened his grip, choking Micah. "You're a bit occupied, so I'll tell her." His chilly eyes locked on Briseis. " You're a smart girl. Ever wondered why Micah here never wanted to talk about what really happened to your mother? Hmm? He's never shared who claimed her soul that day of the storm, did he?"

Her eyes watered. She shook her head in disbelief. 

"You know why?"

She covered her mouth as tears dropped "No." she whispered with trembling, lips.

Micah's heart fell into an abyss. "Bree..."

"Were you the one to take her from me? Did you, Micah?"

Abraham released him, throwing him on the ground.  Micah met her eyes. Those turquoise eyes were full of pain and shock. The same state he saw them in as he looked up at her through the murky water that day. Her heart was breaking and he was the cause yet again. 

"I'm so sorry, Bree. Please."

Briseis fled the room and Micah reached for her. "Bree!"

Abraham tossed him across the room. " You should be worried about yourself, Micah." He glanced over his shoulder. "Don't worry, she won't get far."

Micah stood to full height. "You won't touch her!" He charged for Abe and the reaper was ready, picking him up and slamming him down on the floor. With the wind knocked out of him, he barely could see the two pairs of feet walk into the bedroom wearing reaper boots.