Meteor Shower pt. 1

The strangled light of morning filtered through the blinds of Maya's room. The room had a few scattered articles of clothing, all of which had been removed in throes of lust the previous night. The sheets were halfway hanging off the bed, but the blankets were tightly curled around the snoozing couple on the bed in the cold morning of New York. 

Maya wasn't afraid her parents would walk in and see her lover, nor his clothes. They couldn't see any of that. 

He has been, after all, dead for nearly five years. 

The chestnut-haired girl of Italian descent yawned, squirming herself awake, feeling the warmth of Zach's skin against hers. He was still dead asleep, no pun intended, and snoring softly in her ear. This would be cute if Maya didn't have to use the bathroom so bad and if Zach's grip wasn't such a vice. 

'Since when do angels sleep anyway?' she thought, managing to Houdini her way out of his arms. She brushed a few glowing white feathers from her shoulders and bust, putting her feet in her slippers and pulling on her bathrobe. She smiled down at the dark-skinned Native American boy as he bundled up some blankets to hug in her absence. 

Zach had been her guardian angel very soon after he had been mugged and killed in Los Angeles. Only those with the purest of hearts could attain guardian angel status, and next would be archangel. But Maya doubted the chances of that happening. 

Guardians were never supposed to reveal themselves to their charges, at least not without a disguise or deception first. Their charge is the only one who could see them anyway. Zach broke this sacred rule two years ago when he appeared to her in her dreams, where they began to meet every night until he finally showed up physically to confess his love. 

The archangels did not like that one bit, and Zach has been taking constant heat from them since then. Well, Maya assumed so; he didn't like to tell her about angel stuff. 

Lately, though, he had been acting strange...distant, distracted, and even short tempered. He had even taken to hiding his wings from her with heavy jackets. The only time she saw them was when they were naked, and she had other priorities when that was the case. 

She returned to the room to see Zach had awakened, putting his clothes on. He brushed his long, raven-black hair out of his honeysuckle eyes and smiled. "Morning, beautiful." he said. Maya smiled and jumped into his arms, spinning around the room and taking him down to the bed. "I assume you slept well?" he chuckled, stroking her hair. 

Maya nodded in response, playfully nipping the tip of his nose. "'Ey!" Zach snorted, rubbing the bite and laughing again. "Listen, honey, there's...there's something I need to tell you, and it's really important." he said, his mood growing solemn quickly. Maya tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly at the bottom to express her concern. "But...I need to hear your opinion. So, I'll tell you tonight, when you dream. I won't be here tonight, but I'll meet you when you sleep." he said, cupping her cheeks in his palms and giving her a soft, emotion-laden kiss. Maya could almost taste the stress; something was wrong. 

Zach stood up and stretched, his jacket bulging at the back from his wings trying to unfurl. "The archangels have some stuff they need  to talk about with me, so I'll be gone all day. I'm sorry, baby." he said, using the hand he held to pull her up. Maya frowned, worried. If the archangels wanted to speak with him, that couldn't be good. 

Zach smiled softly. "Hey, now. It'll be fine. I've made it this long without them stopping me, hmm? Have some faith." he pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head gently, bringing an unwilling smile to Maya's face. 

The girl sniffed and shook her nose free, widening her eyes up to him. She traced a finger along his cheek, bringing it to the space between them. A crystal clear tear hung off the tip of her finger before dropping to the ground. Zach looked away. 

"It's cold in here, my eyes are watering. I have to go, babe. I'll see you tonight. I promise. Okay? I love you." he murmured, pulling her into a sudden, shaky, almost violent hug which caught Maya by surprise. His muscular form was shuddering around her. She quickly slid her arms under his jacket, to the edges of his wings to hug him gently, stroking the thick plumage. 

"I love you. Remember that forever. And ever. Okay?" he whispered in her ear. Maya nodded against his neck. "Cover your eyes, I'm leaving now." he said, pulling away. Maya nodded again, placing the thick sleeve of the bathrobe against her eyes. She felt the warmth as he ascended, and of she hadn't been covering her eyes, she would have been blinded by the light too. 

You'll always be my hero, even though you've lost your mind.

Once he was gone, she slowly opened her eyes to see her empty room. The white feathers were still scattered on the bed from their exciting night, still warm to the touch as his feathers always were. 

Feeling something cold in her hand, she looked down, opening her clenched fist slightly. A few feathers fell out; she must have pulled them off by mistake when she hugged him. Narrowing her eyes, she looked closer. First of all, they didn't glow like they should have. Secondly, they were almost painfully cold to touch. 

And lastly...they were a dark grey. Almost black. 

/End of Part 1\