XVII #2
“It’s mostly irritating because it’s beyond our control.
Humans are messy, sometimes we can’t account for everything that happens and it makes everyone’s jobs harder.
Extra files and time sifting through corpses and lost souls we weren’t prepared for.
We usually only get our files a day before the death so we can plan our routes, but people go rogue, Earth is hurting so the planet fights back, accidents happen…
” He looked at Charlie with a gentle sigh.
“I’m mostly going to be grumpy and tired. ”
Charlie nodded in understanding. An awkward silence hung between them until Lucky set his hands on his knees to stand.
“Can I…”
“What?” Lucky asked.
“It’s silly…”
Lucky nudged him in the knee with his own. “Now you have to tell me.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“I won’t.”
“I was going to ask if I could pray for your safe travels.”
Heat flashed across Lucky’s cheeks. His dimming eternal fire sparked and he felt warm again. His lips parted in question.
“I don’t think He can hear us down here,” Lucky said nervously.
“I-I know. It’s more for… me,” Charlie replied, just as nervously.
“Oh-oh… then sure, I guess.”
Charlie lit up like a Christmas tree. Lucky winced at how bright the Heavenly glow around him became, but he couldn’t help but feel…
proud, in a way. He’d seemed to have finally figured out the little things that made Charlie happy, made his spark come back.
Even though it would have normally left him uneasy, the fact that his human—because Charlie was, in fact, his according to the laws of Hell, whether he wanted to admit it or not—was the one praying for his damned self didn’t bother him.
Because everything Charlie did felt like magic, and with how awful he’d been feeling he could use all of the luck he could get.
So, he listened as Charlie prayed his little heart out, sitting side by side on the sofa.
All Lucky could really do was watch with a soft smile and a sense of peace flooding his body alongside the heat he’d been missing.
The whole thing would make him late for his arrival time, but he didn’t care.
He could be selfish with this. He deserved to be selfish in a ‘me’ way and not a ‘my job and reputation and ego and identity are on the line’ way for once.
Selfish for his heart and his human, both of them seemingly needed the comfort the words brought.
Going into a catastrophe knowing someone was waiting for him back home, that someone was worrying about him and wishing him safe travels, was divine.
He could get through this mess knowing he’d come home to Charlie for a little while longer, and he’d do everything he could to savor it.
“Amen.”
Charlie set his hand on the sofa beside Lucky’s.
“Thanks, Charlie.”
The human’s pinky brushed his own.
“Be safe.”
He nudged his finger into Charlie’s.
Charlie didn’t pull away.
He didn’t pull away…
Lucky looked at him. Charlie smiled, his golden curls shifting and his blue eyes closing softly.
He wanted to kiss him so badly. Flop over and put his head on Charlie’s lap and sleep, feel the human’s hands run through his hair, stroke his horns, and listen to him ramble on about medieval knights and Arthurian lore. Kick his shoes off and close his eyes.
“You look ill,” Charlie noted.
“So I’ve been told—” Lucky’s phone started to scream. He softly patted Charlie’s hand, reminded him to stay put, and left the apartment. The door closed quietly behind him as he pulled the device from his pocket and answered the call from Lucius. “Yes?”
“I have requested a half day for your recovery,” Lucius said.
“I can’t—”
“It is an order from the King of Hell. He inquired about what happened when you left the meeting. I simply told him you had been working without rest to please him and uphold your efficiency. Come help us with the initial wave of souls and then you are free to leave.”
“You’re going to get me fired. And the last thing any of us needs is Lie taking over—even in a temporary manner—and fucking up all of my hard work.
It took decades to fix the lax policies the last wave of heirs left behind and get us back on track.
I didn’t spend the last century handling everyone else’s chaos just to lose my job over something so stupid. Mammon made such a mess of things—”
“Do you think, of anyone in Hell, that I would be the one that Father would question?”
Lucky thought about it. “No.”
“Then take the time to rest, little one, while the offer is available. No need to tarnish your reputation by fainting on the battlefield. I also understand that you take pride in your job, I do, and you have indeed worked tirelessly to restore order for seemingly everyone but yourself. Hell is running smoothly, and yet your office is a mess, as is your head. I feel as if Father’s threats of replacing you with Lorelei are hollow as a way to get you to focus.
Accept the gift and do not question our judgement. ”
The call disconnected. Lucky went from feeling rejuvenated to downright pissed. He would show them. He’d show all of them.
After quickly swinging by his penthouse to change and grab a quick bite of one of Charlie’s leftover sandwiches, he drove back to Hell HQ.
He’d placed an order for some dinner for Charlie to be delivered and left at the apartment door so the human wouldn’t be spotted, then stepped out into the muggy night.
He was running a few minutes late, but apparently so was half of the team because the line for the regular elevator was long and several demon lords looked scared, checking their watches frantically in the process.
He was able to bypass it and use the royal family’s lift without needing to stop for anyone else, and stepped out onto the top floor, right above the king’s office.
It led directly out into Limbo, the most quiet and somber of all of the circles.
He pushed up the sleeves of his new button up and approached the group that had gathered, arriving mid-speech from the king who was giving a rundown of what was happening.
He stood near the back, hoping he wouldn’t be spotted, and listened to the game plan.
The first wave of soldiers was sent out, and Lucky followed them through the white light.
The shifting of his soul as it raced from Hell to Earth was rarely pleasant, especially when he needed to be covert and hide himself so as to not be seen by humans, which meant holding an incorporeal shape for much longer than his body could handle in the current moment.
As he stepped out into their destination, he looked out across the chaos with a quiet, solemn energy.
A tropical storm had completely decimated the area, the rain and wind roared overhead, and the wailing souls of the lost who had been ripped from their bodies filled the stormy night.
He turned his golden eyes to Gabe when he spotted them. The archangel looked just as upset as he felt. They locked gazes, both nodded, and got to work.