XXVI
“I think I messed up,” Lucky said as the elevator door opened. “I was going to treat you to a large one but I forgot it’s demon-sized… Charlie?”
Lucky stopped when he saw Charlie on the floor, sitting crosslegged with a single paper clamped between trembling fingers.
Tears streaming down his cheeks, Charlie sniffled and lifted reddened eyes to Lucky.
The prince’s gaze flicked to the box and a cold chill ran down his spine when he saw the dates.
Luke and John were growling at him, amped up on the rage and fear coming from the person it had sworn to protect.
“Oh… fuck. Charlie—”
“You lied to me,” Charlie sniffled.
“Charlie—”
“You lied! I’m not dead!” Charlie tried to stand in a huff but he nearly fell over in the process.
Lucky flinched. He raced over but Charlie barked at him to stay back, so he did.
Charlie stumbled to his feet, clutching that single piece of paper so tightly his hand trembled.
“Why did you lie to me?!” Charlie screamed.
“To protect you!” Lucky replied, voice cracking.
“Protect me? I’m still alive, you asshole! I could have gone home!”
“Charlie, listen to me—”
“No! Tell me what happened!”
Lucky’s lips parted. “I-I’m trying, you’re not letting me…”
Charlie huffed. “You get one minute.”
“Your body was in bad shape, bad shape. It’s a literal miracle you survived but you needed time to recover and no one was sure you would.
I didn’t want to give you hope that you could return home and then have something happen.
I wanted to wait until you were healed, but the medical facility wasn’t up to par so Gabe and I had to find a way to get you somewhere better. It took time, but you’re healed now!”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m in your hospital suite every damn day making sure, Charlie!” Lucky said it with such intensity that he spilled his coffee all over his hand.
Disbelief swept over Charlie’s expression. He looked at his file before turning back to Lucky.
“When were you going to tell me?” Charlie asked, tone going from angered to scared.
“After dinner. I figured you’d be mad if you got whisked away before the filing was done—”
“Oh, so you lied so I’d help you out?! You used me!”
“No, no! You get angry when projects aren’t done on time!
I didn’t want you upset that you left a project half-finished!
Fuck the files, Charlie, I couldn’t care less about that.
I care about you! That’s why I waited, so your back would heal so you could walk without fear.
So you wouldn’t have unfinished business.
So I could make sure I had a place ready for you to go, with a trust fund, and caregivers, so you wouldn’t have to worry about anything while you recovered. Those things take time!”
Charlie scanned his body, eyes watery and worried as if he didn’t trust Lucky, and that was what hurt the most. Charlie wheezed and blinked unevenly.
“Charlie, sit down,” Lucky urged as he finally set the drinks on the desk.
“N-no,” Charlie mumbled.
Lucky walked up to him. Charlie flinched and stepped back.
Though it hurt, Lucky still kept moving forward.
He gently grabbed Charlie’s arm, and the priest swung to hit him in the chest with his pitiful human strength.
He kept swinging, and Lucky took it until Charlie calmed down.
The human didn’t feel corporeal any longer.
It was hard to hold him. He was going home.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I swear it. It was an impossible situation.
If I told you and you ended up stuck here you’d hate me.
You might have ended up going back into a body that wasn’t healed and you’d die again immediately after.
Or you’d end up under the control of that God awful bishop who wouldn’t take care of you like you needed.
Everything I did was for you. Everything.
Assigning you this job to keep you hidden and safe from my family, risking my career and my own head to keep you protected, and I’d do it a million times over but I’m just one man.
I can only juggle so much, I tried. I did.
I just wanted you safe and happy,” Lucky said, tears rolling down his own cheeks.
Charlie was only half-listening. He seemed dazed, unsure, and scared.
Lucky gently brushed back that twisted, messy curl and set his hand on Charlie’s face.
“Why? Why do all of that for me?” Charlie asked. “I-I’m not important! I don’t understand why? Why risk so much, why make such a big deal out of it? Why not just get rid of me like your family wanted?”
“How do you not get it? I would overthrow Heaven, upend Hell, and pluck every star out of the sky if you asked me to! If it meant you were safe, that I could see you smile! I don’t know how else I can tell you that I love you, you obnoxious, oblivious cinnamon roll!
So please, before you leave me, kiss me.
For the love of all that is holy and sinful, kiss me before I lose my damn mind! ” Lucky begged.
“I-I—what?” Charlie blinked rapidly and looked up at him.
For a moment, in the silence, they simply stood there and looked at each other.
“Charlie—”
“I can go home, right?” Charlie asked.
Lucky’s heart shattered. He slowly dropped to his knees, hands still on Charlie’s flickering soul as he looked at him with his heart crumbling inside of his ribcage.
Tears rolled down his face as he sucked in a breath before slowly exhaling in defeat.
He tightened his grip on Charlie as much as he was able to keep the priest from falling.
Their time together was growing shorter.
The human’s hands were blinking in and out of existence. His Heavenly glow was dimming.
“Yes, you can. I’m releasing you from my care,” Lucky said as he pressed a finger into Charlie’s chest. “I’m scrubbing the imprint, and my feelings, from your soul.
Hell will have no claim over you. You’ll get that long life.
That long beautiful life that you deserve.
You’ll be a walking miracle, the church will love you.
You’ll find that man with the playful eyes who makes you feel safe, with the nice smile and genuine conversations who loves you wholeheartedly.
You’ll fall in love and grow old together.
One day, when you’re grey and tired and all of this mess is a long gone nightmare, then you’ll go to Heaven and get your golden halo and your wings, and live an eternity as the best damn admin the Seraph’s Office has ever seen.
I-I just hope that, at some point, you remember that I tried.
I did. I did everything I could to make sure you were safe, and I think I did okay. So it’s okay if you forget me—”
“N-no, Lucky—”
“It’s okay, just know that someone loves you. Not just your God, but a person who held you, who you spoke to, who knew you, loves you dearly.”
“Wait—”
“Go home, Charlie, and kick ass.”
“No! Luck—”
And then he was gone, leaving behind nothing but a broken devil on his knees holding thin air and crying out in agony as the file with Charlie Wickham’s face spiraled to the office floor.
As the paper settled, the photo faded and the words unraveled until the crumbled document turned completely blank.
Charlie no longer belonged to Hell, he’d been scrubbed from the record, but the pain swelling in the prince showcased that the imprint might have gone both ways, and the human hadn’t been kind enough to release him of it.
Lucky pawed at his chest as panic and anxiety overwhelmed him. He folded in on himself and cried, his wailing echoed in the empty office as the Prince of Hell found himself utterly alone.