Chapter Text
How long had it been…?
In the afterlife, time was not linear. Perhaps the celestials kept track for their own sake, but to souls, it no longer really mattered. Their eternity is their eternity.
Dark Choco walks on a gilded path with his father beside him, many souls from the Dark Cacao kingdom not far behind. Here, he was still considered a prince. Even if he still had the markings of former condemnation on his wrists, they were proof he literally went through Hell to get here- and to him, a reminder of a dear friend.
The past no longer controlled him, anyways. In Heaven, there were no grudges to be held, no burdens to carry.
"Mister Dark Choco Cookie," a familiar voice chirps- though a little deeper than it used to be- and catches the soul's attention. Dark Choco approaches in surprise- he hadn't seen Angel Cookie since the day he was sent to Heaven. Angels don't tend to interact much with souls directly. It was a shock to see them again- much more shocking to see them all grown up. They'd finally ditched the silly bonnet and glowed so brightly one couldn't stare at them directly. Which reiterates the question: had it really been so long since that day?
"Come with me," Angel beams in excitement, spinning and floating in joyful circles. Dark Choco looks cautiously back towards Dark Cacao, who softly smiles back. Calmly, the prince begins to follow the angel, who hums sweetly as they hover along.
"What's the occasion?" Dark Choco asks in curiosity.
"A surprise!" Angel answers simply.
"I think you would like it very much!"
Dark Choco walks beside Angel towards the celestial temple, where many figures stood in the distance. Looking back at the celestial being, he notes that there was a golden bracelet on one of their arms and strange black markings on the other, much like his own- but theirs seemed to form unrecognizable letters of a bizarre language. On the bracelet was the insignia of a red heart with black bat wings, while the markings looked somewhat sinister. He figured he shouldn't ask.
As they approach the temple together, Dark Choco can't believe his eyes.
A very familiar face, a dark celestial that stuck out like a sore thumb among the crowd of angels. Souls with the same wrist markings as his- souls that were also sent to Heaven from Hell- excitedly surrounded them as they laughed. Other souls stayed back in fear of a demon in Heaven.
Devil Cookie had grown up, too. With that, they were twice as tall (and intimidating) as they used to be- and yet, the souls that came from Hell weren't afraid. They didn't have to be.
Devil wears a bracelet almost identical to Angel's and similar markings on their other arm, in gold writing rather than black. The insignia on their bracelet was a blue star with feathery wings. Angel kisses their cheek when they get close enough and they blush furiously while (poorly) pretending not to like it, sticking their forked tongue out. Their attitude certainly hadn't changed.
Dark Choco smiles. Devil managed to work around their curse after all.
It takes a moment for Devil to finally notice the prince standing there. When they do, they smile back. When they spoke, their voice was far deeper than Dark Choco remembered, but there was still a childlike rasp behind it.
"Wouldja look who it is...?"
They knelt down and softly laughed, their gaze warm and welcoming despite the gloom surrounding them.
"Hello, old friend."