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“Lucifer? You, uhh… actually wanted to see me?”
Simeon had let himself into Lucifer's study on the heels of a peculiar text (peculiar in that it had come from Lucifer, which meant that either the world was ending or Simeon's corpse was about to make a guest appearance on 1001 Reasons Why Angels Don't Belong in the Devildom), and was now just… standing here, watching the demon work his way through the most recent budget applications, and fretting over what he might've done wrong this time.
Just when being ignored was starting to get a little too uncomfortable, Lucifer finally looked up. He raked a critical eye over the angel, up and down, from his toes to the very tips of his hair, judging every last detail and finding exactly none of them to his liking. “Well,” he muttered to himself, “ at least he dresses more respectfully than Mammon.” To Simeon, he continued, “My brothers are still trying to tempt you into sinning, are they not?”
Simeon frowned. “They are. I thought it would end when you…” (A ghost of a smile flickered across Lucifer's lips) “…when you won the bet,” he shamefully admitted, “but they're still at it. I’m not sure what to do anymore. All the things they're tempting me with, I know they're wrong, of course, but they all sound so…”
“Fun?”
Simeon sighed. “Is that an awful thing for an angel to admit?”
“Not at all. If sinning against our father wasn't inherently fun, no naughty human souls would ever end up in the Devildom,” he chuckled. “I have a solution for you.” He dug through his desk and pulled out a large, leather-bound book. “Our father watches his precious angels. He does not watch those of us who've already fallen. In the interest of allowing you a taste of liberation without compromising your integrity, I offer you this opportunity.” He laid one hand on the book, and beckoned to Simeon. “Put your hand here. Beside mine.”
Simeon frowned. “What will it do?”
“For one day – and only one day - it will set you free.”
“…This isn't another horrible bet, is it?”
“I assure you, my brothers know nothing of what I intend to do. It is an offer, nothing more. If you turn it down,” he shrugged, “I will never bring it up again.” With a disinterested yawn, he looked back at his mountain of paperwork. “Please decide quickly. I have work to do.”
“…one day?”
“Only one.”
“…and all I have to do is…” Simeon laid his hand on the book. “…touch thi-"
Black electricity crackled between the book, the angel and the demon. A thunderclap echoed above the House, and a powder of grey ash filled the study like a macabre snow globe.
When the dust settled, Simeon, disoriented and dizzy, looked around. A second ago, he'd been standing in front of the desk. Now, he was seated on the other side of it, looking across a stack of half-finished paperwork at… himself.
“Oh… oh! My voice is…” Simeon looked down at himself, at gasped. “Lucifer… I'm you?!”
“For one day,” Lucifer grumbled, as he studied his own unfamiliar hands. “I don't often do people favours, so you’re welcome. You are in my debt,” he informed the flabbergasted angel (or rather, demon, now), as he stepped around the desk to take his proper place again. While Simeon scrambled out of the way, Lucifer sat down, picked up his quill, and went right back to work. “I have arranged a party at The Fall tonight. Be there. If our father looks down on you tonight, he will see you engrossed in your work, as any good angel should be.”
“But… but what if he looks down on-"
“He won't,” Lucifer sighed. “He is too ashamed to ever turn his eyes on me. Go. You only have one day. Do not waste it.”
With his heart brimming with guilty excitement – the thrill of doing something naughty was terrifying, yet… titillating, nonetheless, Simeon bowed low. “Thank you, Lucifer. I… I don't know what to-"
“Whatever you choose to do tonight,” Lucifer interrupted, “I ask only that you remember that it is my reputation at stake. Try not to embarrass me too much.”
**********
Simeon nervously approached The Fall. He could hear the party before he even opened the door, loud and boisterous and unapologetically sinful, and hesitated.
Everything about this felt so, so wrong.
Angels weren't permitted to indulge themselves. Their duty was to their father, never themselves. To succumb to temptation was the first step towards losing one's wings, to being cast out of the light and suffering, forever, in the perpetual twilight of the Demon King’s kingdom.
…but he wasn't an angel anymore, was he?
And something in his heart (he told himself it was just from wearing the body of a demon, and forced himself to believe it), was suddenly yearning to experience all the carnal pleasures he had, so diligently and so obediently, always denied himself.
Simeon took a deep breath, cast a paranoid look over his shoulder to make sure Luke wasn’t spying on him, and pushed open the doors.
The party was already in full swing. There were demons everywhere, laughing, drinking, making love on the tables, belting out karaoke on the stage, and just… enjoying doing whatever they pleased, without being the least bit concerned about tomorrow.
“Lucifer! You made it!” Asmodeus stepped off the dance floor, grabbed his arm, and dragged him to the brothers' VIP table. “We didn't think you were coming,” he laughed. “I told you all he'd be here. Mammon, pay up.”
Grumbling under his breath, Mammon slipped his grinning brother a handful of crumpled bills. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Asmo. You got lucky. What do ya say we double-down? A thousand Grimm says Levi don't show!”
Simeon had never placed a bet before. Such things were forbidden of angels, as they elevated the belief that luck, or skill, played a higher role in life than the will of his father.
But… what would it feel like to win?
It'd probably be… exhilarating.
“I… I'll take that bet,” he ventured, taking his first baby-step into the deep end.
“Hahaha! See, Lucifer don't think he'll show either. A thousand Grimm that Levi never makes it. You all in?”
They all were, on one side or the other, because every demon worth his horns always wanted to win.
“Hi, Lucifer,” Beel beamed. “Here. Satan managed to talk the owner into letting us share his limited-edition Demonus.” He poured Simeon a glass, and slid it across the table.
Simeon resisted his natural impulse to push it away, and dared take a sip, instead. It was fruity… light and delectable… until he swallowed, and the harsh bite of unfamiliar alcohol burned its way down his throat. Simeon coughed, and held a hand to his mouth.
“Thank you, Beel,” he managed to breathe, once his churning stomach had settled down again. “It's… it's lovely.”
Everyone was staring at him expectantly.
He frowned, and swallowed another mouthful.
…it wasn't nearly so bad, the second time around.
He took another drink.
And another.
Mammon laughed. “Lucifer's really lettin' himself go tonight! It's about time! Hey, big bro, my song's up next – you gotta come sing it with me!”
Despite himself, Simeon laughed. “Absolutely! What are we… hic! What are we singing?”
“An old human world song that's been – Oh! We're up! Just follow the lyrics on the screen, and you'll be fine.” Mammon grabbed his hand, and led him onto the stage.
Simeon grabbed his Demonus, downed half the glass at once, and followed his ‘little brother’.
His head was starting to spin. The song was a hit (every demon in the place had launched into thunderous applause), but even if it wasn't, it didn't matter. He'd never felt more alive. More liberated. More carefree.
He really had put on a great fucking show.
Simeon poured himself another glass and flopped back down at the VIP table, dizzy and delighted and well on his way to the proper side of drunk. “So… has… has Levi shown up yet?”
“Not yet,” Satan frowned. “But the night's still young.”
“That it is!” exclaimed Asmodeus, as he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, arm-in-arm with a cohort of all the most beautiful men and women the party had to offer. “Lucifer, darling, meet Simone and David,” he purred. “They're huge fans, and are absolutely dying to make your acquaintance.”
“Good evening, My Lord,” the woman cooed, as she stood up on her tiptoes and sensuously unbuttoned the top of her exquisite dress. “My body is yours to explore… or to abuse,” she added, with a playful wink.
“I am your humble servant,” the man chimed in, with a humble bow. “It would be my honour to lay with you, if you would have me. You may take me, or, if it is my lord's desire,” he purred, and he unbuttoned his fly, “I can take you.”
Simeon, his head swimming with Demonus and drowning any recollection of ever being an angel, grinned. “It is a pleasure to meet you both. But why choose? We are demons, are we not? Come, both of you, and… and join me, in my private room…”
Asmo grinned.
Mammon whistled a catcall as the angel (demon lord) disappeared into The Fall's most private suite, with his concubines in tow.
If this was what being a demon was like…
(Simeon, locked in the grips of carnal pleasure, arched his back and moaned, and didn't care who heard him)
…then maybe he'd chosen the wrong side of history.
**********
Lucifer, still sporting the body of an angel, worked through his mountain of paperwork until he was absolutely certain that there was nobody left in the House.
Nobody left to doubt him.
Nobody left to question.
He left the House of Lamentation, and walked to the sprawling garden that surrounded Purgatory House.
There was nobody left to stop him.
He stood before the gates, atop the enormous magic circle that connected the Celestial Realm to the Devildom, closed his eyes, and remembered what it had felt like to be an angel.
His holy armour shone like spun gold. His sword blazed with the holy light of a thousand suns. He unfurled his radiant, white wings, all six of them, and began the incantation that would activate the portal.
“Simeon?! Simeon, what's wrong?!”
Lucifer scowled at the interruption, but kept the expression to himself. On the outside, he looked down at Luke, and frowned. “Oh, Luke! Please, stay down here a while,” he said, in Simeon's voice. “The demon brothers will look out for you.”
“But… Simeon, why are you wearing your armor?”
Lucifer smiled his most charming smile, as much suited for an angel as a demon. “Do not worry yourself, young one. Michael has called me back to the Celestial Realm, that's all.”
“Michael called you?! Why didn't he call me, too? What’s going on?!”
“A demon lord has snuck into the Celestial Realm,” Lucifer grinned, as he hefted his flaming sword and stepped into the portal. “To finish what he had, long ago, begun.”