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As the next song blared over the speakers, Satan started dancing along with his brothers again even though they’d been there for hours. Because Asmodeus and the exchange student were so insistent on celebrating Satan’s birthday at The Fall this year, he decided not to fight it and let them plan away.
He didn’t expect to have as much fun dancing with them as he did. But that was mostly because he had a front-row seat to watch Lucifer’s attempt at dancing to nightclub music. He’d been dying of laughter more than he’d been dancing honestly. Although, Lucifer didn’t seem as agitated as usual and didn’t deny Satan his fun, even though he and Belphegor had been trying numerous times to record the moment.
“You’re having fun, right Satan?” Asmo whisper-shouted into his ear as he danced close to Satan. “I know it’s not the library but-”
“It’s great, Asmo, thank you.” He assured, causing Asmo’s worried expression to immediately transform into relief. “I really am having a great time.”
Because of that, Asmo decided it was time to shout for the music to be turned up even louder and for them to jump even higher for the rest of the song. As it finally came to an end, they were all laughing together, trying to catch their breaths as the next song started up.
However, Satan was not one of the energetic ones of the family and could not catch his breath for the life of him. “Sorry but I’m going to take a break. Need to get a drink.”
They all waved him off before moving along to the beat of the next song while he stumbled towards the bar in the back. Thankfully, it wasn’t as crowded as it usually was, and Satan was able to sit at the barstool directly across from the long shelves of dangerous-looking multi-colored drinks against the wall.
Some had fire coming out of them, others had things moving inside of them, while others seemed to shimmer with images that no one could decipher. Satan loved it. He glanced over the choices, waiting for the bartender to finish with another customer.
He knew that he should just have some water, but it was his birthday after all, so what the hell?
“Hey Satan, what can I get for ya?”
Startled at being greeted so familiarly, Satan turned to gawk at the bartender walking towards him before stopping right in front of him with a wicked grin. Satan had been to this nightclub numerous times, not of his own volition, but he still knew it well enough. Due to his lack of interest in it, he never took the time to get to know, much less remember, any of the staff. Even though he’d been living in the Devildom for more years than he could remember.
Oh but how Satan wished he had because this man was, in a word: handsome. Devilishly handsome, but Satan supposed that came with the territory of being a literal demon. He was wearing a standard bartender uniform consisting of a white button-down, black slacks, and an apron around his waist. Except this man decided to leave his top buttons undone and his sleeves rolled up, exposing his rich, tanned skin. Not only that, but his outfit was so tight that it was difficult for Satan to glance away.
He quickly moved his gaze to meet the man’s, discovering he had rare and extremely beautiful silver eyes. His dark, layered hair was swept back, barely grazing the bottom of his neck and leaving several strands in the front that were dyed red.
Satan never really liked the combination of black and red because it always reminded him of Lucifer, but somehow this man was able to make him completely forget about it and leave him gawking.
“Do you need a minute to decide or something?”
Realizing that he’d been staring much longer than was appropriate, he hurriedly shook his head with an apologetic smile. “No, sorry, I’ll just have whatever the newest one is.”
The demon raised his eyebrow while his smirk grew. “You don’t want something special for your birthday?”
“H-How did you know that?”
The bartender rolled his eyes as he began wiping down the glasses next to him. “Lord Asmodeus has been coming here for weeks to prepare for your party.”
“So you’ve been here for a while?” Satan asked in an attempt to get to know this demon better and hopefully learn if they’d ever officially met before. But the bartender only chuckled at the glass in his hand without another word.
Normally he would be furious by now for not having his question answered, but all he felt was intrigue. If all people were open books, then there would be no need for mystery in this world. Everyone reads through a story to learn what happens in the end; in essence, they had to work for it. Therefore, shouldn’t it be the same way with people? Shouldn’t you put in some work to get to know them?
Satan certainly believed so.
“How about you try one of my favorites? Is that alright?”
“Sure.” Satan nodded at the offer, more excited than he usually was at having his drink made. “Have you always worked at this nightclub?”
The bartender nodded as he began pouring several large bottles into a wide glass. “Long enough to know that it’s not very often that you and your brothers actually spend time together without all hell breaking loose.”
Satan covered his chuckle as he propped his chin with the arm that was leaning on the counter. “I suppose you’re right about that.”
“You suppose?” The demon prodded with another raised eyebrow that Satan found insanely attractive.
“Fine, you’re completely correct.”
The bartender barked out a laugh as he slid the lids back onto their bottles and placed the glass filled with a suspicious green liquid in front of Satan. “On the house, for your special day, of course.”
Satan brushed back the strands of hair falling into his face, noticing that the other was tracking the movement. “Thank you- um, what should I call you?”
The demon gave a low chuckle, and Satan wished he could listen to it for the rest of the night. “Whatever you’d like to call me.” He answered with a wink that made Satan choke on the sip he just took.
The bartender laughed even louder at Satan’s coughing fit before taking pity on him and grabbing a napkin to help wipe his cheek and chin. He saved his lips for last, which he took the slowest and most delicate care of cleaning. Satan felt the demon’s fingers trace his lips through the napkin and wasn’t sure if that was deliberate or not.
“Aziel, the name’s Aziel.”
Satan glanced up and locked eyes with Aziel, but before he could utter a response, another customer called for him and he had to leave to serve them. Reeling with oddly warm cheeks, Satan turned around to watch his brothers and the exchange student still dancing.
They were all still laughing and beaming at each other like they were having the time of their lives, and maybe they were, but Satan didn’t feel the need to join them anytime soon.
“Instead of staring at them, why don’t you go dance with them again?”
Satan jolted in his seat before turning to his side to face Aziel leaning on the counter, also watching his brothers. “I’m fine for now.”
“Are you sure?” Aziel asked with a tilt of his head. “Aren’t you supposed to be celebrating your birthday with them?”
“I have been for the entire night.” Satan answered with a shrug as he leaned closer to Aziel before glancing at his brothers again. “And as you can see, I’m exhausted because of them. Besides, I can only handle spending so much time here. It’s not exactly my kind of place.”
He hoped that Aziel wouldn’t take it the wrong way because he was an employee, but surprisingly Aziel nodded in understanding. “I get that and I can’t see this as your kind of place either.”
“Oh? Then where do you think I like to spend my time?”
Aziel shrugged as he straightened from the counter, locking eyes with Satan again. “I don’t know, somewhere like the library?”
Stunned, Satan gaped at Aziel for a long moment before stammering, “H-How would you know that? Have we talked before? Or at least met?”
Aziel shook his head with a warm smile that Satan thought was a trick of the flashing lights around them. “Only when you’ve ordered drinks, that’s all.”
“How come we haven’t talked like this before?”
“How come you haven’t taken the time to try?”
Satan didn’t feel an ounce of the usual defensiveness that surfaced whenever any of his brothers accused him of something. Instead, he actually felt the odd urge to apologize. Maybe it was the drink he’d been sipping from that was causing Aziel to have this unusual sway over Satan. What else could it be?
“Can I start by taking the time to try now?” He hoped that Aziel wasn’t seriously upset by this, and was fortunately proven right as Aziel’s lips broke into a smug grin.
“Stay until the end of my shift and maybe I’ll think about it.”
After having to explain to his brothers for the hundredth time that Satan would not be going back home with them, he discovered that Aziel still had another couple of hours left to go. It went by much faster than Satan liked as they talked the entire time, bantering easily with each other. With each passing minute, he felt slightly closer to Aziel and was yearning to learn even more about him.
When Aziel untied his apron and left for the back room, Satan hoped that the night wouldn’t end just yet. He didn’t want whatever was going on between them to shatter as they returned to their separate lives, away from each other.
Much to his relief, Aziel returned to offer his elbow to Satan, which he gladly accepted as they walked out of the club together. “Ah, it’s so nice walking out here when almost everyone’s gone home.”
Satan glanced up at Aziel, who was staring at the pitch-black sky above them, and realized that Aziel was almost an entire head taller than him. He didn’t think much of it before because he was sitting down so it was slightly jarring having to look up to someone and not be bothered by it like he normally was.
“It’s even nicer walking when the sun is setting in the human realm.”
“Oh, you like sunsets?” Aziel asked curiously as he stared down at Satan. His face was much closer than before, too close to be considered innocent, but Satan didn’t have the urge to push him away.
“I prefer sunrises actually.”
Aziel’s lips curled into a more genuine smile as he replied, “So do I.”
For a long, silent moment, they kept their gazes locked as they walked down the street. Satan would have been content to continue like this for the rest of their time, but Aziel had other plans.
“I’m glad you brought that up, though.” Aziel stopped their stroll and faced Satan directly. “I have some place that I would like to show you. Consider it my present to you. Unless you wanted to go back to the House of Lamentation, then by all means we’ll-”
“No, I’d rather go with you.” Satan interrupted and hoped it didn’t sound too desperate or excited. “But there’s no need to give me a present-”
Aziel pressed his finger against Satan’s lips in an attempt to silence him and it definitely worked. In fact, Satan was silent for the rest of the time, following Aziel down many unfamiliar paths and alleys. After a while he lost track of where they were altogether. Sometimes he forgot just how large the Devildom was. That it wasn’t just RAD and his house.
Slightly wary as they walked down a dark alley, Satan glanced at Aziel out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t believe that Aziel was trying to hurt him or capture him because he hadn’t felt an ounce of malice from him at all. Also, no one in the Devildom was idiotic enough to even try and hurt him. He wasn’t the well-known Avatar of Wrath for nothing.
“Here we are.”
Satan blinked at their surroundings as they stopped at the end of the alley. There was a single, red door in front of them with an eerie light shining over it. He knew for certain that he’d never been here before, much less seen this door. “And where is here exactly?”
Aziel chuckled at Satan’s confusion and squeezed Satan’s shoulder in assurance. “A portal to the human realm.”
“What?? But it’s impossible! Only Diavolo and his father can allow it and have access to one-”
“Let’s just say that Diavolo’s family and I go way back.” Aziel cut in with a shameless smirk, as if this wasn’t anything unusual at all. “So what do you say? I’m not going to force you to come along. We really can go back-”
“No.” Satan blurted out even though he was unsure of this. Or at least that’s how it was in his head while his body moved involuntarily towards the door. “I would still like to join you.”
“Good.” Aziel replied with a wink as he pulled Satan close with a firm grip around his waist before reaching for the door handle. “Make sure you hold on tight though.”
They were both thrust into complete nothingness as soon as the door was opened. If Satan was asked to describe what it was like, he wasn’t sure he could explain it well enough. Because to him, it felt like he was falling and being shoved forward at the same time. Thankfully, it was over quickly as a light suddenly flashed and then they were both dropped onto a street.
Because Satan was so disoriented, he stumbled trying to find his footing, but Aziel was still there to catch him and hold him tight. And it most certainly did not make Satan’s heart flip in an unusual way.
“You alright there, Satan?” Aziel’s hands were wrapped snugly around Satan’s waist. “Do you need to rest for a minute?”
Satan shook his head and took a risk to squeeze Aziel’s arm to reassure him, which made Aziel’s concerned expression brighten in an instant. "Thank you but I'm good, Aziel."
Aziel nodded as he relinquished his hold on Satan, leaving Satan slightly disappointed and cold. Something like that had never bothered him before.
Not wanting to lose Aziel’s comforting warmth, he stuck close to him as they walked down the streets. This city was new to him so he rather enjoyed taking his time to walk wherever he was being led to, especially as Aziel pointed out various spots he liked to visit and told the stories behind them.
Aziel was much different than any other demon he'd ever met. Instead of glaring at the humans that walked by or staring at them like they were his next meal, he waved at them with a genuinely kind smile. He wasn't malicious or suspicious of them, instead he blended right in.
Not even Satan and his brothers were that accepting of humans yet besides the exchange student. It was nothing short of admirable.
"You should really try their cinnamon waffles. It's one of the best, trust me." Aziel announced as they passed a small café.
"Then maybe we should get some when we're done."
Aziel’s eyes widened in surprise. "You'd really want to?" Satan nodded. "But they don't open until morning. We're too early which means we'd have to wait for a while."
"Doesn't sound like a problem to me."
Aziel’s eyes flickered with an intense emotion that Satan wasn't fast enough to decipher before it disappeared. "I'm sure it won't be when you see where we're going."
After a couple more turns, Aziel’s statement rang true when they stopped in front of a hole in the wall type bookstore. It appeared to be small but when Aziel opened the door for Satan and he walked inside, it was much larger than any other bookstore he'd ever seen.
There were shelves upon shelves of books. Some were brand new while others were so old their pages were dark brown and the covers faded beyond repair.
Satan had never loved the sight of anything more.
He rushed to the first shelf and started skimming through the titles before moving on to the next. Because he was so lost in the world of books around him, he didn’t hear the chuckling until they were standing right in front of him.
Aziel was smiling down at an elderly man with large glasses, a tweed sweater, and matching slacks. “Satan, this is the owner of this bookstore.”
Satan set the already large amount of books in his hands down before reaching to shake the man’s hand enthusiastically. “You have a wonderful store, sir. I very much enjoy the mix of classics and modern works.”
The man bowed with a proud smile. “This store has been in my family for generations, always being passed on to whoever wants it. And Aziel here is one of my family’s longest regular and friend."
Satan blinked at Aziel, who patted the man’s shoulder gently. Friend . Neither Satan nor his brothers would have ever wanted to be considered a friend of a human until their exchange student opened their mind to it. How come Aziel not only looked pleased by the word but also honored? And why did that make Satan’s heart pound much harder than the sight of all these stories around him?
“Please feel free to look around however long you’d like. We’re open 24/7.”
At Satan’s widened eyes, Aziel flashed him a knowing smirk. “Figured that you would enjoy that part the most.”
Satan could have hugged them both, he was so happy. However, first things first and that meant the books. Therefore, Satan took their advice and did exactly as they said. He wandered throughout the seemingly never-ending store, glancing through one book shelf to another. He would usually read the covers or backs and then end up halfway through the book before realizing he still had the other half of the store to go. But no one rushed him. No one said a word and just let him enjoy it.
It was during this time that Satan could feel at peace the most. To be able to feel so calm that he could relax his shoulders and jaw and get lost in a good book. The best part of this moment of serenity was that he wasn’t alone.
He did enjoy reading and visiting stores alone, but knowing that someone else was there with him made him feel the most relaxed and even, safe.
Sometimes he would hear Aziel and the owner talking in low voices and chuckling at something the other said. Other times he would hear the owner start up his gramophone record player. At the end, he heard someone softly playing the piano, which he enjoyed the most.
Satan would have been content to spend the rest of his life learning what all of these books were about and reading them. However, like the rain on a cloudy day, it had to come to an end eventually.
As he was climbing down a ladder from trying to reach a book on the top shelf, he missed a step and stumbled, only to be caught by a strong pair of arms. “Is that book so good it’s worth getting injured for?”
Satan glanced up from his book to discover Aziel was directly in front of him. Their faces were much closer than they’d ever been, allowing Satan to become distracted by Aziel’s full, flushed lips.
Before his thoughts could even begin to derail, he held the book up between them. Which was an attempt to distract Aziel while his face cooled down, but Aziel didn’t seem fooled by it.
“I’m a demon, you know. I could have easily healed myself.”
Aziel rolled his eyes as he stepped back to let Satan finish climbing down the ladder. “But then you wouldn’t have needed to be saved, and we both liked that you did.”
Satan avoided Aziel’s gaze because he knew that if he faced Aziel, the truth would be ripped out of him. “I’m ready to purchase these now.”
“Do you need any help?”
He shook his head before mumbling a quick incantation and all of his scattered stacks of books were transported onto the counter in front of the owner. After he totaled them up and Satan paid for them, Satan murmured another incantation to transport them to where the portal they came through was waiting.
He and Aziel waved goodbye as they exited the store and started down the alley again. “Which one will you be reading first?”
Satan knew that he should’ve reined it in, but his excitement got the better of him as he began to thoroughly explain the entire story to Aziel. However, Aziel never looked bothered, rolled his eyes, nor puffed in annoyance. He was completely content to listen to Satan’s rambling.
As a result, Satan stopped in his tracks and pulled on Aziel’s arm in the middle of the alleyway. “Thank you so much for this, Aziel. I haven’t had such a wonderful birthday in centuries, and I’ll surely remember it for many centuries after. I can’t thank you enough for showing me that store. If there is anything that I can do in return, please let me know.”
“Oh I think there is.” Aziel replied slowly as he walked closer to Satan, and Satan reflexively moved back until his backside hit the alley wall behind him. Satan was frozen in anticipation as Aziel stepped so close that Satan could feel his warm breath fanning his cheeks.
His heart was thudding so loudly in his chest that he knew Aziel must be able to hear it. But Aziel didn’t mock him, let alone acknowledge it. Instead he reached out to place his right hand against the wall, right next to Satan’s face while his other hand traced Satan’s jaw. “You can do this-”
Before he knew it, Aziel’s lips were pressing against his in a soft, tender kiss. For a moment, Satan stood frozen with his eyes blown wide. Of course he knew that it would eventually come to this and he definitely wanted it to. He was just so shocked it was happening already that he couldn’t move.
He hadn’t been with anyone in so long, much less been held and kissed like this before, that Satan wasn’t sure how to respond to Aziel's embrace.
But as Aziel started to break off the kiss, Satan immediately wrapped his arms around Aziel’s neck and crashed their lips back together. He kissed Aziel fiercely, not wanting their lips to be separated for even a moment. The intensity continued to increase as their tongues danced together and their holds tightened, trying to pull each other closer even though they were already as close as they could be.
Satan had read about moments like this in books dozens of times, but if he were to write about it, he wasn’t sure it would be sufficient. Not a single word was good enough to describe what it was like to kiss and be kissed by Aziel. And Satan rather liked it that way. This story was only for the two of them.
When they broke apart, Satan couldn’t fight the wide grin he gave Aziel, who was also beaming back at him. It was then that Satan noticed the sun was starting to rise behind Aziel. However, Satan didn’t have the urge to even glance at it because he was confident that nothing could be more beautiful than the smile Aziel was giving him right then.
“Happy Birthday, Satan.”
Satan grabbed the hand that Aziel was resting on Satan’s cheek and moved it to his lips in answer. Aziel chuckled as Satan moved his lips away and interlaced their fingers together, leading them out of the alley.
Just as they were about to walk out into the street, something brushed against Satan’s leg. When he glanced down, it was none other than a- “Kitty!” He immediately picked the feline up and held her in his arms, cooing in her ears while he patted her head.
He was so wrapped up in the cat that he forgot about everything until Aziel started petting it too. Satan lifted his head to apologize but found Aziel staring down at him so affectionately that he wasn’t able to get a word out.
“Will you be taking her with you, then?”
Satan sighed in frustration. “I wish, but at the moment, I’m not allowed.”
Aziel continued to pet the cat as he shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll be taking her home with me.”
“Are you sure?”
Aziel nodded. “I might need some advice so it would be smarter to come with me and inform me of what I need to know.”
Satan’s pulse quickened at Aziel’s low tone and burning eyes and wisely stared back down at the cat again. “I suppose I should.”
Aziel chuckled softly before pressing his lips against Satan’s cheek. “Let’s be off, then.”
They walked to the portal much faster this time until Satan stopped as he remembered something Aziel said earlier. “But what about that cafe and its waffles?”
Aziel only lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “I can make you some at my place and I can guarantee they’re just as good. I’m quite skilled at cooking.”
As Aziel turned back to Satan and held out his hand, it was at that moment that the sun was rising over the buildings, illuminating the world with light. He could only focus on the brightness of Aziel’s smile as he stared back at Satan.
Satan had grown up in a world of complete darkness and had never yearned for any sort of light. Until now. He took Aziel’s outstretched hand, hoping to see more of this light in the days to come.
