Chapter Text
Nick woke up under a tree in the middle of a field of white. Snow served as a blanket for the grass and a mattress for Nick. The tree was a pillow, although not a comfortable one, for Nick’s resting head. The human slowly pulled himself up from the tree and soon from the ground. Once he was on two feet, Nick turned to face the tree. Bright bordering neon red leaves dappled the branches of the maple tree he woke up under. This served to contrast the blue winter sky and the pure white snow.
Nick heard a flapping sound come from behind him, so he turned his head around to examine the field of nothingness. Standing far behind him was a figure who Nick could immediately recognize as himself. His doppelganger began to approach him as he turned around to fully face the figure.
Soon enough, the two were face-to-face.
“Hello, Nick.”
“Lucifer.”
“What a pleasure it is to finally have a vessel, and someone such as you, nonetheless,” Lucifer grabbed Nick’s hand and laid a kiss on his backhand. “While you may not be the most…optimal vessel, you certainly are next to best. You haven’t exploded on me yet.” The archangel laughed to himself.
Nick stood in front of one of the most powerful beings in the world with his arms crossed and a tired look on his face. Lucifer took Nick’s exact form, except Nick could see the faint shadow of wings against the white snow of his inner world.
“So, where is this justice you promised me?”
“Patience, Nick,” Lucifer said. “It will come eventually.”
“I said ‘yes’ because you said you would give me justice. For my wife and my son.”
“Oh, Nick,” Lucifer sighed softly. “That’s not totally the reason.”
Nick tensed up as Lucifer, still taking the human’s form, approached him.
“I can read your thoughts, Nick. I know exactly what goes on here in this noggin of yours.”
The angel’s form disappeared and then, like a snake, Lucifer wrapped himself around Nick, “You gave up your body to me because you didn’t want to be in control anymore.”
Nick frowned to himself after hearing Lucifer’s keen observation.
“Justice was just an afterthought, wasn’t it Nick? You want it, but not as much as you want me to take over your life.”
The human slowly nodded as he took Lucifer’s hands in his own. The archangel was visibly taken aback by the contact initiated by Nick, almost drawing back from him. The human peered over his shoulder to the fallen angel.
“I just want this to be over,” admitted Nick, gaining a true look of pity from Lucifer due to him already being caught off guard. “I’m never going to get over them, not truly. But I need closure. I need to know who did this to them. Then, I can move on.”
“Why would you want to move on?” asked Lucifer in a quiet voice.
“It’s what Sarah would want.”
Lucifer pulled away from Nick and composed himself before speaking again.
“But why move on? Why wouldn’t you try to find a way to fix everything?”
“Why do you care?” Nick interrogated the angel, turning back to him. “If everything gets magically fixed, you would be out of a vessel.”
Lucifer shrugged, “I could find another.”
Nick rolled his eyes at the fallen archangel as he turned to face Lucifer, “I don’t think everyone is exactly willing to be possessed by The Devil.”
“I could convince anyone to be my vessel,” Lucifer charmingly stated with a smirk.
“Yeah, sure,” Nick answered sarcastically as he smiled.
Lucifer put on an offended face.
“Yeah, I sure can,” Lucifer repeated.
“Prove it.”
“No. I don’t need to prove myself to you. You’re a human.”
“A human that is your vessel.”
“Nick,” Lucifer smiled, “you can’t be serious. I know you’re not serious.”
“You know?”
“I can hear your thoughts, Nick. Even the ones that don’t leave your mouth.”
Nick froze up as his face started turning red. Lucifer shot him a grin.
“On that quite suggestive note, it’s time to wake up.”
Lucifer snapped his fingers and suddenly Nick jolted up from his bed. He involuntarily looked down at his hands and moved them around. Nick could see what was happening in front of him, but he couldn’t react to anything.
He wasn’t in control.
Lucifer smiled as he set his vessel’s feet on the ground, “See, Nick? Nothing to worry about. I’ve got it from here.”
“Got what?” asked Nick internally.
“...It?”
“What is ‘it’?”
“I don’t know, Nick. This? Stop doubting me!”
“I’m not doubting your ability to ‘have it’; I’m just wondering if you actually know what ‘it’ is.”
“Of course I know what it is.”
“Then what is ‘it’?”
“...It’s an expression, Nick! Don’t get hung up on it.”
“It seems like you’re the one hung up on ‘it.’”
“Stop. You’re hurting my brain.”
“Hurting your brain? That’s a good one. This is my brain. Do angels even have brains?”
“It’s another expression!”
“I know, I’m just messing with you.”
“Well, stop it," Lucifer commanded, growing genuinely angry.
“Alright,” Nick would have shrugged if he could.
Lucifer looked down at his hands again and smiled to himself.
“You know, Nick, I’ve never had a vessel before.”
“What?”
“I was cast out of Heaven before humanity was put onto the Earth. You’re my first vessel.”
“I- I’m honored?”
“You should be. You’re hosting an archangel. I’m surprised you didn’t combust when I possessed you.”
“I could have combusted!?”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Nick.”
“I’m not being dramatic. I’m just concerned that I could spontaneously combust at any moment now.”
“Well, do you feel like you’re going to explode?”
“I- no?”
“Good. Then you won’t.”
“Thanks…”
“No problem,” Lucifer smiled as he began to walk out of Nick’s bedroom.
The fallen archangel took his time exploring his vessel’s house. Through the upstairs hallway, down to the kitchen, into the living room.
During this time, Nick grew very bored.
“You know you don’t have to watch me walk around, Nick.”
“Well, I think it’s kind of nice just watching something do everything for me.”
“You’re bored: I can tell.”
“Yeah, cause you’re walking through my house. My house is boring.”
“Whatever you say, Nick.”
Nick wasn’t aware when he stopped paying attention to what Lucifer was doing with his body, but he eventually pulled back from consciousness and for the first time in a long while, allowed himself to relax.
Until suddenly, Nick found himself in a completely new environment with a tall man with brown hair by his side.