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“are you sure this is a good idea?” lucifer asks - not worried, he’d insist - as barbatos leads him past the gates of diavolo’s castle. it’s refreshingly cold for a night in hell, only illuminated by the moon and occasional luminous plant.
the butler only looks back at him for a moment, but lucifer is still able to catch the smirk on his face. “of course i am. you know it isn’t often that diavolo allows me to leave his side.”
lucifer huffs, resigning himself to whatever the other demon is planning and speeding up slightly so they're walking side by side. “yeah, you’re right about that… i just hope my brothers won’t act up while i’m gone.”
“it will be fine, i assure you.” barbatos pauses momentarily to look at its surroundings before straying from the street’s path and into the woods. if lucifer didn’t know any better, he’d assume it’s leading him into a setup. but instead, he silently follows, not letting go of its hand despite how unseemly it would be if they were seen together.
it’s only a few minutes later when barbatos finally stops. after pushing through trees and thorn bushes, they’re left in a small, secluded clearing that hums faintly with magic. it’s clearly not natural, given the perfectly circular shape cut between the forest. moonlight shines through crooked branches above, highlighting the small blue flowers scattered along the ground. barbatos himself smiles faintly upon seeing it, then turns back to lucifer. “what do you think?”
lucifer steps forward, looking around with wide eyes. he’s sure he’s seen every inch of hell by now, so how could he possibly miss this? “what… is this?”
“a place of my own,” barbatos answers, kneeling down and grabbing a flower between his fingers. “a home, i suppose. i created it eons ago, and yet it still hasn’t disappeared.” his face falls, “...even now, though i never have the chance to return.”
the avatar of pride stares silently for a moment, taking in how unprofessional barbatos looks, how vulnerable, before deciding to sit down next to him. barbatos settles at his side, sighing. “but it does have something special.” he reaches over to grab lucifer’s hand again, warm even through their gloves. “time stops for everybody in it temporarily. for the moment, we are free of our obligations.”
it turns to look at its partner, face hopeful. “so, what do you say? shall we indulge?”
a brief pause as lucifer takes that in. then, he asks, “how long does it take effect for?”
“twenty four hours. once it is over, this place will disappear and everything will continue as normal.” barbatos notices the hesitant look on lucifer’s face, adding, “i promise you that nothing will happen while we are here. it’s just for tonight.”
lucifer goes quiet for a moment. “...just for tonight,” he repeats, shifting slightly as to more comfortably lean against the butler. if nobody can see them, then who cares? they don’t have to put up an image here.
“i… want to rest,” barbatos admits, and it’s now that lucifer realizes how tired he looks. “you should as well. diavolo really has been working us to death lately, hasn’t he?”
“then let us rest,” lucifer responds, “if we truly don’t have to worry. y- we really deserve a break.”
“we do, don’t we?” barbatos chuckles. “well, we don’t need to think about him.” he sighs happily, closing his eyes, “right now, we have all the time in the world.”