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Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star. It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago.
Maybe the star doesn't even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything…”
— Haruki Murakami
Valentine's Day was a stupid human holiday that invaded Heaven’s culture like a plague. It was a time of great stupidity, where every executioner started going on and on about their love lives and their partners, the plans they had after training, the wines and flowers they received as gifts, or even the new sword they were going to give away to show their love and appreciation. It was sickening. These powerful Angels, who destroyed lowly demon scum and made up the entirety of Heaven’s mighty army, floundering over their emotions like fucking pansy’s.
She hated it.
It was a waste, this stupid holiday. A waste of manpower, a waste of a good day, a waste to let her fellow Executioners go home early. All in all, it was a big fat fucking waste.
Lute took her aggression out against a training dummy, slashing and stabbing at the manikin like it had personally murdered her entire family. She was a flurry of movement, a hurricane of energy and motion that was made up entirely of spiteful fury. She ducks and rolls, dodging imaginary blows and ignoring the sweat that clings to her brow as she continues her attack with no sign of stopping. Her anger filled the training room, pissed off that she was training by herself and pissed off that she was by herself.
She hated this stupid holiday.
With a final swipe, she swings her spear and takes off the dummy’s head, watching as it falls to the floor and rolls to her feet. The stitched x’s it had for eyes stared up at her mockingly. Lute felt frustration bubble in her chest, making her lungs feel tight and her uniform feel suffocating. With a loud, animalistic yell, she kicks the dummy’s head into the wall so hard its stuffing spills out against the concrete like a mock version of plastered brains.
She hated this stupid fucking holiday!
“Wohoho, watch where you aim that shit, danger tits. You almost took out my beautiful, handsome mug!”
Lute instantly froze, standing rigid for a few seconds as it took her some time to register that her boss had walked in on her, destroying government property. In the next instant, Lute has her hand on her chest, back as straight as could be as she salutes her superior.
“Sir! It is good to see you, sir!”
Adam, angelic mask still firmly in place, waved her off with a casual disregard as he walked into the room proper. “Yeah, yeah, calm your tits, lieutenant. Don’t get your fucking knickers in a twist, I’m just here for some of my gear.”
“Yes, sir!” Lute still kept her salute rigid and strong. She would not just calm down in front of her superior, the general of the Extermination Corps. She was a professional, an Exterminator, and this was Adam. First man, first creation, first human to descend to angel status. He deserved her respect.
“Of fuck yes! I knew those bitches hid my guitar here!”
Even if he was… unconventional.
Adam turned back to Lute, guitar in hand as he made his way to the door. “Alright, time to get the fuck outta here. Laters!” Adam gives a mocking wave, laughing as he heads for the door.
The angel could only watch him leave, still rigid in her salute. Watching him turn the corner and leave the barracks without a second glance, she couldn’t help but feel a little bitter. Of course Adam wouldn’t stick around here. Definitely not on a holiday like this one. He was probably out there, living it up with a pretty thing, just like the rest of her team was.
Unlike how she was, wasting her evening here, taking out her aggression on cheap military dummy’s.
Lute felt a frustrated breath of air escaping her as she slumped, salute dropping as she looked down at her spear. There was a painful ache in her chest, probably the result of working too hard after a long day of patrols. Her eyes followed the sharp edges of her angelic spear, trying to remember the joy of taking care of demon scum in the last extermination. Anything to take her mind off her pathetic lack of exploits.
Yet, the only image she can conjure is her subordinate looking up at her with terror, one eye missing as her wings were ripped from her back.
The pang of betrayal still runs deep, even all these months later. Lute felt a snarl grace her lips, a deep growl coming up from her throat as she threw the spear away from her with so much pent up rage. She watches as it clanks uselessly against the ground, not a scratch on it, panting in exertion despite not even fighting.
“You know,” a voice startled her again, her head whipping around to see Adam once again standing in the doorway, “I came back here to see what you were still doing here when the rest of my girls had already left, but now I’m more curious about what the fuck that expensive as shit spear did to you.”
Lute is once again saluting, staring straight ahead as she forces her irritation down into her chest to fester. “My apologies, sir! I should not have thrown company property as aggressively as that, sir!”
“Fucking christ, danger tits, cool your jets. I can practically feel the hero worship from here.” Adam’s mask gave a wide, arrogant grin. “Not that I’m complaining, I am pretty fucking awesome.”
Lute slowly relaxed her posture, her salute falling a little slack. “I apologize, sir. You caught me off guard, that's all.”
“Yeah, I fucking bet. You look like you were about to tear that spear apart, toots.”
“I apologize, sir.” Lute bit out the reply. She had a lot of respect for Adam, she had to when he was ruling the Extermination Corps with an iron fist, but his attitude made her want to knock his teeth in. Adam just snorted in response to her small attitude, leaning back against the barracks wall.
“I said to relax, lieutenant. Jesus fucking Christ, it’s like talking to a brick wall.”
Adam didn’t actually look too irritated at Lute for her grandstanding, all things considered. It was that fact alone that made Lute seriously consider relaxing a bit. Taking her hand and placing it at her side, Lute fully relaxed to stand across from Adam, uncertain at what the man even wanted from her. Slowly, she goes to pick up her spear, taking it in her hands as she swings it around and makes sure she doesn't cause any serious damage. Adam just stares at her, a contemplative look coming over his mask.
“… Did you need anything else, sir?”
Adam just shook his head, a chuckle reaching her ears. “Nope! Like I said, I just wanted to know why a hot dame like yourself isn’t out enjoying the holiday. Seems like a fucking waste to stay training in this shit hole.”
Lute could only roll her eyes. “I have no need for distractions like romance. All they do is prevent me from doing my job.” Belatedly, she realized she didn’t address him with a respectful title at the end of her statement. “… Sir.”
“All work, no play, eh? My kinda gal!”
Lute felt an amused huff leave her, ignoring how her tight chest felt a little lighter. “And why are you here, sir? Shouldn’t you be out on the town, blessing the ladies with your presence?”
Her tone is a little mocking, but mostly serious. Why was the general here? From everything that Adam has ever said, he was a true ladies man. The kind of guy who would bar crawl for the sole purpose of landing himself a dame for the evening, before rinsing and repeating the entire process the following night and the night after that. Valentine’s Day seemed like his kinda jam, especially with how many desperate singles would be out looking for a fun time to fill their lonely depressing lives.
Lute ignores the fact that she was technically one of those depressing singles.
“No way!” Adam started, confidence carrying through his every move as he waves around his guitar and shows off his posture. “Me? Sticking it with just one lady on the day of love? I’d be depriving the whole of Heaven with my awesome dick powers!”
She snorted, eyes full of amusement as a small smile graced her lips. “Oh, yeah?”
“Oh fucking yeah. You better believe the babes were crawling all over me earlier today, toots. I couldn’t just pick one!”
Lute let out a laugh, surprised at the fact that she was starting to find her boss charming, of all things. He was being ridiculous. It was… kinda cute. Lute shook her head, banishing those thoughts away. This was her superior, the angel she was most loyal to in the entirety of Heaven. The leader of their cause, the man who started Extermination Day. She couldn’t be thinking things like that about him.
But, she couldn’t really help herself, watching him talk on with that charismatic tone. Maybe she was just lonely, on this stupid fucking holiday. Maybe that was what was messing with her head.
“… Hey, General?” Lute spoke before she could stop herself, even as the confines of her mind screamed this was a stupid idea. “I got some shitty wine as a gift for my promotion a couple months ago. Wanna crack it open?”
Adam didn’t even pause in his exclamation. “Of fucking course I do. Shit, who doesn’t like free alcohol?”
“Of… course, sir. I’ll just go get it then.” Lute couldn’t believe this was happening. She was gonna drink wine with the general, like some sad loner singles party with just them. What even was her life at this point.
Still, she puts her spear away and heads to her room to grab the bottle, stopping by the barracks kitchens for two mismatched wine glasses on the way. By the time she gets back, Adam is impatiently waiting for her, practically vibrating as he turns his angelic guitar.
“Fucking finally, toots. Come on, let’s drink this shit on the roof. It’s got a decent enough view.”
Without even waiting for her, he’s already flying up to the building's highest point. All Lute can do is follow, ignoring how light her chest feels as she does. When she lands, she lands right next to Adam at the peak of the building. Adam was already taking his helmet off, placing it to his side as he grabbed the wine from her hand and popped the cork off.
He was… a lot more rugged than Lute expected. She hadn’t really seen him without his mask on. The angel was rather strict on keeping the thing on his head during daily routines and training. It was a little weird to see him without it, all things considered. He just… looked like a regular guy.
A regular handsome guy, her traitorous mind spoke. She shook her head, snatching the bottle from Adam as he laughed at her, pouring two large helpings of wine into the glass. Taking a large swig of the shitty red, Lute chalked up the heat on her face to the wind that was resounding around Heaven at the moment. Yeah, that had to be it.
“So, come on, danger tits. Tell me the real reason you are alone on this holiday of loooove~” Adam teased, clearly mocking her as he took a large swig of his drink.
She huffed in reply. “What about you, sir? I don’t believe for a second you wouldn’t have sprung at the chance to take some quote-unquote babe out for a night on the town.” If she was being a little daring, she’d blame the alcohol later.
“Oh, feisty.” Adam gave her a wolfish grin, wiggling his eyebrows as he did. “Alright, fine, you got me. I just fucking hate this holiday.”
She snorted into her wine glass. “I find that hard to believe, sir. I’d be hard pressed to find a woman who wouldn’t want to be with you.”
“I know, right?! It’s fucking bullshit. But,” Adam stopped for a second, swirling his glass as he stares at the liquid, “you’d be fucking surprised.”
That’s when Lute remembers the rumors, the ones that would circle even when she was in basic training. The first man, the first man that God ever created, spurned by the woman — his wife — that was created just for him. Twice. She always chalked it up to rumors, jealous angels speaking bullshit behind their superiors' backs because they were insecure about their own positions in the military hierarchy. Though, it seems like they weren’t just rumors.
Lute looked down in her wine glass. Vaggie’s face appears in it before she sneers and tosses the wine back, making it disappear along with half her glass of Merlot.
“I say fuck ‘em! Anyone insane enough to reject you, sir, didn’t deserve you in the first place!”
Adam let out a loud laugh in response, knocking his head back with the intensity of it. “Oh, you are a fucking riot, danger tits!” His laugh slowly died off, tears of mirth in his eyes that he slowly wipes away. Raising his glass to her, he gives her a genuine smirk. “You know, you aren’t half bad, lieutenant.”
Lute ignores the warmth that covers her cheeks, raising her glass to clink it together with Adam’s. “You aren’t half bad yourself, sir.”
Lute didn’t quite understand Valentine's Day. It was a ridiculous holiday that let her angels get out of work early. A day for couples, based on Saint Valentine? It’s a stupid concept. Especially when she’s never had a single successful romantic dalliance in her life. All it did was remind her of pain, remind her of a woman’s face staring at her in agony as Lute ripped off her wings, reminded her of the loneliness of her own home and the emptiness in her chest that was left there when she went to bed alone each night.
But now? Sitting on the barracks roof, wine in hand, Adam at her side with his stupid smug grin and his stupid dimples and his stupid jokes.
Well, maybe she could get behind the holiday after all.