Archive of Our Own

In the end, Lute had ended up in Hell too.

She too had lost everything. Her position, her soldiers... her wings. After having lost an arm in the first battle in which Hell and Heaven had actually faced each other, not happy of that she had also lost everything else.

But in Hell she had also found someone. Someone she thought he might never see again.

"Adam?" she had been calling him all over the garden, looking for him non-stop for half an hour now. "Adam, where are you?"

After the famous battle at the Hazbin Hotel, Adam was dead. But contrary to everyone's expectations, including her, he had not disappeared forever. He was reborn in a new form, a new body... no longer an angel, but a demon. An inhabitant of Hell like all the others, a sinner, one of those who he himself considered errors. But if anyone had thought for even a moment that this would have stopped him… they were sorely mistaken.

Adam had started a real crusade in Hell. No longer bound by the rules of Heaven, he had begun killing sinners without any hesitation. Initially he had exploited the very vanity of the demons to attract them to him, allowing himself to be captured and displayed like a trophy, and then massacred them all at once, razing entire neighborhoods to the ground. Then, when the demons had started to get smarter and had stopped looking for him, he had exploited their arrogance and their desire to feel superior, voluntarily going to the very busy neighborhoods and allowing himself to be recognized by the overlord on duty, confront him, let him defeat him and then, after briefly feigning inability to fight, kill him and all those who again came to observe the first man in chains. The Morningstars had then tried to stop him... but Adam hadn't stopped. He had continued his work more silently. Instead of personally killing thousands of demons in front of everyone, he went into hiding and began conducting terrorist attacks throughout Pentagram City. Every day bombs exploded somewhere, filled with angel dust that made them lethal. The Morningstars had tried to get him, but he was smart and always made sure not to leave any traces.

Within months, a fifth of the sinner population was dead and over half of the overlords no longer existed. Such numbers had never been recorded in the entire history of Hell. A triumph that Adam had celebrated by blowing up Lucifer's own palace. He didn't do it for a real reason, and he knew very well that it wouldn't kill the fallen angel and that he could rebuild him: he just wanted to let the king of the damned know that he could enter his house and plant a bomb there without him knowing, and that he could therefore hit anything he wanted with the same ease.

Lucifer had placed a bounty on his head, but no sinner was stupid enough to seek out Adam. The hellborns had immediately refused to offer help: the other Deadly Sins, after the attack on their king's palace, were too afraid of the first man, fearing that if they dared to help the Morningstars they would be next, and had therefore forbidden to all their servants to render any help; the infernal nobility had abandoned the Pride Ring, and nearly all low-class hellborns had done the same, save a few daredevils. The only ones who had been willing to really help the Morningstars, in the end, had been the guests of the princess's hotel, and not even all of them since Adam had already taken care to give Alastor the sack, breaking all his bones and leaving him alive just to make fun of him; that had probably been the only action Lucifer had approved of, even if he had refrained from saying it in front of his daughter.

But unfortunately for Adam, there had been a flaw in his plan. A flaw represented by Heaven.

Unfortunately, the kingdom of heaven had not kept the situation well under control, too scared by the defeat at the Hazbin Hotel, and in the end they had called a new Extermination. Lilith, the bitch who had hidden in Heaven for seven years, had used the opportunity to get Lute out of the way after she had threatened her: she had sent an anonymous message to her dreamy daughter and her imbecile husband warning them of the imminent attack, and so they had been able to counterattack in time. Lute had fought strenuously, using all the advantages derived from the new robotic arm that replaced the one she had lost in the last battle, but it had all been in vain. They had won again, and Lute found herself with her wings clipped and abandoned in Hell. And there, Adam had found her.

At first Lute couldn't believe it, and Adam had to reveal things only he could know to convince her. Immediately afterwards Lute was hit by emotions that she hadn't felt since the moment she saw him die: joy, happiness, euphoria. But in the end, even those emotions had faded. Not because she had found the first man again... but because of what he did immediately afterwards.

Because that was the day Adam gave up.

That same day he had gone to the Hazbin Hotel and officially declared his submission to the Morningstars. He hadn't given any explanations, he hadn't said why; he had only limited himself to bowing and acknowledging their authority, and promising obedience to their will. Lucifer had forbidden him any further killing and he had said yes without thinking twice. After that he left and retired.

And how did he retire?

Very simple: he had built a garden.

Adam had gone to one of the now uninhabited areas of Hell due to his violent work, and after razing the few remaining buildings he set about creating a replica of the Garden of Eden. Relying only on his memory and using plant and animal species native to Hell but quite similar to those of Earth, he had reconstructed it all. Tree after tree, flower after flower, blade of grass after blade of grass: everything had been placed exactly where Adam remembered them being. The garden had become his home, and it had also become Lute's home, who now spent his days cultivating the plants and feeding the animals with him.

Adam had kept his word. From that day on, he had never killed anyone again. No more demons had come to disturb him, and he had no longer gone looking for others.

His only interest seemed to have become his plants.

But Lute knew that wasn't the case. Lute knew Adam in every way and knew how dissatisfied he was. She knew he was angry and just wanted revenge. Yet there he was, standing in the garden, holding back those fighting feelings with all of his willpower.

And Lute felt a bad taste in her mouth because of this, because she knew exactly why Adam was holding back his desire to fight.

In any case, by always remaining in the garden, Lute normally managed to find him immediately even if she could no longer fly and look from above. The garden was large, but she knew his routes, and she was therefore able to trace him quickly almost always. There were rare times when she actually couldn't find him.

That day was one of those times. Lute had woken up and no longer found Adam. She had looked for him throughout the garden, exploring it inch by inch, but she hadn't seen him anywhere.

He wasn't at the tool shed. 

He was not in the flowery path.

He wasn't trimming trees.

He wasn't cleaning up some puddle.

He wasn't feeding the birds.

He wasn't even sitting under his favorite tree playing the guitar.

Not knowing where else to look, Lute reached the entrance to the garden, although it was unusual for Adam to be there as he rarely wanted to go near the gate. He didn't want to risk looking the other way and seeing Hell, and consequently vomiting on his own soles. He went there extremely rarely, and only for brief moments. But when Lute got there, she immediately understood why Adam was at the gate, as next to him was a familiar short angel in a big hat.

Adam was bent over a bed of petunia-like flowers, cutting away any large leaves. He was dressed as usual: his usual black tunic with a red 'A' on the chest covered in studs on the shoulders and collar that he had acquired when he first became a sinner. His wings, now black, were folded at his sides, as he did when he was still an angel and didn't feel like flying. His curved horns had turned red tips that glowed slightly, as they always did when he was irritated about something. And given the person he was with, it wasn't hard to understand why he was irritated.

As usual, as soon as Lute saw Lucifer she hid behind a tree. It was the only order Adam had given her in the garden: never to approach him when he was in the company of a Morningstar. Lute knew that he was afraid that Lucifer in a fit of rage would hit her, or would try to hit him and she would get in the way. Lute didn't like that restriction, but she obeyed anyway and every time she saw the fallen angel she stayed hidden.

Of course, that didn't mean she didn't listen to their conversations. And in fact even at that moment she pricked up her ears and leaned out slightly from behind the tree to be able to hear and see clearly what was happening.

“So, are you still farming?” the King of Hell asked, clearly trying to start a conversation.

"As you can see since I'm doing it in front of your eyes, yes" Adam answered him without stopping stirring the dirt.

"Well, you're doing a really good job!" Lucifer said smiling as big as he could. "I mean, look at these petunias, or these cedars, or these water lilies... it's all so perfect! I like it a lot! I would like to give you some advice as a friend, but I can't imagine anything that you don't already do yourself... and this fully demonstrates how good you are! Seriously, I really think you've found your calling!"

He continued talking for another five continuous minutes, without stopping. Lute tightened her fingers on the bark of the tree she was hiding behind; the voice of that being irritated her to the point that she would have gladly ripped out his tongue and made him swallow it again. But as usual she just gritted her teeth and respected the orders, and didn't show herself.

Lucifer finally seemed to realize that Adam wasn't even listening to him, because he stopped talking and his smile faded from his face. “Come on, Adam… is it that abominable for you to make conversation?”

“Do you have anything to ask me or order me?” Adam asked him simply.

Lucifer sighed. "No"

“Then you can go” Adam told him. "If you have no requests or demands, we have nothing to say to each other"

But Lucifer still didn't leave; instead, he flew directly in front of the first man's face. “Adam, you can't just ignore me"

Adam let out a grunt. "As you wish, Your Royal Majesty"

"It wasn't an order! I didn't mean that... urgh!" Lucifer rubbed his temples. “Adam… I really just want to help you”

"But I don't want your help" Adam replied. “I made it clear from the first day I surrendered"

Lute gritted her teeth. Yes, that damned day when Vaggie had ripped off her wings in some sort of pathetic revenge against her. That day when Adam, knowing that now she too couldn't leave Hell and was therefore a target, had given up. That day when he had renounced fighting and submitted to the will of the man he hated most, just to protect her.

The memory of that moment still burned in Lute's heart. It would probably burn forever.

She hated it. Vaggie had abandoned her in the middle of an alley, just like she had done years before, alone and without wings, and without even a weapon to defend herself. Adam had found her, taken her to his refuge and cared for her; and that same day, he had gone to the hotel and loudly declared that he was surrendering, promising never to touch a demon again unless it was in self-defense, exactly as Lucifer wanted. The King of Hell knew he had the advantage as long as Lute was trapped there and he exploited it all. By then, the stories of the great revolutionary Adam were officially over and he had retreated to his garden.

Lute hated herself for what Adam had been forced to do for her. She knew that even if she didn't say it out loud, he considered her weak. She wanted him to keep fighting, she knew he wanted to fight, to eradicate every damn demon from the face of the universe; but he couldn't. Not while she, who was too weak to even fight Vaggie, was there in Hell and could therefore be killed by the Morningstars at any time.

Adam was willing to take the risk for himself. Not for Lute.

For her, he was willing to submit.

And Lute hated herself for it.

Oh, and she obviously hated Vaggie too. She was willing to bet that bitch was gloating at the thought of defeating her. As if it had been a fair fight, and she hadn't had three other demons shooting at her in that moment.

"Surrendered? Is that still how you define it?" Lucifer asked.

"How else am I supposed to define it? I gave you what you wanted, I accepted your superiority. It's the definition of giving up. Want to check it in the dictionary?" Adam asked him sarcastically.

“I know what it means giving up!” Lucifer snapped. "What I'm trying to say is... are you still convinced that it wasn't worth letting go of?"

"Of course it was worth letting go of" Adam replied. “Why would I be here otherwise?”

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Lucifer exclaimed. "You know exactly what I mean!"

Adam groaned. "If you know that, then you know what I mean too. And you know that if it hadn't been for the reason that you know, I wouldn't have stopped"

Lucifer suddenly looked very tired. "Don't you still feel guilty?"

"No, and you already know that, so don't ask me those questions" Adam replied. "Why do you keep coming here? Your daughter already told me there's a place for me at the hotel if I want. In the unlikely event that I change my mind, I'll go there myself. Why do you keep coming to control me?"

“I don't want to control you, I want to help you!” Lucifer exclaimed. "Despite what you think of me, I'm not a monster! The last thing I want is your hate!"

"Tsk! You think I buy it? You never cared for thousands of years" Adam said sourly. "Be honest. You're doing this because your daughter cares. She cares, not you"

"I care too! Maybe I don't know how to express it well, but I care!" Lucifer replied.

Lute's fingers gripped the tree so tightly that they split the bark and penetrated the trunk. How dare that creep say he cared about Adam!? When had he ever shown it!? Lute remembered all the meetings they had with the rulers of Hell. In ninety-nine percent of cases, Lucifer didn't even show up, leaving his place to his wife. And when he showed up too, it was clear that he was just in a hurry to leave. Never a kind word, never a joking comment, not even a 'how are you'. He quickly ended the discussion, said yes or no depending on the circumstances, and then he left. Was that 'care' for him!?

He had so many opportunities to show that he cared and he never did. At every meeting Adam had made an effort to have at least a modicum of conversation, Lucifer never. Lucifer just wanted to get everything done quickly. If that was having an interest in a person for him, it was a depressing interest indeed. Who knows what he did to those who didn't interest him at all...

Adam suddenly turned and finally looked Lucifer in the eyes. "You say you want to help me, that you're not a monster, that you care? Fine" he said. "Come on. Show me you're telling the truth"

Lucifer was dumbfounded. "Uh... what?"

“Show me you mean it” Adam repeated. "Show me that you really care about others"

Lucifer was more confused than ever. "Oh, come on, what should I do? Do I have to open my head and show you my brain to make you understand that I'm sincere? How should I convince you? What could I do or say that testifies to my good faith?"

“The mere fact that you ask me that fully proves that you don't really care" Adam replied with a grunt. “If you cared, you would know. I refuse to believe that you are stupid enough to not understand this, so if you don't see it it can only mean that you don't care enough to really look into the situation and understand the roots of the problem"

Lucifer went a little red in the face. "Are you implying that I'm the problem?" he growled. "Don't talk nonsense! You're the one who refuses to let go of a thousand-year-old grudge! Besides, it's your fault you weren't a good husband"

Perhaps he hoped to enrage him with this provocation, but Adam was not angry. He only looked at him with contempt. "See? You can't see it. So you don't really care"

Lucifer became even more annoyed, but ultimately decided it was best to let it go. He didn't feel like starting a fight. "Well, do as you wish. Continue to enjoy your beloved plants, they certainly love you more than people" he told him. He started to fly away, but then he seemed to remember something, and he pulled a letter out from under his shirt: "Oh, right... Charlie wanted me to deliver this to you"

Adam took it and opened it. He barely read the first three lines, and then he burst out laughing loudly. He laughed like he hadn't in months. Lucifer was surprised by that. "Um... what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that your daughter is really good at making up jokes" Adam said, wiping away some tears. "Tell her that one of the talents she absolutely doesn't lack is making people laugh. She's really good"

Lucifer took on a pompous expression. "Well... modestly she has taken that after me, even if she still has a long way to go to surpass the master!"

And incredibly, Adam didn't contradict him. "Yes, we agree on this. I can only confirm" he said. "We can say we have at least one thought in common"

Lucifer puffed out his chest proudly. "See? We can at least agree on something!" he said satisfied. "Well, I'll leave you alone. Good job!"

And after those words he finally flew away.

Lute emerged from her hiding place and approached Adam. The first man was continuing to read the letter without stopping giggling. “What makes you laugh so much, sir?”

"Only the irony that that stupid princess managed to bring out without even realizing it" Adam replied, handing her the letter and pointing to a phrase with his finger.

Lute read with curiosity, and when she got to that point she felt the urge to tear the letter into little pieces, and she didn't do it just because doing so would dirty the garden with paper. The letter was, as usual, a ridiculous jumble of invitations to forgive and start over, those things that Charlie wrote to the first man continuously, inviting him to be better... and the sentence indicated by Adam contained the words: "It starts with sorry".

Lute's eyes flashed. How dare that girl write something like that!? How dare a Morningstar be so brazen!?

As if Adam was the one who had to apologize to them! Of course, because the fact that that little princess's father had literally ruined the first man's life didn't matter! It mattered nothing that Lucifer had taken his wife with impunity, that he had also slept with his second wife, that through his fault Adam had lost Eden and had been condemned to a life of toil on Earth, that he had lost his two firstborn sons, that... she couldn't even make a single list of all the shit that man had to go through because of a Morningstar. Why didn't that princess say "It starts with sorry" to her father? Oh, right, because Morningstars were never wrong.

Lute was fuming. She didn't think she could get angrier than she normally already was, but just reading those words was driving her crazy. "Ironic, right?" Adam asked her with a smile, though the tone of his voice was clearly unamused.

Lute let out a growl. “It can't go on like this” she said. “Sir, we need to make them pay!”

"No" was Adam's prompt response. "I stopped fighting. I gave my word"

"Since when does a word given to a demon count for anything!?" Lute exclaimed. "You can't continue like this, sir! I know you're burning with the desire for revenge! You can't continue this voluntary exile in this garden, while that asshole, that cursed angel who betrayed you, humiliated you and almost killed you, continues to come here to bother you and to treat you with superiority as if he were free of any guilt! You must teach him a lesson, show him that he cannot do as he pleases, that you can make him pay if you want...!"

“Lute… no” Adam told her. The tone of his voice was tired and his expression even more so. "I can not do that"

Lute fell silent, and then she stared at the ground at the first man's feet, unable to lift her head again. Her body was shaken by a deep tremor and the gnashing of her teeth was audible even from the distance. "Lute..." Adam tried to tell her.

But she didn't listen to him; she turned and ran away, disappearing among the trees of the garden. Perhaps the first man tried to chase her, but in terms of agility she absolutely had the advantage over him. Reaching a small lake, she finally stopped, and knelt before it and looked at her reflection in the water. After less than a second, her expression turned furious and she began punching her reflection.

Why!?

Why, why, why!?

Why was she so weak!? So fragile, so miserable, so incapable of fighting truly powerful opponents!?

Lute knew it was her fault that Adam refused to fight anymore. He had given up on his purpose as soon as he found her and since then he had always refused to act, even after all of Lucifer's provocations, even after all of Charlie's (involuntary) insults. Lute knew that the first man longed to continue his fight, to continue to thwart the Morningstars until he had no breath left in his body. But he didn't. And he didn't do it... because of her.

Adam knew Lute was weak. She was not like him, powerful and strong, capable of facing overlords, infernal nobles, and even members of the royal family as equals. She was a weak Exorcist angel who, even though she excelled everyone else to the point of earning the title of lieutenant, was just a big fish in a small pond. Outside of that pond, she was worth next to nothing.

She could fly faster than any bird, but Adam and most of his enemies could move faster than sound. If they really wanted, they could even reach speeds close to light for a few fractions of a second.

She could thrust a spear into a demon's body and pull it out effortlessly, but Adam and his enemies possessed enough strength to shatter magical barriers, walls, shields, and even dimensional fabric with a punch. One gesture would have been enough for any of them to transform her into a shapeless mass of blood, guts and brain mush.

She could use an angelic spear, but Adam and his enemies used no such weapons; on the contrary, their very bodies were their weapons, and at most they used their own energy to create some on the spot or modify them at will. Every fiber, muscle and even cell in their bodies was designed and built to strike, destroy and kill.

She could at most hurl her spear at the enemy, while Adam and his enemies could blast energy beams from their hands, unleash destructive magic, or even create dimensional portals.

Compared to all these forces, Lute was worth nothing. She had been the strongest among the Exorcists, but if she had dared to intervene in a real battle between Adam and a powerhouse of Hell, whoever they were, she would have been reduced to ashes without the two contenders even realizing it. She was the definition of the word useless. And now that she no longer even had her wings she couldn't even escape in time if the situation became dangerous, making the chances of getting caught in the crossfire very high.

This is why Adam had given up fighting. Because he knew that if she followed him into battle she would have surely died. And even if Lute had held back and agreed to stay behind, the Morningstars or anyone else might have taken advantage of the first man's absence to kidnap her and use her as a hostage, or kill her in a show of force.

Adam had fought without any fear until she ended up here in Hell. But after she got stuck there, he gave up. He had given up because he now had a weakness, and that weakness was Lute.

She put her hands in front of her face. The awareness of being Adam's weak point, the man who could bring that world of horrible sinners to its knees, made her want to slap herself. She hated herself for forcing the first man to hold back, to endure the unwanted visits of Lucifer and the sweet words of his hideous daughter, to accept that demons could proliferate unchecked while he wasted his time in a garden growing flowers.

She was the cause of his torment.

She put her hands in her hair and tightened it. Why hadn't Vaggie killed her that day, when she had defeated her? Why hadn't she taken her life instead of just clipping her wings? If she had died, Adam would have had no chains.

It would have been better for him.

He would have been better off if she hadn't been around.

He would have been better... if she were...!

"Lute"

She barely turned around. Adam had landed behind her and folded his wings behind his back. "Lute, please, listen to me. I know you want revenge, but..."

"Stop it" Lute whispered.

Adam fell silent in surprise. "What...?"

"Stop worrying about me!" Lute screamed in a hoarse voice as a few tears fell from her eyes. "Stop holding back to protect me! Stop not fighting because I'm so weak!"

Adam was speechless. "Lute... it's not for..."

"I know full well that's why!" Lute exclaimed, hiding her face in her hands. She was too ashamed to have started crying in front of the one who, even if not formally, was still her general in her heart, but she couldn't stop, and so at least she wanted to cover that. "I know you think I'm too weak to face all this, and I know you're right! But I can't keep seeing you like this! I can't be the chain that holds you in this damned garden! So stop being afraid for me! If I die it doesn't change shit, if you give up it changes everything! You can't continue to tolerate those demons, those sinners, that... fallen angel! Not... not for me!"

"Lute, you're not weak" Adam told her.

"Stop lying!" Lute replied. "I know you think of me as such! I know you think I'm not capable of taking on this battle! I know that..."

"Lute, you are not weak" Adam repeated in a much firmer voice. "You are much stronger than me. I am the weak one"

Lute finally stopped and took her hands off her face a little in surprise. "What... what do you mean...?"

Adam let out a deep sigh, and then he sat down next to her in front of the lake. His posture was not straight and confident as he used to show, but slightly hunched, without any resistance. "Lute... you are an extraordinary person, and your strength of spirit is something I can only dream of. When you thought I was dead you didn't even think for a moment about giving in to despair, but you immediately mobilized to avenge me and continue our mission. You are strong. Your heart is strong". He let out a deep snort through his nostrils. "For thousands of years I fought with all of you because I believed that God would have protected us. Now I see that He never really cared about us. And if He doesn't protect us... then anything can happen. A battlefield is a dangerous place, and if something were to happen to you... I already know that I wouldn't be able to go on. I know for a fact that unlike you, if you died... I would die too"

Lute had been somewhat surprised; it was the first time Adam had really opened up to her like that. In Heaven he had always avoided letting any weakness show, since his morale was the morale of the army, and as general he had the responsibility to keep it high; and even in Hell, even if he no longer maintained his pompous air, he still continued to remain quite closed in on himself. That age was the first time he really let his feelings show. "Sir..."

"If I died, Lute, you would go on. You have already proven it. You would continue to fight and fight, because for you what is important is the mission. You have a strong heart and you do not allow adversity to bend you" Adam told her. "If you were to die... I would lose the reason I have to fight. My revenge, my resentment towards the Morningstars, my desire to eradicate the scum... it would all be useless. I would not have the strength to carry on. I... I would have lost everything I really have left. And I wouldn't have the strength to find another purpose to fight. My heart... is not strong enough. Between the two of us, you are the strong one, and I am the one weak"

Lute bit her lip. “It's still… my fault” she said. "If I could fight, you wouldn't have to worry about these things..."

"I would have surrendered even if our opponents had been a colony of alley cats" Adam told her. "I gave up not because I didn't consider you strong enough to face our enemies, Lute... I gave up because I don't have the strength to accept that you could be put in danger, any danger. The thought that something could happen to you stops me , even if you can deal with the situation. You're not the problem... it's me who's too cowardly to run the slightest risk of losing you"

Lute finally removed her hands completely from her face. Adam wasn't looking at her, as if he didn't want to meet her disappointed eyes. Instinctively, she moved a little closer to him. "Sir... I don't believe... this is cowardice..."

"Yes, it is" Adam told her. "I know very well that you can face all this, and that you would if you could. But I keep you here, imprisoned in this garden, because I am too afraid of losing you. I am no better jailer than the idiot who comes to bother me occasionally"

Lute's eyes widened slightly. He never thought he'd hear Adam compare himself to Lucifer. "Sir... you are not like him..."

"Yet I am holding you prisoner here, ignoring your wishes, and making you suffer with my actions" Adam replied to her. "I'm not blind, Lute. I saw how bad you were because I refused to fight. But I didn't have the courage to comply with your wishes. I didn't want to accept the risk that I might lose you. I put myself before you". He let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry. I know you want me to be the brave person I insist on being, but... that's not me. That's me only if I have nothing to lose. Once I have something I already know I would suffer for the loss... I don't have the strength to fight"

Silence fell between the two of them.

Lute could hear the first man's deep breathing, and even though she couldn't look at his face, she knew that he had taken on a very dejected expression. He was really sincere in what he was saying. For the first time, he had truly exposed himself to her judgment without any mask.

She remained silent for at least ten seconds. And then, a short whisper emerged from her mouth: "Sir... you are not a coward. Being afraid... is human"

Adam gave no sign of even hearing her, but with her keen eyes she clearly noticed some muscles tense. She knew he was listening to her. "When you died... I didn't continue to fight for the mission" she told him. “I didn't care about the mission anymore. I didn't give a shit. I kept going because I knew that if I stopped and tried to think of something else… I would have collapsed. I was afraid of actually dealing with your loss. I didn't have the courage. It was much easier... to pretend that nothing had happened and to continue pursuing my usual duties, without thinking about anything else. I wasn't stronger than you... I simply dealt with that weakness in a different way than you"

Adam finally turned to her. His face was still expressionless, but his eyes betrayed his emotion. "I'm sorry" he said. “I just can't seem to help but make you unhappy"

Lute rested her head on his shoulder. "No... I don't think so" she replied. "Now I don't feel unhappy. You just make me feel... safe"

Adam was silent for a moment, and then he opened one of his wings and wrapped it around her, and he pulled her a little closer to his body. "Yes... you too" he murmured in just a whisper.

The two of them remained still like that, intent on staring at the lake in front of them. They both felt safer than ever despite being in Hell. It was as if the world outside the garden had disappeared and only them were left, there in that place full of colorful trees and strangely shaped flowers, which however still gave a sense of peace.

At a certain point, Lute was overcome by a strange impulse. Maybe it was the proximity to the first man's body, maybe it was that very quiet place, maybe it was the roar of the water and the touch of the wind that created the right atmosphere; the fact is that she raised her robotic arm and with it she took Adam's right hand, who looked at her confused. "Lute...?"

"Let's not think about it anymore" she said as she took his left hand with the hand she still had. "Let's leave these problems aside. Let's forget how much we are both afraid, about all our insecurities... and how much each of us doesn't want to lose the other"

She stood up and went in front of him, still holding his hands, and she pulled lightly; she knew she had no hope of lifting Adam's enormous body if he didn't want it, but that gesture was enough to make the first man understand the invitation, who rose to his full stupendous height. "All these things don't matter anymore" Lute continued to tell him. "It's just the two of us, in this garden of ours. Here in the garden there are no problems. And this garden of ours, with the lawn covered with these beautiful flowers grown with so much effort, and the trees arranged around us like spectators, and this orchestra composed of the rustling of the leaves and the noise of the water of this lake... it's a beautiful ballroom"

With a slight movement she brought the first man closer to her. “And the only question we have to ask ourselves is… what can we do in a ballroom?”

Adam let out a soft moan. "We dance?" he asked, clearly unsure if he was answering right.

Lute didn't answer him; she simply smiled and started dancing to the rhythm of that strange music made up of water, wind and leaves. It was a wild music, without any rules imposed by composers and musicians, completely irrational and in some ways cacophonous, yet it seemed to contain a certain beauty, something exotic and primitive, which made it incomprehensible yet wonderful. Adam followed her, imitating her steps, and he too danced to the rhythm of the music that nature was creating for them.

It didn't take long for Adam to take the initiative again, taking Lute by the side and brushing his fingers over the stumps of her wings, but without doing her any harm. Lute let him do it and placed her left hand on his shoulder, at the base of his neck, while she continued to keep an iron grip on the first man's right hand with her robotic arm. Adam opened his wings slightly, letting them spread around them, enveloping them like a train. They could both feel each other's bodies relax and calm, as if that dance had the power to truly make their problems disappear. Or maybe it was the proximity to each other that did it.

Initially neither of them looked at the other's face; their eyes pointed in random directions, each time being distracted by something; whether it was a strange sound, a blur in the peripheral field of their vision, or even the hair that became disheveled and slipped on their forehead due to rapid movements, there was always a reason not to stare at the other's face. They both knew that if they had done it there, in the midst of that hypnotic dance, with only that garden around them so similar to Eden and at the same time so different, something irreparable could have happened.

But evidently fate was against their thinking. Or simply the old man who had decided to create the universe had really had a lot of fun behind their backs while he was writing it.

The fact is that at a certain point Lute put one foot on a rock and slipped backwards, and Adam promptly held her, blocking both of them in a rather explanatory position: she in an almost totally horizontal position and clinging to him, he holding her in almost princely manner as he leaned in her direction. And finally their gazes met again, and they both could see themselves reflected in each other's pupils.

They remained enchanted in each other's eyes for an indefinite time. And then Lute moved her lips slightly. "Sir...?"

"Yes?" Adam asked her.

"When you said you were too weak to lose anything..." Lute murmured as she moved closer to his face. "... did you mean that you can't lose any of your Exorcists?"

Adam inspired deeply. "No" he answered. "Just one"

And with those words he closed the distance between them and placed his lips on hers. Lute returned the kiss vigorously, and she closed her eyes as if she wanted to savor it completely without any interference from her other senses. Adam in turn closed his eyes and brought her closer to him, as if he wanted to taste her body as much as possible.

Here in the garden, there weren't their problems, their insecurities, their fears.

Here in the garden, there were just the two of them.

And they loved it truly a lot.