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He nervously tugged at his blond hair. It was ridiculous; he had arranged the meeting himself and deliberately chosen a neutral location for it. Nevertheless, his heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat, cutting off his breath.
All he was doing was meeting with his older brother, Lucifer. It had been over 10,000 years since they had last seen each other. At his heavenly trial, which had condemned him to a life in hell. He sentenced him for, damned him, and cast him down into hell.
Since Lucifer's banishment, much had changed up here in Heaven, including himself and his other siblings. Heaven and Hell now worked together.
Sinners could atone for their sins and thus redeem themselves. Of course, things didn't always go according to plan, but they tried, and more and more sinners turned to the better and were able to ascend to Heaven.
And now, several years after the first rehabilitation, it had become an integral part of his life. And none of this would have been possible without his niece.
He now works side by side with Charlie, who was a wonderful girl. A strong woman who didn't take shit from sinners or winners and remained true to herself and her principles. Sometimes he admired her for that.
He never would have thought it possible to have a second family in hell. For Michael, as an archangel, it seemed unthinkable, but it was true, and he didn't wanted it any other way.
For this reason, he had wanted to meet with his twin brother Lucifer. He wanted to talk to him, to apologize for not even giving him and his ideas a chance. If he had, he might have been able to prevent his downfall, but at the time he was too narrow-minded to accept a way of thinking different from that of Heaven.
Today he regretted that and pinned all his hopes for a new beginning on this meeting.
There could be no better place for this meeting than the In-Between, a place that belonged neither to heaven nor to hell. Here, they were equals. A place where no bad blood was shed, yet a place that connected them both.
When Michael saw Lucifer, he swallowed the lump in his throat.
Of course, Charlie had shown him photos of his brother, but seeing him in real life was something else entirely. They were born twins, sharing the same face, and in the past there had been very little difference between them. Even now, they still looked alike.
Even after all these years, he could still picture Lucifer's face clearly, but standing before him was someone else who looked so much like his Lucifer, yet at the same time so different.
The bright blue of his eyes had faded, now sparkling ruby red, his pupils like those of a snake. His porcelain-colored skin, blackened on his arms and hands, marked by Michael's attack on Lilith. Instead of a radiant halo, a crown with a snake and the apple of damnation sat enthroned on his head.
Nevertheless, Michael could still recognize his beloved brother immediately. His twin, whom he had betrayed and hurt so badly. His stomach began to churn, his guilty conscience was unbearable. Seeing what he had done to his brother hit him like hailstones.
“Hello Michael,” he heard Lucifer's voice, which hadn't changed even after thousands of years. Michael couldn't interpret his brother's gaze. Was he angry, was he seeking revenge?
All the preparation for this conversation evaporated. “Thank you for coming,” he finally said, still studying his brother. “To be honest, I wouldn't have come if Charlie hadn't made me,” Lucifer confessed calmly, looking Michael deep in the eyes, who was only slightly taller than himself. His gaze was neither piercing nor hateful.
“Understood,” Michael nodded. He knew he shouldn’t expect too much from this meeting; the wounds they had inflicted on each other were too deep for that.
“But it would be hypocritical of me to support Charlie and not believe in second chances,” Lucifer smiled slightly and took a step toward Michael. “And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy that my little brother wanted to see me.”
Michael caught his breath and, after all these years, he wanted nothing more than to hug his brother again, just as they used to do after a fight, but they were still a long way from that. Perhaps they would never be as close as they used to be.
Nevertheless, he was willing to take advantage of this second chance. “I'm glad to hear that, Lucifer,” he said and laughed, which Lucifer responded to with an almost identical laugh. It was the beginning of a long journey, but the brothers wanted to try to repair their broken bond.