10: Taking This One to the Grave.

"Think of it like being back in Detroit," Lucifer told Zarya. He had led her down some hallways after they finished training until reaching a bedroom for her. Dhampirs may have an odd sleep schedule, but they still sleep eventually. He also figured she might appreciate the privacy.

She sighed and shook her head. Much like Detroit, he had even gone out of his way to grab a bag of her clothes that sat on the bed. "You're an ass."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "You remind me so frequently, my love. Call if you need me. Or when you realize that you want me."

She rolled her eyes as he made his way out of the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Zarya rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "I really need to stop putting myself in situations like these," she sighed.

Without much other option, Zarya changed into spandex shorts and a dark blue long sleeve that showed a few inches of her midriff. The bed at least partially reminded her of the one she had in Pike Creek with black satin sheets. She curled up in them and for the first time she actually felt genuinely lonely. She'd slept alone for years! What suddenly made her crave someone to curl up to?

Zarya tossed and turned repeatedly. Her body was torn between how time moved on Earth to humans, how it slowed in Hell, and how it seemed to stop for vampires. Finally, she laid flat on her back staring up with no sense of how much time had passed anywhere. Oh, she knew she would regret it. She knew she was about to be incredibly stupid. Yet she did it anyway. As she sat up in the bed, Lucifer appeared in the doorway.

"What's the matter, Rya?" He asked softly as he walked to the foot of the bed.

She looked to the floor while clutching the sheets tightly in her hands. "I… I don't want to sleep alone…"

That mildly took him by surprise. He found himself smiling. "Whatever you want, Rya." He slipped off the trench coat and blazer and tossed them over a nearby chair before laying down beside the ravenette. He held his arm out and she only hesitated for a small second before curling up to him. He tried to ignore her being in such small shorts and barely fitting shirt. Maybe it once did, before she turned, but not anymore.

Zarya laid with her arms and head on his chest and one leg over his waist with the other parallel against his. One of his arms wrapped around her and his hand laid casually just above her hip. The other was gently running through her mess of dark hair carefully untangling random knots. "I'm sorry," she spoke just above a whisper. "I know you'll always be there when I call for you… I essentially abuse that."

He chuckled a little. "Don't feel sorry, Rya. I'll be there no matter what you do to me. I love you."

Tears threatened her greener than blue eyes. "I know," she whispered. "I know you do."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "That's all I wanted."

"But it's not." Zarya sat up a little, enough to look at him. "You want me."

The way her indigo tinted raven locks fell over one shoulder was almost as sweetly seductive as the look in her greener-than-blue eyes.

"Well of course I do. But until the day comes where I can finally have you, I'll take what I can get."

Oh, the amount of regret Zarya would have later on. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even a day or two past that, but whether it be a week or a month or even a year on Earth or in Hell she would realize what she had done; she would realize what it would cause. Yet she couldn't stop herself from leaning down and kissing him. As much as she knew it wasn't, it just felt right. She realized quickly she was losing herself in him. What did one night matter? Surely she'd done worse before. At first, she drew herself a line not to cross. But the sight on that line became quickly blurred when fiery passion overtook her sense of judgement. The vampire blood in her body took firm control, making her mouth ache as she straddled him. She couldn't stop her fangs from extending and knicking him that time.

Zarya immediately recoiled with a hand over her mouth. Lucifer grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her face. "Stop being so afraid of who you are; of what you are now. You can't hurt me, Rya. And if you're that desperate to not feed on a human then let me help you." He sat up slowly, being sure to hold her on his lap still. "You aren't going to hurt me. Ever."

Her eyes had already been slowly changing color against her will. Slowly, and hesitantly, she leaned in towards his neck. Her fangs were already so desperate, mouth aching. Please forgive me, she thought. Boys… mom… I'm sure Nova would be disturbingly proud. Just know I tried not to do it…

The feeling of her fangs burrowed in flesh was nearly as ecstatic as the warm, fresh blood. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, cheeks turning a deep pink. With how short her shirt was his hands were on her bare back. Hers had been flat on his chest but began to curl in around the fabric. Any rationality and control had been abandoned entirely. When she finally stopped feeding from him the look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. Before even the consideration of it being a bad idea crossed her mind he kissed her hard. The little moan she couldn't hold back made him smirk.

Zarya felt more high than when she smoked with Nova. She was going purely on animalistic instinct. Every part of her flesh and blood tingled and burned in the most amazing way. It was all a blur as she tore at his shirt. Next thing she knew she was no longer in the shorts and crop top and flat on her back. Oh, he would never forget the sounds that came from her mouth. The way she practically begged for him. Each time her nails dragged down his skin. The feeling of her beneath and against him. It was only a matter of time until she was finally his forever.

When Zarya finally pried her eyes open, she noted quickly that she was not alone and not wearing clothes either. The satin sheets had turned into a mess across the bed and wrapped around both her and Lucifer. She laid with her head on his bare chest as he played with her hair. "Feeling the regret yet?" He teased her. His eyes were closed though he didn't sleep.

"Maybe I was considering going again until you wanted to be an ass," she retorted back.

Lucifer chuckled. "Nice try. So how's that regret?"

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be," she admitted.

"Well, I'll take that as the highest honor then." He chuckled again. "Time to get up, my love. I've got my doggy leading me to another Hand of God."

Without any care or modesty Zarya sat up and let the sheets fall off of her bare chest. Feeling him watching her, she stood slowly as to let the rest fall from her dramatically. When she realized he wasn't leaving quite yet (probably due to being able to snap his fingers and be ready to go) she was slow to pick out her clothes and gave her hips a little extra shake as she walked. She felt different than before; more complete with herself. It was as if her human and vampire halves had made truce rather than continuing tug of war over her. She felt confident, and he noticed it all. Lucifer watched her dark jeans get tugged up her long legs, the black tank top come down over her abdomen, and the indigo leather jacket go over her arms and shoulders. She ran her hands through her hair a couple of times to at least partially tame it. Lucifer knew what they had, no matter how currently temporary it may have been, was more than Dean could have ever even hoped to have dreamed, let alone what he thought he got when he was a demon.

"So Crowley really thinks he's got the upper hand," Zarya mused as they walked into the storage lockup Lucifer brought them to.

"It's cute, really; the way he tries to have control and usurp me." Lucifer snickered. "Keep in mind, Rya - he's afraid of each of us separately. Watch his face for the fear when he sees us together."

"Why are we here?" Zarya heard the demon Simmons ask Crowley.

"For this." Crowley responded after shuffling through some things. "The Rod of Aaron… created by God on the sixth day and given to Aaron, brother of Moses. I knew it was powerful but had no idea that it was a…"

"A Hand of God. Can I touch it?"

"With all due respect, Simmons, I don't think you can handle my rod."

That was when Zarya and Lucifer made it to the doorway, leaning on opposite sides. Lucifer smirked. "I bet I can." Crowley jumped practically out of his skin seeing the two of them in the door. "Is it just me or is it getting a little phallic in here?" He winked at Zarya who rolled her eyes. He casually walked over to a shelf and started poking around at some of the books as he mocked Crowley. "You really thought you could double-cross me? Me? You know I invented the double-cross. Like literally. Of course, I couldn't have orchestrated all of this without the lovely, talented Simmons here." Crowley looked wide-eyed in horror at the other demon with Lucifer standing right in front of him. "She, uhm, she hates you, B-T-dubs."

Simmons shrugged. "Yeah, I really do."

Zarya started to laugh. "Ah, that's priceless, you know that? So like, every demon in Hell seems to hate you 'cause they sure don't mind us."

"Can't really blame them, can you?" said Lucifer. "I mean, maybe once you were the evilest evil that ever eviled… present company excluded. But now? You're nothing but Dean Winchester's number-one fan."

"You're the one fawning over a human hunter," Crowley tried to bravely argue. His gaze then darted to Zarya menacingly. "Though I suppose you're not all human anymore, are you, princess?"

Lucifer mockingly brushed nonexistent dust from Crowley's jacket. "Mm… I think 'queen' might be more appropriate, doggy." His hands then clutched the fabric tightly. "I knew you were hiding something. I could see that last spark of defiance in your eyes. And rather than beating it out of you, which… doable, but messy… I let you lead me here." He smiled and tossed Crowley out of the way. "So I'm gonna take this," he tapped the box, "and then I'm gonna take you. And, oh, puppy, you're not gonna like what comes next."

He opened the box and immediately sneered upon finding it empty. Zarya felt a strange pang of rage bubbling within herself. "You looking for this?" Crowley said as he held up the rod. He moved to strike Lucifer with it, but Zarya had already jumped in with her speed. She blocked him by hitting his arm with her own.

"Did you really think you could double cross me?" She spoke darkly as her irises bled crimson. Her pale lips pulled into a smirk while Crowley's eyes widened the way she mirrored the archangel behind her. "I've about perfected the double cross. Considerably I guess I'm doing it right now." She shrugged. "There's nothing that will get past my eyes now." With her free hand she used both her strength and speed to punch Crowley in the gut. He spit up some blood as he fell to the floor with the rod still in hand.

Before she could hit him again, the rod glowed bright red. Crowley started to laugh as the power of the Hand of God was passed to him. Lucifer immediately yanked her back at his side while Crowley stood. "So this is what it feels like to be God. Not bad. Tingly. So, if this can hurt something as powerful as the Darkness, I wonder… What can it do to you two?"

Crowley held out a hand and aimed a bolt of lightning at Lucifer and Zarya. The dhampir, on instinct, grabbed the archangel's hand tightly and used her speed to get out just in time for the attack to evaporate Simmons. They were flung into a wall at the end of the hall from the blast though completely unharmed. Zarya was sandwiched tightly between the wall and Lucifer which gave her flashes to the night prior. He leaned his face close to whisper against her lips with a sly smirk. "Go get him before he thinks he can disappear, my love."

She sped back into the room just as the rod clattered to the floor from Crowley's hand, all of the power gone entirely. He looked to her with immense fear in his eyes. Another speedy lunge forward and she had him by the throat off the floor. "You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves, Crowley," she snarled at him.

"You tried to hurt my beloved Rya," came Lucifer as he strolled back in. "Come on, doggy, everyone who crosses me knows not to touch my Rya."

Zarya tossed Crowley towards Lucifer who flung him back across the storage unit and into a heap of assorted items. However, when they went over to grab him again he had vanished. Seeing the angered annoyance on Lucifer's face, Zarya reached up and touched his arm. She hadn't even thought of doing the gesture; she just reacted.

"You're focused on Crowley," Zarya commented amidst their sparring session. "I know I can kick your ass, but not that quickly."

"Very funny, Rya. You should be more concerned than I am that he'll go running right to the Winchesters."

Her lips pressed into a tight line. "I made my decision to come with you. They know that."

"Mm, but you didn't have to try and protect me the way you did. The thought of that ought to make Dean twitch a little. Let alone if he knew… anything else." He grabbed her wrist as she moved to strike and pulled her firmly against him.

"Let Crowley say what he will about me. He already goes around preaching what a disastrous monster I am."

"And if he tells them you're a dhampir now?"

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to deal with that. What are they going to do, anyways? Storm Hell and try to stake me? Won't do them much good."

He stared at her for a moment, neither of them moving. "Why haven't you tried to leave? You easily could, especially with dominion over the demons."

She shrugged. "I told you I wouldn't. You've never lied to me, why would I do it to you?"

"Be careful, Rya, or people may start to think you care about me."

"I suppose I should. Or I might start to admit that I do." She smiled softly.

"You know," he smirked, "I think I might have another idea. Take a trip with me."

"Where to this time?"

"Heaven."

Zarya blinked a couple of times. "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? I could have sworn you just said-"

"Heaven. Yeah, I did. I thought it might be fun to ruffle some feathers and see who we can get on our campaign team."

She sweatdropped. "Yeah, this is gonna go real well."

Katia and Sofia stared into the dying flames pensively. "That's… it's a fixed part of the timeline? No matter what happens it won't change?"

Sofia nodded. "There are not many points like it to exist."

"Do you know when it's going to happen? At least approximately?"

"It will be May."

"This coming May?" That was barely a few months away…

Sofia shook her head. "No. And not the next either. The one after."

"You're positive?"

"There is no mistaking fixed points, Katia. Timelines may vary, waver, and occasionally split but when an event is fixed in time there is no changing it. Every single event prior no matter what it is will lead up to that one."

Katia could only stare at the ash left behind from the spell. "I always had a feeling that Morrigna would come back to fuck God up, but I never would have guessed it to be like this."

Sofia scoffed. "Child, you haven't even seen half of the possibilities I've witnessed following this event."

"Are there any other fixed points you could see after that one?"

"I can feel that there is one, but I cannot reach it without yours and Zina's assistance unfortunately."

The two Vasiles finally met eyes. "I'll go call my mother."

Zarya really had seen it all officially - Purgatory, Hell, and now Heaven. She'd dipped into Oblivion to acquire the magic she did, and knew of the Other Side. Her face scrunched as they stepped into Heaven. "It's so… white. And bright. Kind of annoying if you ask me."

Lucifer chuckled beside her. "I had a feeling you would say something like that." As they walked, they finally ran into an angel. He looked petrified to see Lucifer, let alone Zarya at his side. "Jofiel. How's it hangin'?" He grinned at the angel.

Jofiel's eyes were wide. "L-Lucifer!" He looked around panicked. "How the hell did you get in here? And how did you bring her?"

Zarya made a face. "Ouch. I can hear the rudeness in your tone there, buddy."

He reached for his blade. "So perfect. Castiel, one of Heaven's most wanted, possessed by Heaven's most hated, hand in hand with Heaven's lunatic's vessel."

Her cheeks turned light pink when she realized they had actually still been holding hands. Neither made a move to let go though. "Can you guys please stop with that 'vessel of Remiel' shit? It's literally never gonna happen. As a matter of fact, we plan to off the bitch." She grinned toothily, baring her fangs.

"Easy, darling," Lucifer chuckled as he gently tugged Zarya a little closer to himself. "We come in peace. I just want to be a part of the action again. I want to lend a hand."

"Brothers!" He screamed before turning and running.

Lucifer sighed and snapped his fingers with his free hand. Jofiel disintegrated in black smoke. Zarya said nothing and they walked onward. She noticed some angels hide and stare as they walked past but no one sounded the alarm. He led her into one of the various rooms suddenly and she realized some of the angels had followed them. They were curious. "Okay guys," she watched as he walked over to a table and sat on it before continuing to address the angels, "so trying to smite the Darkness was a bust, huh? You had all of the power of Heaven behind you. Couldn't even slow the bitch down. Well, no need to feel like abject losers. You learned a valuable lesson here. You need me." He looked around, waiting for a response from any of the angels. Zarya resisted a snicker when no one even budged. "All right. Not giddy with awe."

"You… exploded Jofiel." One of them spoke up, albeit timidly.

"Or did Jofiel explode himself? Just sayin'." He shrugged.

"God cast you out of Heaven." said another.

"And who do you think spread that tabloid headline? It was Captain G, the Eternal One. And why? Because I didn't buy into His obsessive-compulsive love for mankind."

"Mankind is His creation."

"The monsters that are the Vasiles are Remiel's botched creation." The angel cut his eyes directly at Zarya.

"Remiel can go fuck herself," Zarya spat without hesitation. Her arms were crossed over her chest.

"So what do you two even want to have stepped foot in Heaven?"

"A way out of this pickle," Lucifer answered with a smirk.

"By 'pickle' you mean the Darkness?"

"And Remiel, actually."

Some of the angels gasped and started to whisper. "You can reason with them?" The one up front asked.

Lucifer laughed out loud sardonically. "There is no reasoning with those women. There's no reasoning with this one either." He referred to Zarya who cut her eyes at him. "However, the Darkness I can lock away and Remiel Rya here can kill."

So many more murmurs erupted across the room. "Y-you're going to kill Remiel?" One of the angels asked with astonishment.

"It's about time someone puts her down," he shrugged. "She wants to hurt Rya. I have no use for Remiel anymore. As for the Darkness, I can lock her away. This time for good. Done it before and that was without Rya. Oh, Pops didn't tell you that, huh?"

"Once you've… gotten rid of them, you'll want… to… stay around?"

"Oh, I like the way you think." He clapped. "Man, am I jazzed! Hey. If it makes you comfy, could call me God."

Zarya rolled her eyes. "Your ego is showing."

"What of the Vasile dhampir?" One of the angels half demanded.

"Oh, she stays with me," Lucifer answered before Zarya even found the angel to glare at. "She's mine, you see. I imprinted on her soul."

You just openly admit that? She thought as she stared at him with wide eyes. She quickly looked to the handful of angels. They had begun chattering again. There was so much rapid Enochian going around in whispers that Zarya had no idea what was being said. A couple of angels' expressions turned from fear to what looked like compliance. She heard Lucifer call her name which finally snapped her from the rapid whispers. He motioned for her to go over to him. She paused for a split second before rejoining his side. He took her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles which only caused more whispers. She let him pull her close which allowed him to talk quietly enough for only her to hear.

"They always thought I would reciprocate Remiel's mark on me," he told her while lightly trailing his index finger up and down her back absentmindedly. "After we got the boot, they were terrified we might find each other and then I would reciprocate the mark."

"And they're reacting how?" She whispered to him. "Because some look like they're about to explode in fear while others might have a cult dedicated to our worship."

He chuckled. "You're right, in essence. Regardless of the disgusting portrait that was painted of me, I'm still a pretty big deal up here. The fact that I took something of value from my sister for my own selfish desire kinda makes me alpha. Some of them are afraid I'm gonna 'explode' them like Jofiel, and others feel we can lead and protect them."

"Why is it such a big deal about me though?"

"Remember how I said Remiel was anchored to me which dampened my power and tied her to me?" She nodded. "I anchored myself to you when I imprinted on you. And that's actually stronger than the shred left between Remiel and I."

There was a loud rumbling suddenly. Everything began to shake and the lights flickered. One of the angels ran out to check the halls and started to scream. Lucifer jumped off the table to hold Zarya tightly close to himself. "What the hell is going on?" She shouted over the rumbling and panicking angels.

Black clouds launched through the halls, shaking everything and taking down angels in its path. As some went into the room they had been in, Zarya braced herself for impact. They fell to the floor together but his grip on her never even loosened. He grinned through the force of the hit while shielding Zarya from it. When it was finally over, he helped her to her feet. The angels started checking on one another.

"Well, that…" Lucifer finally answered Zarya, "was a little payback, ladies and gents. I don't think Auntie Amara appreciated your little half-assed smiting. And, uh, guess what… this? This was just a teeny taste of what's to come. So, clearly my expertise is gonna come in handy. 'Cause God knows what's next. Ouch. I almost forgot. Um… God doesn't care." He shrugged.