The sun had long since set over L.A. when Amenadiel found himself drawn to the enormous, canopied park his mother had taken him to earlier. Without his preternatural vision, a guide or even a simple flashlight, he shouldn't have been able to follow the meandering, darkened trail so easily, but it yielded before him like it had hours previously at midday. Once again, the fallen sticks and dry leaves crunched beneath his shoes with every step, but at this late hour the singing and cheeping of robins and sparrows had been replaced by barn owls cooing and hooting on the branches above his head. It made no difference, of course. Normally, Amenadiel enjoyed the sounds of nature on Earth, but not tonight.
Tonight, Amenadiel heard none of it.
Swiping impatiently at the tears that were beginning to fall in earnest now that he was approaching Uriel's final resting place – an isolated area without even so much as a cairn to mark the hallowed ground that was housing a son of God – Amenadiel broke through the tree line then stopped short at the sight of a man standing silently over Uriel's grave, which was now completely uncovered. The figure was tall, slim of build and dressed in a close-fitting suit, his dark head bowed as he beheld some kind of object in his hand. It was Lucifer, Amenadiel could tell.
Satan himself.
Brother of angels.
Killer of one of their own.
Amenadiel's eyes narrowed as a tidal wave of misplaced anger threatened to drive him to attack, but his mother's words of comfort to him from that same afternoon rose in his memory, helping him to calm. Amenadiel took a deep breath, forced himself to breathe and stared at his brother from the side view he had of him, no longer furious but still aggravated that he was even around. After a moment he decided to speak, his tone of voice much more controlled than it could have been but still impatient.
"Lucifer, what're you doing exposing Uriel's body? Suppose a park ranger came along and caught you standing there?"
When there was no answer, Amenadiel began to approach, his anger rising again. Moonlight from a break in clouds above suddenly streamed down on his younger brother, glinting off the strange object in Lucifer's hands that almost seemed to be pointed toward his heart. Amenadiel frowned as he tried to make it out and then it clicked. A split second later, he was yelling as he rushed forward with a speed no human could have matched. "LUCI, NO!"
The brothers collided with the hard-packed soil to the left of the open grave, and Azrael's blade flew out of reach from the impact then skittered in the dirt some fifteen feet away. Mutely, Lucifer struggled to free himself of his big brother's death-grip, so he could secure the blade again then embed the damn thing in his chest and end his misery.
"What're you doing?!"Amenadiel yelled. Without his powers, he shouldn't have been able to restrain Lucifer so effectively, but such was the last thing on his mind. He didn't think to question why his angelic strength had suddenly returned or why the cloud cover above had parted so fortuitously. None of that mattered right now. Concerned only with saving his younger brother's life, Amenadiel tightened his hold on Lucifer still more, determined to prevent the tragedy he'd very nearly just witnessed. "Luci, stop! Stop fighting me, damn it!"
"Why should I?!" Lucifer cried, his silence finally breaking along with his voice. "No one can help me, Brother, and I-I-I can't do it anymore! I don't want to keep living with this pressure, this crippling feeling inside of me!"
Amenadiel didn't reply in words; he knew nothing he said would penetrate when his kid brother was in such a tortured mental state. Instead, he made up his mind to hold on come what may despite Lucifer's superhuman struggles, determined to keep the Lord of Hell from getting ahold of that deadly blade somewhere off to their left.
He succeeded.
Lucifer fought to escape him, cursing God's Firstborn for his interference, but Amenadiel refused to relent and finally the Lord of Hell hadn't the strength to continue the battle. Sagging back in defeat against Amenadiel's chest, Lucifer wept brokenly, oblivious to the clouds in the sky that drifted until the moon was covered once again, shrouding the entire gravesite in darkness. He clung to the arms that were hugging him from behind, no longer interested in shoving them away. The brothers shook in tandem as Lucifer's wracking sobs travelled between them, but not once did Amenadiel loosen his grip, even as his own tears began to fall anew, his grief and rage at the loss of Uriel hitting him hard all over again.
Why had it happened?
Father should have Uriel and ordered him back to Heaven before it was all too late! Why hadn't He?
For the love of Heaven, why?
Amenadiel expected no answers from The Almighty and got none. He wept silently behind his brother until Lucifer himself was finally reduced to sniffles then fell silent, completely and utterly spent. Gently, Amenadiel released him then sat upright on the ground and wiped his own face. He watched Lucifer do the same beside him, his $300 trousers be damned. Any lingering questions, Amenadiel might have had about how easily Lucifer was handling Uriel's death, well, they no longer existed. Not anymore.
He reached out and squeezed Lucifer's hunched shoulder, his voice heavy with concern. "Are you all right now, Little Brother?"
Lucifer didn't answer. He pictured Uriel's face in his mind's eye as the angel lay dying in his arms and remembered, too, Linda's terror only scant hours before once he'd revealed his devil face at her insistence, and it was all too much. He hated himself more than he ever had before. He stared down at his hands in his lap, hands that had once been clean and well-manicured, but which were currently streaked with leftover tears and grime, and he lifted his head to stare blearily at Amenadiel.
"Why? Why did you stop me from ending my existence?"
Amenadiel gazed at him sadly. "Don't you know?"
Lucifer shook his head. The gesture was accompanied by red-rimmed eyes still glazed with the deepest kind of pain, prompting Amenadiel to shift his grip so he was cupping the side of Lucifer's face instead.
"I did it, Luci, because I already lost one brother this week. I will not lose another. Believe it or not, I love you too much."
Lucifer was silent a moment then snorted and went back to staring at his hands. One of the nocturnal animals of the forest began foraging for food among the leaves nearby – a raccoon or a fox perhaps – but Lucifer paid it no mind as he said, "I can't be your brother anymore, Amenadiel, and you can't love me. Not after what I've done. Truth be told, you've practically hated me for eons and now—"
Amenadiel refused to let him finish. "That isn't true, Luci, and it frustrates me to know you think otherwise. I hated your recklessness and irresponsibility, Brother. I never hated you."
"You could've fooled me."
"Clearly, I did."
Lucifer had no retort at first until he shifted his gaze to Azrael's blade, just barely visible in the underbrush. He tore his eyes away from it then looked at Amenadiel.
"Recklessness and irresponsibility are me, Brother. They're my foundation. Those two traits are basically who I am, who I've always been."
"I disagree," Amenadiel countered once again. "They're only two of many that live inside you. They're the ones you cultivated specifically after your Fall to harden your shell."
That observation prompted a smile. It was sarcastic and dismissive, but it was still a smile.
"What, you pretended to be a psychotherapist with Linda for so long now you think you are one?"
Amenadiel shrugged. "I'm just saying … you were often a brat in the Silver City, but apart from the Rebellion, you were never as audacious there as you are now, here, on Earth. Father would never have tolerated that kind of behavior at home, and you know it."
Lucifer's smile faded as his attention returned to his lap. "Speaking of Father…"
Amenadiel waited for Lucifer to continue, then broke the heavy silence growing between them when the Devil couldn't seem to find the will. "What about Him?"
"Why hasn't He smited me yet for what I've done…?"
"He'd better not dare," Amenadiel snapped, startling his brother. "He'd better not touch one hair on your head, Luci, because what you did, what you were forced to do, it was entirely defensible. Do you hear me?"
For a moment, Lucifer struggled to recognize the sibling next to him. Amenadiel never criticized their dad. His faith in God was unshakeable yet here he was, speaking fiercely, defending the family rebel.
"You really believe that?" Lucifer asked. His voice hitched.
Amenadiel nodded firmly. "Without question."
"But I killed one of our siblings," Lucifer insisted. His eyes burned as his voice began to shake. "I killed Uri, Amenadiel. How can you forgive me for that?"
"I can forgive you because it was an accident," Amenadiel said just as insistently. "You harbored no malice toward him, Luci. You simply had no choice, and it could have easily been myself in your shoes had I not Fallen."
"But—"
"No," Amenadiel said, cutting him off. "Stop arguing for once, listen to what I'm telling you and trust that I'm telling you the truth. If you hadn't killed Uri, Mom would be dead and so would Chloe Decker. We would both be devastated, you would be an even bigger mess that you are now, and Chloe's daughter would be traumatized for life at the loss of her mother. By stopping Uriel, you were protecting all of us the only way you could with the only tool you had left at your disposal." Amenadiel waited for Lucifer to nod in acknowledgement however uncertainly then reached out and squeezed his knee. "This isn't your fault, Brother, any of it. It's Father's. He should've stopped this whole mess before it got nearly this far."
That statement seemed to register. In short order Lucifer's spine straightened and his jaw began to pulse, his brown eyes flashing red with the strength of hellfire. He faced Amenadiel willingly for the first time all night, hatred for their father seeming to ooze from every pore.
"I despise Him for doing this to me, Brother. This latest manipulation I shall never forgive."
"You're not alone," Amenadiel said bitterly. He stood up then offered Lucifer his hand. When they were both on their feet, Amenadiel took charge to retrieve the blade and position it atop Uriel's shroud. After that, he gave them both a moment to say their silent goodbyes then nudged Lucifer gently. "C'mon. Let's cover him back up and get out of here. Let him rest in peace."
XxXxXxXx
At Lux, the music was thumping, and the line-up of would-be partygoers stretched down the street as usual, but Lucifer barely took note and Amenadiel paid the humans no mind at all. The brothers bypassed all crowds then took the private elevator from the garage entrance straight up to the penthouse. The second they were inside, Amenadiel wandered out to the balcony, but Lucifer didn't follow. He headed straight for the bar and poured two generous tumblers of scotch, feeling like he'd never needed this more. He downed one glass then re-filled it, downed it again then re-filled it a second time. On the third re-fill, he followed Amenadiel outside and offered him the other tumbler. Neither brother spoke at first as they stared ahead at the twinkling lights of the city, both making a conscious effort not to glance upwards at their father.
"You don't have to stay and babysit me, you know," Lucifer grumbled eventually. "I no longer plan to off myself." He took a sip of scotch then stared with contempt at the deep copper liquid swirling in his hand. "'Twas a moment of weakness never to be repeated, Brother. I won't give our bloody creator the satisfaction."
"Good," Amenadiel said, glancing his way, "because you can't die and live me here alone without any other siblings for company." As Lucifer shot him a look, Amenadiel smirked. "Who would I argue with?"
Lucifer wandered over to the fireplace with a snort and took a seat in one of the padded rattan chairs. "You could always call Gabriel down for company. I hear she's always up for a chat."
"Gabriel," Amenadiel repeated with a sorry shake of his head. Bar none, the 'Angel of Messages' was the biggest tattletale in the entire universe. Amenadiel took a sip of his drink then cast his mind back to their best years in Heaven as a family, long before their mother's banishment to Hell or The Rebellion. Soon, a grin began to form. He went over to his brother and eased into the chair beside him, still smiling. "Hey, Luci. Remember that time you slipped some of that dieffenbachia plant into her manna?"
Lucifer pulled his gaze from the fire. "Dumb cane, Brother, dumb cane. That's the colloquial term human horticulturists use nowadays."
"Still. I never thanked you for paralyzing her vocal cords the way you did, so cheers to you even if it's millennia too late." Amenadiel shook his head in amusement. "Man, what a blessedly quiet day in Heaven that was. I don't think I'll ever forget it, will you?" Amenadiel glanced at his brother then did a double-take, sobering instantly at the sorrowful expression Lucifer was now wearing. "What? What's wrong?"
"Uriel helped me with that prank," Lucifer said quietly. "It was all his idea."
He finished his drink, went to fetch another then sat morosely in his chair again, his gaze drifting thoughtfully back to the fire. Before he could mope for too long, Amenadiel cleared his throat and pulled him out of his head.
"You know, if memory serves, you got in quite a bit of trouble that day. It's too bad Uri didn't use his gift to tell you how Father would punish you for playing that practical joke on our sister."
"Oh, he did tell me," Lucifer said. He paused then added with a trace of a smile, "… right before Dad summoned me."
Amenadiel smirked. "Annoying little runt."
Lucifer said nothing a moment then raised his glass and held it out to his brother. "To Uriel."
Amenadiel did the same and the brothers toasted. "To Uriel." Silence fell between them again, broken only by the crackling of the logs and the faint sounds of traffic on the street far below, until Amenadiel reached out and slapped Lucifer on the knee. "Go on, Brother. Share another fun memory of him. If you make me laugh aloud for twenty seconds straight, I'll strip to my boxers and circle the entire block around Lux."
Lucifer scoffed in total disbelief and took another sip of his whiskey. "Indeed. Why not offer to strip to the skin? Either way, you'll never do it."
"You think not, huh? Do I look like I'm joking?"
Amenadiel didn't actually. If anything, he was starting to look even more resolute than usual.
Lucifer studied him suspiciously at first but then shifted in his seat and gave Amenadiel his full attention. On the one hand, he knew this was a completely transparent attempt by his big brother to lift his spirits and get him to take a break from grieving, but on the other hand … well … who cared about his motivations? The opportunity to witness God's Firstborn willingly debase himself would probably never come again; surely Uriel would agree. Dad knows, the Devil would be a fool to let it pass and Lucifer Morningstar was no fool. Never was. Never had been.
He arched an eyebrow at Amenadiel, his usual cunning smile quickly coming to the fore.
"To the skin only, my fine-feathered friend. No boxers or cover-ups of any kind. And you must cluck like a chicken throughout the entirety of this ill-conceived little jaunt of yours. Have we a deal?"
Amenadiel shrugged. "Deal 'cause you'll never win anyway."
As Amenadiel smirked right back in challenge, that was it for Lucifer. He tossed his drink – glass and all – straight into the fireplace then leaned forward and rubbed his hands together with glee.
"Game on, Brother. Game. Bloody. On!"
