Lucifer was not surprised when he returned to his chamber to find Amenadiel waiting. His brother had tried to convince Lucifer to go on further errands in the intervening years, always to be met with refusal.
Lucifer had, after all, kept tabs on Amenhotep as best he could. He'd heard about the man's attempt to turn Egypt to… well, not quite monotheism, but, as Amenhotep had said, lifting one god above all others. That did seem like something his father would support.
And Lucifer had heard of the destruction of the temples that had been built by Akhenaten, for so Amenhotep had renamed himself, for his god. He'd seen how Atenism had vanished, and how future kings had removed Akhenaten from their records.
What would have happened, he wondered, if he had not interfered?
But Lucifer did not just keep track of the king he had influenced. He had been hearing rumors, and had guessed that it would only be a matter of time until his brother showed up.
"Do you know what's been happening up there?"
Lucifer sighed. "Hello to you, too, Amenadiel. Could you be more specific? That encompasses quite a lot, from my perspective."
"There," Amenadiel repeated, sounding exasperated. "On Earth?"
"On Earth?" Lucifer purred. "Do tell."
Of course he knew, but he was curious to see how his brother would explain the particular situation.
"Our father has sent one of… well, our…" Amenadiel, looking profoundly uncomfortable, asked, "How much do you know about how we came about?"
Lucifer grinned at that. "More than you do, I'll wager, considering some of my extracurricular activities." That drew him a stern look from Amenadiel, and Lucifer added, exasperated, "What, like I have so many options for entertaining myself down here? Go on, then. What's got your knickers in such a twist?" He eyed his brother. "Do you even wear knickers under that dress? Actually, never mind. I don't want to know."
Amenadiel took a deep breath, as if he could inhale patience along with the air. "Father sent one of us to Earth. Well, sort of. I mean, Mom wasn't involved, obviously."
Lucifer did not even glance in the direction of the one cell he would never visit. He'd left his mother to Mazikeen, of course; his demon was likely there even now.
"So?" Lucifer asked carelessly. "He sends you lot to Earth all the time."
From the brief lift of his eyebrows, Lucifer guessed that Amenadiel had caught the pronoun shift. "But this time he's sent one of us to live among them, as a mortal. And…"
Seeing his brother's uneasiness, Lucifer settled into a chair, saying, "Don't tell me you're doubting the old man. You?"
"Of course not." Amenadiel drew himself up, sitting more stiffly even than usual. Really, Lucifer decided, such posture was unnatural. There had to be a stick involved somehow.
"So what's the problem?"
"There's no problem." Amenadiel spoke flatly, but he didn't meet Lucifer's gaze.
Lucifer sighed. "Then what's the point of you coming here? I know it's not just for the pleasure of my company," he added, his voice dry.
And now Amenadiel did look over. "Will you talk with him? Yeshua? Our… brother?" Seeing Lucifer already shaking his head, he added, "This isn't coming from Father. But he's going to be fasting in the desert, and…"
"You're worried about him," Lucifer said, not even bothering to keep the bitterness from his tone. "Why not go yourself? Oh… let me guess: our father, in his infinite wisdom, told you to let this Yeshua figure things out for himself." Amenadiel didn't reply, which was answer enough, and Lucifer smiled. "Finding a loophole, brother. Maybe you've learned something from me after all." Inclining his head, he added, "I'll go. I'm probably the only one who will give him a straight answer."
Frowning, Amenadiel asked, "What will you tell him?"
Lucifer got to his feet. "The truth. What else would I say?"
"Well, you look awful," Lucifer observed, hunkering down next to the man who was, apparently, his brother. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a round of bread. "Here."
Yeshua opened his eyes. Seated cross-legged in a rare patch of shade, he looked like he had been meditating. He took in the bread and then shook his head. "I'm trying to get closer to my father."
Lucifer considered the ground and the likelihood of getting dirty, then shrugged and folded himself to a seat as well. "And you think that will help? Only if you die of hunger, and I get the impression that he has plans for you. If you ruin those plans… well, let me tell you, he's not the forgiving type."
Yeshua peered at him and then waved away the bread once more. "I've chosen this path."
"Free will," Lucifer agreed, tucking away the bread with a rueful little smile. Stubbornness, after all, was a family trait. Realizing that Yeshua hadn't specified which path he was choosing, Lucifer inquired, interested, "Are you rebelling? That doesn't tend to work out."
"No. I'm preparing for what is to come." Yeshua peered at Lucifer in some puzzlement, asking, "Who are you?"
"You're not going to believe me," Lucifer replied.
Yeshua offered him a tired smile. "Try me."
Lucifer couldn't help but smile in response. Even though he looked half-dead, Yeshua's charisma still shone through. "All right, then. I'm Lucifer, your brother… or, at least, we share a father."
Yeshua regarded him steadily. "For some reason, I don't think you're speaking of Joseph. Not with that name."
"No," Lucifer agreed. "No, I'm not." He returned Yeshua's gaze, then said, curious, "You've heard of me. Are you afraid of me?"
Yeshua smiled and shook his head. "No. Should I be?" He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. "Are you here to steer me wrong? I already have enough yetzer hara within myself, though I do strive not to act on it."
"Evil inclination?" Lucifer queried, with a laugh. "You, who are starving yourself in the hopes of gaining favor from our father? I doubt that. You needn't worry, though. You lot produce that all on your own; it doesn't come from me."
With a quick murmur of apology, Yeshua nodded. "I… can see that. Why are you here?"
Lucifer shrugged. "Heard you were fasting, thought you could use a snack. Oh, don't worry," he added, with a grin. "I'll stop trying to tempt you."
"Just don't take out the bread again," Yeshua quipped. "I thought I'd gotten over being hungry. You know, when you're so hungry, and then you reach the point where you just stop wanting food at all?" Lucifer shook his head, and Yeshua added, "But then I saw the bread and wanted it. I'm trying to deny myself, though."
"Now that's just humility," Lucifer scoffed.
Yeshua smiled. "Something wrong with being humble?"
"Well, yes," Lucifer replied expansively. He grinned, though, enjoying the banter. "If you're good at something, why not let people know? Own it!" He guessed from Yeshua's expression that he wasn't going to be able to convince the man; there was that stubbornness again. Instead, he asked the question that had been nagging at him since he did first heard the rumors. "Your mother, what's she like?"
"Patient," Yeshua replied, looking a little amused. "I am not an easy son to mother."
Lucifer wondered what it would have been like to have a patient mother. Not that she had been so awful in the beginning, of course. It was the end - well, his end - where things had gone sideways.
Yeshua cast a considering look at Lucifer, then asked tentatively, "And our father?"
Lucifer made a small, rude noise. "Hasn't spoken to me in millenia. Surely you know him better than I do."
Grimacing as he shifted position, Yeshua replied, "Oh, sometimes. He sent the holy spirit in the form of a dove before I came here." Perhaps taking note of Lucifer's skepticism, he added, "He did. And he spoke then, but he doesn't do that often. Not in words. And not… in person. What's he like?"
Lucifer, as Yeshua gazed at him in inquiry, asked, "Do you really want to hear this from me?"
"Well, it's not like I have many options," Yeshua replied, and Lucifer grinned at the bite to his tone.
"Ooh, somebody's cranky. Sure you don't want that snack?" He rummaged at his feet and located a stone. "Though I'll bet you could just turn this into bread, right?"
"One doesn't live by bread alone," Yeshua replied, shaking his head. "Could you just answer the question?"
Lucifer dropped the stone. "You asked for it," he replied, with a shrug. "He's a manipulative, judgmental bastard, if you want the truth of it."
"But who else should judge us?" Yeshua queried, though not without a quick glance at the stone.
"Judge yourselves," Lucifer replied, lifting his head to look skyward. "Or don't judge at all, there's a thought. I mean, what has he even done for you? If you tripped, do you think he'd send angels to keep you from stubbing your toe? Hardly."
"Well, of course not," Yeshua replied, sounding a little puzzled. Maybe, Lucifer reflected, it was the lack of food. "After all, I'm not here to test him. As for what he's done for me…" He gestured to the landscape, to the mountain beyond. "He made this."
"But don't you want more?" Lucifer queried, honestly curious. "You could raise yourself above these humans. If you did, it'd spare you a lot of unpleasantness to come, let me tell you. You know whatever he's got planned won't end well for you."
A shadow crossed Yeshua's face, but only briefly. "What I have to do is best done as I am now," he replied.
Lucifer shook his head. "He really has brainwashed you, hasn't he?"
Expression a little wan, Yeshua replied, "Not at all. I know what's to come, brother."
Almost, Lucifer smiled at the familial term. "Then come away!" he urged. "Come with me. Don't let him use you like this."
"He's not," Yeshua reassured. "Lucifer, what I'm doing is my choice."
"But you didn't choose to be born his son!" Lucifer protested. Perhaps if he himself had been born someone else's son... but, no. Of course that hadn't been possible.
Yeshua agreed, "I didn't. But I can choose what to do as his son." Lucifer made an inarticulate noise of frustration, and Yeshua rested a hand on his arm. "It will be well, in the end."
"It's the getting to the end that you should be worried about," Lucifer muttered. He pulled the bread from his pocket once more and thrust it into Yeshua's hand. "You need to eat," he added, his voice rough.
Yeshua smiled and closed his eyes. Lucifer got to his feet and his hand hovered over Yeshua's head for a moment. He looked upon his brother, and then he turned away.
Amenadiel appeared in that moment. Perhaps sending his brother's mood, he was silent as he returned Lucifer to Hell.
And when Judas Iscariot came to his place, he received Lucifer's personal attention.
