Thank you Luna and kar-main for looking through things, and provided feedback : )
Chapter 14
Present
Lucifer had his arms and wings wrapped around Lilith protectively, just as the crimson mist of a spell vanished around them. He slowly pulled his wings and arms from Lilith and looked around them to find themselves on a desolate cliff, with jagged cliffs surrounding it and a blood-red sky.
He ignored the weight pressing on his chest because of the punishment for unleashing 'evil' upon their reals by telling himself it had all been worth it. Because now, the soul he fell in love with was finally free.
He tried to muster a smile to comfort Lilith, but it vanished when he noticed her huddled form, arms around her legs, face hidden on her knees, shoulders trembling with silent sobs.
"Lilith?" Lucifer asked in a soft voice, with concern.
She didn't respond, and she remained silent for quite some time before eventually she spoke, rather quietly. "What… are these… terrible feelings…I'm feeling?" she whispered. "Why… won't they stop? Why… do they feel so…suffocating…?"
Lucifer stared at her with confusion before realization dawned slowly. He moved to kneel before her, tenderly grasping her arms in his hands.
"Remember when I told you that free will, to truly experience it, there would be -"
"Pain…?" Lilith finished his sentence with a murmur. "Yes, I remember…but…"
"But what?" Lucifer asked, ever so soothingly.
Lilith hesitated before meeting his gaze, tears streaming down her tender cheeks. "Why did he just stand there and do nothing?" she lamented.
Confusion furrowed Lucifer's brow. "Who, Lilith?"
Lilith's face contorted as if she was in agony. "Adam," she let out, sadly. "He simply stood by as they sent us away. He didn't even try to stop them."
Lucifer found himself at a loss for words, unsure why she was feeling sad, more at the fact that Adam did nothing to stop the other angels from punishing them over the fact they were stuck here for all eternity. He, himself, felt devastated that his own people, who were his family, allowed such punishment to be delivered. But why would Lilith care so much that Adam's actions than her own situation? Adam was just a creation that was being forced to be with Lilith.
Tears continued to stream down Lilith's cheeks, her eyes distant as she gazed up into the blood-red sky. "Adam… he never loved me," she let out quietly before slowly, her eyes turned cold with a silent rage as large horns curled began to grow on her head, making Lucifer's eyes widened as her tears stopped. "He never did."
Lucifer sat in his chair by the desk, back at his mansion as he dragged himself out from the memory of the moment he and Lilith were sent to Hell. He stared down at his phone, with the screen displaying himself, Charlie, and Lilith in a warm embrace.
Charlie talking about her mom earlier brought the ache he had for Lilith to resurface, tightening his chest as he missed her so much. And the mention of Adam being Lilith's twin was shocking to say the least. He wasn't sure how to process that newfound revelation.
Adam wasn't someone he thought about over the past thousand years, not after he fell. Especially since his wife would turn cold at the mention of Adam's name.
No one was allowed to speak of Adam around Lilith—except for one person.
Lucifer sighed heavily as he leaned back against his chair, his head tilting back as he stared at the ceiling. Charlie's excited smile about having Adam as an uncle flashed in his mind. He clenched his teeth as he couldn't hold back his anger from rising in him, especially as he recalled how much he had hurt Lilith and Charlie.
He remained seated for a while before he sat up and turned to the wall where additional portraits of his family were set up. He stared at them before he twirled his finger before another portrait, above the rest, became visible. He was on it, with Lilith on his right side, holding him, but someone else was also with them on his left, hugging his left arm with a warm bright smile. She had a dark brown complexion, with long curly hair that matched Lilith's length.
'Adam… did his best…' a soft voice, one that also tightened his chest just from remembering it, played in his mind. 'Please forgive him.'
He tried to do just as the voice said, to forgive Adam, but… hearing his daughter's cries all while Adam laughed as he had his hand wrapped around her neck, ready to kill her made the anger boil even more.
He closed his eyes, hating the fact that Adam was possibly Lilith's twin, making the whole situation complicated, yet...
"Forgive me, Eve, but I can't do that," he said quietly before making the portrait vanish.
"So, yeah, that's what happened," Charlie finished explaining to Alastor sheepishly, regarding Adam's destroyed room. He had returned to the hotel in the afternoon and Charlie had gone immediately to him. "So, could you fix the room for us? I haven't been able to get a hold of my dad."
Alastor's dark smile stayed in place as he chuckled with amusement. "Of course, my dear. You know you can always count on me."
"Thank you, Alastor," Charlie said with a smile as Alastor headed up the stairs to attend to her request.
She proceeded to the lounge area, where Adam lay on a mattress placed on the side of the room. After finishing his smoothie earlier, the doctor arrived with a fresh supply of painkillers. After taking some, Charlie suggested he get some rest since he looked completely worn out. Of course, given the earlier attack, she felt uneasy about leaving him alone in another bedroom. Thus, she arranged for a mattress from one of the guest rooms to be moved to the lounge, to have Adam sleep under her watchful eye.
She sat on the couch nearest to the mattress and observed Adam completely covered by a large blanket. She smiled at his direction, very happy how well things went in the kitchen with at least Angel and Husk and relieved he finally got something into his stomach. Adam had lost so much weight in the past three weeks; she wasn't sure how much longer his body would hold on before things got bad. But hopefully now with Adam eating something he would start recovering a bit quicker too.
After a moment, Charlie retrieved her phone and sent a text message to her dad to let him know about the incident earlier, and of course, she reassured him that everyone was fine, and that Adam had taken care of the problem.
Meanwhile, Vaggie peeked out from the kitchen, making sure Charlie was occupied before retreating and shutting the door behind her. She approached Angel and Husk, the former jotting down ideas for nutritional smoothies he was thinking of preparing for Adam later.
"Before you say anythin', count me out," Angel said to Vaggie.
"You can't be serious." Vaggie frowned before glancing at Husk, who shrugged.
"Don't look at me," he said. "I wasn't on board to begin with."
"You changed your mind because he brought up your sister?" Vaggie asked Angel with annoyance. "You realize he didn't bring her up to be nice, right? He was literally trying to insult your baking."
"Yeah, so what?" Angel replied casually, his tone reflecting like he didn't care. "He's a jerk, I'm a jerk. We're all jerks."
"So, you're just gonna forgive him just like that?"
"Whoa, hold up. I never said I've forgiven him," Angel clarified, finally looking at Vaggie. "I'm just not up for playing the revenge game anymore. Let's face it, babe, Charlie's got a point. We've all done shitty things, that's why we're down here in Hell. We shouldn't be treating the dickhead any differently."
Husk shot Angel with a genuine smile, brimming with pride. "Well said," he said.
Angel returned the smile, then redirected his attention to Vaggie. "And besides, I just can't bring myself to kick him out. Have you seen the poor guy? He's fucked up. And let me tell yah, when I held him, he practically melted into me. I never met anyone who's been that touched starved in my life, and trust me, I've hugged plenty of desperate folk. You really expect me to toss him out on the streets after that?"
"I can't believe this," Vaggie sighed with annoyance as she rubbed her temples.
"So, good luck trying to gettin' rid of him, 'cause I'm officially on Team dickhead now, and I'm gonna make sure he sticks around," Angel declared with a smirk, eliciting a disapproving from Vaggie. "Anyway, why the hell didn't you ever mention my sister was up in Heaven?"
"Well, for one, I didn't know you had a sister. Plus, I was trying to keep my past hidden. And three… I rarely went out…" Vaggie grumbled, avoiding eye contact with the other two in the room.
Angel chuckled. "Guess some things never change, huh?" he teased.
"Look, you guys don't know him like I do," Vaggie started.
"And you do?" Angel asked with an eyebrow raised.
Vaggie glared at him. "He's a selfish asshole who doesn't care about anyone else except himself," she began. "He despises everyone in Hell and wants you all dead."
"Yet he looked pretty sad and wanted me to continue hugging him," Angel pointed out with amusement. "Yeah, he totally sounds like he wants to rip me apart."
Unable to contain her exasperation any longer, Vaggie abandoned the kitchen and moved to the dining room.
She couldn't believe Adam somehow won Angel and Husk over with his act. At least she still had Alastor, Nifty, and Cherri on her side, even though they haven't done much to push the plan forward.
However, she knew of one who would definitely help out immediately.
She pulled out her phone and composed a message to Lucifer: 'We really need to talk, sir.'
He wasn't sure where he was but seemed all so dark.
Before him, a ghastly apparition materialized, its form flickering with a glow of different colors shifting from one another. Their back turned towards him; they stood there in silence.
Adam stared at them with confusion and was about to call out to them when, suddenly, the figure began to convulse and contort. Its form twisted and began to warp into two distinct entities. One white with undertones of pink, the other, a blackened flesh and crimson blood that emitted a demeaning shriek that tore through the air, piercing Adam's soul with what felt like a thousand needles, making him scream as well.
Adam jolted awake, his body shooting upright as he ripped the blanket off his face, his chest heaving with rapid breaths, his mind completely disoriented.
"Oops, guess I should've known better than waking ya up so suddenly, my bad," Angel's voice chimed in from beside him.
The sinner had tried waking Adam up by calling out his name, even though Adam didn't honestly take notice of that.
Adam looked up with utter confusion to spot Angel standing by him, a brown-looking liquid in hand. The two were alone in the lounge area, Charlie nowhere in sight. Though, for some reason, Adam wasn't bothered having the spider humanoid around.
He took a moment to steady his breathing and eventually; he managed to calm his heart rate down. Yet, his mind remained fixated on the image of the two splitting figures from his nightmare. A frown creased his brow as he realized why the black-red one seemed so familiar - it was the same one that had been messing with him in his nightmares and the one he hallucinated earlier in his room.
What the hell?
He was growing irritated with whatever was messing with him.
And yes, maybe something was indeed trying to 'haunt' him…
"Anyway, it's time for your next meal," Angel's voice broke through Adam's thoughts, drawing his attention again just as Angel handed him the smoothie. "It's got kale and a bunch of other stuff, but the cocoa should cover the taste," Angel said with a grin.
"Sounds nasty…" Adam grumbled, eying the drink warily.
"It's actually pretty good. I had some earlier."
Adam hesitated, still feeling full of his previous smoothie and unsure if he could stomach another.
"Come on, don't be a chicken," Angel teased.
Adam shot him a narrowed glare before he took a sip through the straw. Before he knew it, he found himself drinking more and more of the chocolate tasting smoothie goodness.
He loved chocolate milkshakes, and the drink reminded him of his addiction to them.
"Easy there, don't want ya getting sick," Angel chuckled, making Adam reluctantly stop chugging down the drink. "So, how are ya feeling? That shoulder bothering ya?"
Adam blinked when he heard Angel's question, his mind slow. At first, he thought his brain was playing tricks on him again, and probably due to the medication the doctor gave him. Because why would a sinner care if he was in pain? He glanced up at Angel, who wore a lazy smile, causing Adam to grow suspicious.
Despite Adam's narrowed gaze, Angel remained looking rather calm with an air of tranquility.
"Ah, right, forgot to give ya that hug I promised, since you did finish the first smoothie," Angel remarked, catching Adam off guard as he had believed Angel was just teasing him about giving him another embrace. "Come on, don't be shy," Angel teased, reaching for the smoothie and setting it aside. "Unless you don't want it, then you can totally say no."
Adam didn't say a word, uncertainty spreading across his face.
"I'll take that as a yes," Angel said, settling beside Adam and pulling him close, guiding his head to rest on his chest.
Once again, Adam became slack, his tension melting away as warmth enveloped him. A shiver coursed through him as Angel began to massage his scalp, making him close his eyes.
He blamed it on the drugs he was under at the moment.
Angel chuckled, observing how the once bloodthirsty leader of the exterminators leaned into him, his wings drooping at his sides.
Truth be told, Angel found it peculiar that he enjoyed holding Adam. Now, he did like the occasional embrace from some. Who could blame him? Living in hell with constant suffering made one enjoy a soft touch from others occasionally. Yet with Adam, he felt as though there was some connection between them that he couldn't comprehend, one that made him want to hold on to the fallen angel tighter.
Angel wondered if he felt this way about Adam because they were both brothers who missed their twin sisters. The notion sounded so cliché, yet…
As he pondered, Angel couldn't help but question Adam's hunger for physical affection. He himself felt at times since he was in hell, but Adam had been in paradise for thousands of years.
"Molly's got this bakery," Adam mumbled, causing Angel to pause on tenderly massaging Adam's head. "Real popular too. Me and Lute, we used to go there a lot."
Angel's chest tightened up, feeling both happy that his sister had something great going for her up in heaven, yet sad as well that he wasn't a part of her life.
"I first met her after she arrived," Adam continued, his eyes still closed as he nudged his face a bit against Angel's soft chest. He wasn't sure why he was sharing Angel details about Molly, nor why Angel had thanked him earlier that day after bringing up how she was in heaven, everything was so confusing, but he continued. "Can't quite recall if we exchanged words then. Anyways, I met her again years later when she finally had a bakery. She got all excited when I went inside to get some cupcakes. Told me that I had given her the guts to open up the shop after she went to one of my concerts. Weird, huh? Not sure why she said that. Anyways, she mentioned something about a promise to her brother too."
Angel felt his eyes moisten up, a small smile making its way across his features.
"Molly used to be so bad at baking," Angel chuckled quietly, brushing his eyes slightly with his shoulder. "I used to tease her about it. So, she promised me many times to just watch, she would open her own bakery and would make me proud of her."
Adam hummed, taking in a deep relaxed breath. "Well, I guess she wasn't all talk."
"Aww, look at you two. You guys are so cute!" Charlie squealed as she entered the room, clutching two boxes. Her eyes gleamed at the sight of Adam nestled in Angel's arms, making Angel chuckle, even though he wanted to continue talking about Molly.
Husk took in the scene calmly, while Vaggie watched on, bewildered.
"Can't say I blame him. I'm irresistible," Angel quipped to his friends with a wink. He gently disentangled himself and Adam, causing Adam to let out a small pout. However, that didn't last long when Angel returned his smoothie to him.
Soon, they all settled on the ground around the small table after Charlie asked them to. Adam finished his meal, placing the glass on the side.
"Alright, guys, I've got an awesome game we can play," Charlie announced, shaking a box before them. "It's called '4 in a Row."
Adam's expression soured immediately. "I hate that game," he said, recalling how Lepin had made him play with him a long time ago at his place during a gathering with the rest of the band. Despite his efforts, Lepin repeatedly defeated him until Adam lost his cool and knocked the pieces off the table. At least his mood improved when Lepin had failed miserably against Lute later.
Charlie blinked. "Well, that's okay, 'cause I brought another activity we can do together," she said, placing one box aside and another on the table. "We can draw instead!"
"Don't expect anything great from me," Husk said in a bored tone as Charlie distributed sheets of blank paper on clipboards and some pencils.
"What should we draw?" Angel asked.
"Anything you guys want," Charlie replied with a grin. "Can be something you like, you love, or even a cartoon. Whatever's in your mind, just go for it."
Vaggie looked unsure of herself. She never had drawn anything in her entire existence, so she had no idea what to do.
"Actually, I got a better idea," Charlie declared after everyone fell quiet. "I'll partner you guys up and you would tell the other person what they should draw. Angel, you partner up with Husk, and Vaggie with Adam."
"Fuck that," Adam retorted irritably. "I wanna partner up with the porn star."
"Aww," Angel chuckled, placing a hand over his chest before glancing at Vaggie teasingly. "Sucks not to be popular, huh?" he joked.
Vaggie rolled her eyes.
"I'm glad you want to work with Angel, Adam, but I think you and Vaggie need this," Charlie said, approaching him and placing a hand on his uninjured shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. "So, how about giving it a chance?" she asked with a soft smile.
The last thing he wanted was to even look at the traitor, but Charlie's touch and smile left him no room to refuse her request.
What the hell was wrong with him?
"Fine…" he grumbled, turning away with annoyance.
Eventually, everyone was 'facing' their assigned partners. Adam and Vaggie sat tense, staring at their blank sheets of paper.
Husk and Angel pondered what to instruct one another to draw.
"You better not ask me to draw any dicks," Husk grumbled to Angel, who chuckled.
"Aww, come on, Husk, not even if I ask nicely?" Angel teased, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.
Husk responded with a bored expression.
"Fiiine, draw Nuggets for me," Angel said with a grin. "Now, what should I draw?"
"Draw the hotel," Husk replied.
"Seriously?" Angel groaned. "Why ya have to pick something hard?"
"Just giving you a challenge."
"But I'm terrible at drawing…"
Meanwhile, Adam and Vaggie hadn't exchanged a single word. Charlie joined them as she plopped herself by them.
"So, Vaggie, what would you like Adam to draw?" Charlie inquired.
Vaggie remained silent for a moment, thinking of something that might irk Adam. Finally, she glanced up at him.
"I want you to draw Eve," she said ever so casually.
Adam scowled at her.
"Not gonna lie, I always wondered what she looked like," Angel remarked aloud, oblivious to what Vaggie was planning. He glanced over to their direction. "Hey, whatever happened to her? Charlie, you ever met her?"
"Nope, never," Charlie responded. "I've asked my parents about her many times in the past, but any time I did they always changed the subject."
"I smell some drama there," Angel said with amusement before turning to Adam. "So, dickhead, what was she like?"
Adam's grip tightened around his pencil. "I… don't want to talk about her," he grumbled.
Angel blinked. "Oh? Why not?"
"'Cause, every time I do, I remember her fucking up and what she made us go through all those shitty years," Adam said with annoyance.
Everyone looked at him with confusion, prompting him to continue.
"I hate remembering when I was 'alive'," Adam said with annoyance as he began to draw, a bit roughly, not really paying much attention to it. "My life sucked! Thanks to her and that asshole, we felt things we shouldn't have and after getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden, it was a nightmare. Had to fend off all sorts of crazy shit just to stay alive. We had to figure out where we would sleep, what to eat that wouldn't kill us. The angels barely helped us, except to nag me about what I should be doing. And then they kept pushing us with the whole, 'Go make some babies', shit. And let me tell you, those were a fucking nightmare."
"You didn't like your kids?" Angel asked.
"Um, no, why would I?" Adam asked with a frown.
"'Cause… they're your kids …?"
"I was told to keep 'em alive, and that's what I did. God, they were terrible when they were babies, crying so damn loud they kept me and Eve awake for months. Thought I was gonna lose my mind. They were like these weird little creatures, tiny versions of us that just appeared. We had no clue what to do with 'em. And worse, we had so many to look out for."
"Geez, you act like they were aliens or somethin',"
"Well, he was never a kid himself," Husk pointed out. "Can't expect someone like that to know what to do with one."
Angel blinked, turning to Adam in disbelief. "Oh, shit… he's right… you were never a child. That's… fuckin' weird…" Angel hummed, as he had so many questions now in his mind. "So, when you popped into existence, you just… knew how to talk? And walk?"
"Yeah…?" Adam frowned.
"But… how?"
"What do you mean, how?"
Vaggie sighed as she felt the conversation was going to go nowhere if she didn't step in soon. "Technically, Adam and Lilith were babies once. When they were made, the angels accelerated their growth in an instant and I'm assuming implanted with the necessary fundamentals that they required to live in the Garden of Eden."
"I… was a baby…?" Adam let out with utter confusion, not expecting such a revelation. And something about the idea of him being a baby and a child but forced to somehow grow up in an instant without even him realizing it made him feel uneasy. "How the hell did you know that?"
"We learned about your creation within the first year we were made. And yes, you were a baby. You didn't think you were just made into an adult just like that, did you? There had to be a process on how humans would grow, and you and Lilith were a template on how humans would grow."
"What the fuck," Angel was now irritated himself. "So, the angels just said screw it, we're not waiting, and forced the dickhead and Lilith to grow up without a childhood?"
Charlie was sitting there completely quiet, couldn't believe at what the angels have done to her mom. Her heart ached for her and at the same time felt enraged her mom was deprived of having a childhood.
Her hands slowly turned into tight fists.
"I don't see the big deal if I wasn't a kid. Who cares," Adam rolled his eyes as if he didn't understand the problem that the others were seeing, pausing on his sketching. "Anyways, at least Eve somehow figured out how to handle the brats," Adam continued, not dwelling on why Angel seemed annoyed for him. "But man, it was all so stressful. Especially when those babies couldn't talk, couldn't do a damn thing. Least when they grew up and were old enough, they could help me out with harvesting and hunting. But other than that, every day was just survivin'. Then, I got sick for the hundredth time and just…fucking died."
"That sounds terrible," Charlie admitted.
"Hated every second of it," Adam grumbled, going back to senselessly drawing, though he couldn't shake off the fleeting moments when he found himself with Eve, holding one to another during those cold, harsh nights, sometimes even the kids were huddled around them. But even then, during those brief comforting moments, dread was always looming.
"At least you ended up in heaven," Angel pointed out.
"Yeah, fucking glad I did," Adam said.
"So, you weren't close with your kids, kinda sad, not gonna lie. How about your parents?" Angel asked curiously.
"I don't have parents," Adam said with a frown. "I was made out of Earth's dust."
"By the angels?"
Adam rolled his eyes, recalling how they had made it clear earlier that day who made him. "Yeah. They used their magic energy or whatever to make me and Lilith."
"So… wouldn't that make the angels… your parents…?"
Adam felt his chest twist painfully as the memories of Emily telling him they were family resurfaced.
Charlie's eyes widened. "Oh, my god… Angel's right," she uttered as the realization hit her big time. "That means… Sera and the other high-rank angels are…"
Vaggie stared at Adam with wide eyes too, while Adam looked at all of them as if they'd lost their minds.
"Sera's not my mom," Adam said coldly. "None of the high-ranking angels are my parents. They're my creators."
"Sounds about the same," Husk said calmly.
"It's fuckin' not. They were more like… managers."
"Hold on, isn't Lucifer Sera's brother?" Angel asked Vaggie and Charlie.
"I mean, they were of different ranks, but technically they were all created by God," Vaggie said after pulling her thoughts together, still eyeing Adam, unsure how to take the revelation that Adam would be considered Sera and other high-ranking angels' son. "So… in human terms, yes, they're siblings."
"Holy shit, is Lucifer Adam's dad?"
"He's not my fucking dad!" Adam snapped, Charlie immediately placing a comforting hand on his arm.
"Dad didn't help create Adam or Lilith," Charlie explained to Angel.
"So… that makes Lucifer… Adam's uncle…?" Angel proposed.
Adam groaned, running his clawed hand over his face as Charlie sat there, trying to piece together everything that Angel had said.
"I don't have fucking parents, and I got no damn uncles, now fuck off," Adam retorted to Angel before he glanced away, trying to ignore the weight settling on his chest.
He started to feel so exhausted again, longing to drag himself onto the mattress and hide beneath the blanket. Or blast something into ashes.
"Fine, you were born an orphan," Angel said with a frown, though he did start to feel bad for bringing such theories up, even though he truly believed what he was saying to be true. But from what he saw, Adam was in denial, and he wasn't sure if he liked that. Because it meant the angels in heaven didn't regard Adam as their son but merely as some creation and he truly believed it… which only made Adam's situation more messed up. It was bad enough that Adam was deprived experiencing being a baby and a child.
Angel now also questioned: Did the high-ranking angels also just view all humans as some sort of pet project…?
"So, um, tell us about when you landed in Heaven," Angel asked as he wanted to know what made heaven so special to begin with as he was starting to dislike the place from the bit of information he was getting.
Charlie debated asking Adam another question or changing the topic to avoid discussing heaven. She was relieved to see Adam opening up more, even though she assumed the medication was making him be laxer, but she felt questioning about his former home that had cast him out might not be the best thing to do at this moment.
Meanwhile, Adam did his best to push away thoughts of his traumatic experience with Sera and the others. He decided to cling to the happier memories.
"Well, I opened my eyes and saw the gates for the first time," Adam began, finishing up his drawing and stared at it a bit before setting it down, on the ground, face down. "Then all the angels arrived to greet me. They sang to me, welcoming me to heaven."
Charlie felt a wave of relief over her at the sight of Adam's small smile that made its way to his face as he recounted his first time in heaven. "That sounds beautiful," she said.
"Yeah, and they told me they gave me wings as powerful as of an angel as a gift, 'cause I'm fuckin' great," Adam smirked, but then his smile slowly faded away as he looked down at his black, ashen wings folded at his sides.
"They still look badass to me," Angel commented to him with a supportive smile. "So, how did it feel to fly for the first time?"
"Was fuckin' amazing," Adam admitted, recalling certain memories. "Vineat taught me to fly. She said I picked it up fast." Then he continued telling them about how heaven used to look like in the first years he was there. The city was definitely smaller, and he spent countless days exploring the surrounding forests. His curiosity had driven him to investigate every nook and cranny of his new home.
"I'm glad I died," Adam remarked. "'Cause I finally had a warm place to crash in, and plenty of food to eat. Nothin' around trying to hurt or eat me alive. Fuck those snakes and spiders on Earth."
"So, you spent your time with other angels?" Husk inquired.
"Yeah, in those early years, they were teaching me stuff about heaven, but then more humans started popping up on Earth, and they got very busy watching over them. I rarely saw them later," Adam said. "So, I just did my own thing, y'know?" Adam paused for a moment, ignoring the way he felt a bit of anxiety rising in him as he continued, but he told himself not to make a big deal out of things. "Most times, I'd chill on the highest building in the main city, waiting for those gates to swing open 'cause Moro told me I gotta be there to greet the newbie. Other than that, I would just, I don't know, did whatever in the forest or just sleep a lot."
Vaggie's brows furrowed at what he was saying, trying to make sense of it. "You waited until another human showed up to heaven?" she asked for clarification.
"Did I fucking stutter?" Adam responded with annoyance. "Yah, that's what I said."
Vaggie stared at him. "So, you're telling me, you would go to sit on that tower, waiting, alone, for a thousand of years until another human arrived…?"
The room fell deadly silent. Charlie and Angel stared at Adam in puzzlement while Husk frowned.
"It wasn't a thousand years, you idiot," Adam tried to dismiss Vaggie's statement.
"Adam…" Vaggie began, her voice softening slightly as she started to feel something ache in her chest for her former captain from what he was revealing to them, especially at the fact the way he seemed so unfazed at them. "No other human joined you in heaven for over a thousand years. It's written in the records."
"That doesn't sound right," Adam said with stubbornness. "You're making shit up."
Besides him, a memory replayed in Charlie's mind.
"I'm begging you, please, don't leave me here alone," Adam pleaded, his voice trembling without him realizing it. "I can't bear to be alone again. Sera, please, don't do this to me."
"Anyways, when humans did show up, they were twins," Adam continued as if nothing was bothering him, even though a part of him wanted to stop talking, his heart slowly increasing in speed. His heart clenched at the memories of the years spent alone in heaven, but, as always, he pushed them aside, and told himself it never happened. Or that it wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Must have been nice to have humans around to talk to," Husk commented.
Adam's frown deepened at Husk's statement. "I didn't talk to them," he muttered, as slowly memories that he usually kept locked were resurfacing in his mind.
"Come again?"
"They were weird," Adam stated bluntly. "Actually, all the humans acted fucking weird, so I didn't waste my time trying to talk to them later. But it's fine, 'cause I kept myself busy with whatever."
"Alone…?" Angel slowly asked.
Adam shrugged as a response, continued to act like nothing he was saying bothered him. Again, the room fell silent, and Adam began to claw at the cast on his arm.
"Eventually humans stopped being lame, but right after I played my first concert," Adam grinned immediately as he quickly shoving all the terrible memories aside and focusing on the ones that truly mattered. "Was fuckin' great, everyone went wild that night. You should have been there. The ladies especially screamed for me to keep playing. And I would play a concert every week and almost everyone would go to see me play."
"I won't swear anymore, I promise. I won't play any of that music you hate. I'll stop playing the guitar, I'll eat less, I promise I won't talk back. I'll stay quiet, please, I'll be good again, I'll be better."
After the memory played in Charlie's mind of Adam pleading to the high-rank angels, she forced herself to offer Adam a small smile, noticing how his face lit up while recounting the details that seemed dear to him. However, she couldn't shake the feeling of anger welling up in her chest at how Sera and the others drove Adam to consider giving up something that brought him joy and a connection with other humans.
Meanwhile, Vaggie continued to stare at Adam in disbelief, especially at the fact she knew the exact date Adam had played his first concert in heaven.
From what she was getting from Adam, he didn't interact with anyone for thousands of years…?
Alastor walked into the room at that moment, grinning at them as Niftty stood at his side.
"Oh, you guys are drawing?" Nifty asked with pure curiosity. "Let me see!" She dashed directly at Adam from behind. He violently flinched from her, making him collide with Vaggie.
To her own surprise, Vaggie didn't erupt in anger. Instead, she shifted so she could throw an arm in front of Adam protectively who was shaking like a leaf with wide eyes at Nifty. Vaggie's gesture was not missed by Charlie, who observed it in awe at her girlfriend.
"Nifty, maybe you shouldn't try to run behind Adam like that," Vaggie said to Nifty while Adam placed a hand over his chest, trying to calm down his rapid breathing as his mind momentarily transported him back when Nifty had drove a dagger through him countless of times.
He could still feel the phantom pain of the stabbing.
Charlie went over to him, placing a gentle hand on Adam's back.
"Adam, you're okay," she said soothingly. "You're okay."
"Well, good news, the room is fixed," Alastor announced, completely brushing off the scene before him. "Try not to burn it down again," he added with a condescending tone towards Adam.
Adam managed to pull his thoughts together and shot Alastor a glare. He noticed the others watching him with concern, except for Nifty, who blinked at him curiously, and Husk, who observed him silently as if he was some sort of mystery, which was starting to annoy him. Back in heaven, he relished attention, but not this kind.
"I'm going to sleep," he said as he got up, attempting to conceal the fact he just had a panic attack thanks to the tiny sinner. And truth be told, the exhaustion was weighing him down, especially when he allowed himself to talk about his life in heaven.
He recalled the massive crowds of people screaming his name, smiling brightly and just adoring him. The moments he felt some sort of love… And he missed them so much even now.
Without another word, he exited the room, Charlie trailing behind after gathering his medication.
Vaggie watched them leave, her gaze later drawn to the clipboard Adam had been sketching on. She picked it up, turning it over to reveal a black figure with a wide, sharp teeth grin, and eyes staring at her with a malicious glee.
Author's afternote
Poor Adam and Lilith, robbed of their childhoods and legit just expected to live life : o. angels don't know what they actually created, didn't they?
And Adam, denying of the traumatic experiences he's had actually happened to him and at the same time making them like it was no big deal. hahaha.. as if that's not gonna come back biting him in the face later v.v
But yah, surpriseeee, the angels who made Adam and Lilith are basically their parents : D, neglectful ... (inserts other words) parents, hahaha. but sadly Adam does not see it that way at all. he just played his role that was given to him and yah, i made adam not care for his kids cause he honestly didnt' have the emotional tools to , well, know what to do with them or relate to them. a bit of eve's side will be seen in the future for sure about it all, she's a tragic charc too : o and Adam didnt' hate eve, just saying it out there, and we will see a bit more of that later.
Angel and Adam slowly becoming buddies? Team dickhead growing? : D. Vaggie slowly realizing that Adam isn't just some evil asshole that she thought he was? That he's more complicated ? : O. adam's 'dream', what was happening there? ; 3 and yes, i was nice enough to give a bit of fluff in this chap, ; 3, hahaha. and you guys a bit of molly info too~
Next chapter, a group discussion... and some stuff o.O but yah, let me know what ya peeps think of this chapter with everything that has happened~
Thank you peeps for the kudos/comments/reviews/feedback/fanart 3. I appreciate them : D . If you can, please leave a kudos in archive of our own, i would appreciate it : D
