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A pair of very nice chairs were brought onto the set as the news desk was pushed away, allowing Velvette and Lilith to sit down. Another, much smaller table was brought in, along with a tray with a teapot and two small cups on saucers. "Right, let's get right to it, love," Vel began, lifting the pot and pouring each of them a spot of tea. After setting it back down, she picked up one of the saucers and offered it to her. "What's the tea?"
Lilith smiled at her as she sat down, bowing her head as she accepted the offering. "For starters, thank you for agreeing to this interview. I'm sure Lucy hasn't been shy about his complaints about me, so it's lovely to get the opportunity to explain myself."
Lucifer bristled at the nickname, digging his claws into his knees. "I haven't said a fucking sour word about you to the public," he growled under his breath.
"So I've heard," Velvette chuckled. "So what happened between you two? Everyone knows the story of the first love. A human and an angel, dreamers and rebels, crossing paths in paradise and falling for each other. You two ended up in Hell, but the story behind closed doors has been kept pretty fuckin' quiet. That's the story I want."
Lilith breathed a sigh, taking a sip of her tea before she began. "We were in love. Desperately so. But the Fall changed him. The man I fell in love with died on impact," she lamented. "The king you all know is nothing like the sweet angel he used to be."
"His name was Samael. He had these gorgeous purple eyes, and such a big heart. And this goofy little gap between his front teeth," she giggled, grinning at the memory. "He was so cute! And he was so thoughtful; he'd come down to visit me in the Garden and he'd bring little trinkets he made to show me. When I was upset, he'd go out of his way to make me laugh to cheer me up. How could any woman choose Adam if presented with someone as brilliant and beautiful as Samael?" she asked. "Adam was a brutish, misogynist pig, but Sammy… oh, he was perfect."
"...The other angels in Heaven never seemed to see that," Lilith admitted, lowering her saucer. "We'd talk about his ideas. His aspirations. How the other angels made fun of him for the wackier plans, or laughed at his favored creations. He adored everything in creation, but he especially loved humans. He'd come up with these… amazing ideas. He created dragons, you know."
"Wait, what? Dragons aren't just fairytale monsters?" Vel asked, arching a brow.
"No, not at all. He loved making things that spit fire, even then," she laughed. "When he made them, he gave them free will. They were some of the most noble creatures on Earth before they were wiped out. Admittedly by humans," she sighed. "That was why he wanted humans to have free will in the first place. He tested it on dragons, and they used it constructively. He wanted to give that gift to humans too."
The first woman was quiet for a moment, her expression gradually growing melancholy before she continued. "He was… different after we were cast to Hell," she muttered. "Not just physically. He tried so many times to fly back up to Heaven, only for these great, blackened chains to surge up from the ground to bind him, yanking him back down to slam into the stones below. He hated how he looked. Stopped taking care of his wings until they grew unbearable and he had no choice but to let me help him. He clung to the filthy, tattered rags that were his robes for years," she remarked, some level of disgust on her face. "The dirty things stank of shame, but he didn't want to let any of it go."
"I couldn't see the slightest glimmer of the man I'd fallen for until I asked him to make us a soft place to rest. By that point we'd been sleeping on rocks for six months since he found me. I still can't believe he never thought to do that himself," she scoffed. "It was as if he forgot how much he liked creating new things the moment he was banished."
The fallen angel folded his arms across his chest, slouching on the couch. His expression was growing increasingly anxious, and he pressed himself into Alastor's side, seeking him out for comfort. The overlord squeezed his opposite shoulder, then started rubbing his upper arm. Gabriel sat forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he watched the interview. "Are you sure this is a good idea for you to watch this?" the Radio Demon asked quietly. "After last night…"
"I need to know," the devil replied, his voice shaky.
"Once the house was finished and he took time to rest, it was right back to picking a spot to sit down and staring longingly up at Heaven. For hours," she complained, setting her saucer down and folding her arms across her chest. "As if he thought if he stared long enough, someone might come down and acknowledge he ever existed. They didn't care for him when he was there; why would they care now that he was as far from them as they could possibly move him?" the former queen asked.
"I did care," Gabe argued. "We weren't allowed to come down here," he admitted. "We were told if we came to Hell, we could never escape. That we'd be stuck down here too." He felt something snake around his wrist and he glanced down. The spaded tip of the king's tail rested on top of his forearm, a single coil of its length wrapped loosely around his arm. He glanced over at him, but Lu's eyes were still glued to the screen.
"The only way I could keep the idiot moving forward was giving him new tasks to complete. Any time I left him to his own devices, he'd find somewhere to brood by himself," she huffed. "He did all the work to get Hell set up and ready for the influx of sinners that would be coming down here, but I'm the one that pushed him to do it. I'm the one that came up with all the ideas. If it weren't for me, he'd probably have crawled right back to the crater he landed in and stayed there," she scoffed, her nose wrinkling as she did.
Velvette cackled, bringing a hand in front of her mouth as she did. "Oh, that's rich! Of course the woman was the real brains behind the operation," she chuckled, grinning as the queen preened at her praise. "So, you only stuck around to make use of his power."
"The only other thing he had going for him was his ability in the bedroom," the queen joked, earning a laugh from the fashionista. Gabriel winced when he heard the wounded noise to his left in response to Lilith's words. "A good fuck and a good battery. Not much else to him," she dismissed, closing her eyes and waving her hand as if to shoo the thought away.
"You sure on the first one?" Vel snickered, resting her chin on the back of her hand. "I mean, the two of you only produced one heir to the throne of Hell."
"Oh, I won't deny him that," Lilith replied. "He's masterful between the sheets. That tongue of his is magical," she gossiped. "But… that's not why we only produced one child. We didn't even decide to have kids until about a year before Charlie's conception. Before that, he was using his power to ensure we didn't have any happy little accidents," she explained.
"Well thank fuck for that," Velvette scoffed. "Right, enough about that pathetic excuse for a man. On to this big announcement of yours."
The queen smiled, turning her attention to the cameras. "Of course. Starting today, I'll be acting as the new CEO of V-Tek, taking the place of Vox. As a result, V-Tek is now taking new applicants for our lineup. Additionally, we're going to be rebranding that," she hummed, smirking at Velvette. "We don't need that fool's ridiculous nomenclature hanging over our shoulders, do we my dear?"
"Pff, fuck no," the fashionista snickered. "Tell 'em the new brand name."
"Ladies and gentlemen, V-Tek is no more. We are replacing it… with Radiance," she announced. "We'll be producing better cinema, better television, better products than our predecessor, so you too can be radiant." With that, the program cut, moving on to the next show in the lineup. Quietly, Alastor turned off the TV.
"What a shit name," Blitz piped up from his spot hanging over the back of the couch.
A screech of static left the Radio Demon. "When the FUCK did you get here?!" he demanded.
"Toldja I could be quiet," the imp replied with a cheeky grin. "So, we burnin' down their building or what?" he asked, hanging over the furniture to look at the king. "Whaddaya say, boss?"
Lucifer was still staring at the black screen of the television. Well, not at, more through. His shoulders were drawn in and low, his hands loose in his lap. His tail faded away, dull eyes gradually sinking to the floor. "...I gave up everything for her…" he whispered, drops of wetness appearing on his fingers before rolling to the tip of his claws. "Everything. My home. My family. My place in creation. All of it, to save her life." His breath hitched, more wet patches forming as he curled in on himself. "And all I was to her in the end… was a tool. A… means to an end."
"Lu…" Gabriel started.
"I was hurt," he continued, bringing his hands to his face. "I was broken in the most… complete sense of the phrase… and all she wanted to see was who I used to be. And instead of trying to help me put myself back together, she just pushed me to keep moving."
The messenger laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, glancing briefly at Alastor before he scooted closer, extending three wings behind him. "...I'm sorry," he stated. "You needed someone to care, and I left you here to suffer. I should have taken notes from you," he said. "I wish I'd been as brave as you were back then. You stood up for what you knew was right. I bent the knee. And I should have come down here after you. To heal your wounds. To help you back to your feet and make sure you were alright. I failed you, and I'm sorry. I know… a little of the damage that woman inflicted on you. What you've shared and what I've just seen. We never should have left you alone."
After a moment, Lucifer stood up. Wordlessly, he started shuffling to the doors to the parlor, his focus to the floor. His partner got to his feet behind him, reaching out to grab him by the forearm and stopping him in his tracks. “Lucifer, you shouldn't walk away from this,” he scolded him gently. “Come back and sit down. We can work out a response together. We can-”
“Let me go, Alastor,” he uttered in a deflated, empty tone.
The Radio Demon huffed, shaking his head. “You can't really expect me to leave you by yourself to sort this out,” he disputed. “We're partners. We're supposed to handle these things together.”
“...Please…” he whispered, the fingers of his hands curling into tight fists. “Please let me go.”
After some hesitation, his claws released the king's arm, allowing it to drop to his side. “Promise you'll come back to me, mon ange,” he requested.
For a moment, Lucifer didn't respond. Then, he held up his left hand, shifting his ring finger a few times so the ring would catch the light. “Always,” he replied numbly, then made his way to the elevator.
Once he was out of earshot, Alastor's shadow peeled away from his ankles, straightening up on the wall closest to him. He looked at it, then jerked his head toward the elevator. “Keep an eye on him. Get me if anything happens,” he instructed, watching it melt away and zip along to pursue the king. With that, he made his way back to the couch, taking a seat and crossing his right leg over his left.
His ears stood straight up when he heard Gabriel speak up. “I'm going to make her regret every word,” he said softly. The demon turned his head to face him, noting the stern determination in his amber eyes. “I'm going to make her wish he hadn't fought to save her life. I'm going to make her writhe, and scream, and beg for mercy where there will be none. And when she's completely shattered as he was, I will deny her the peace of death and leave her to languish for the same four months it took him to piece himself back together. So she can understand a sliver of the pain he endured for her.”
After a pause, the archangel turned to Alastor. “...You have a radio show, right?”
“The most popular radio show in Hell,” he confirmed.
“...Let's do an interview.”