The holiest flying FUCK ch 1
This is set after Lute trashes Adam's office. It's not smutty or necessarily romantic... YET. I am bad at titles, feel free to give ideas
Lute took the emissaryâs envelope in her fingers as if it was going to burn her if she held it too long. Not taking her sight off the messenger until she closed the door without a word. She tried not to stare at the offending paper, apprehensive of what the royal emissaryâs nice and prim envelope could contain.
She had recently fucked up her deceased commanderâs office in a nervous fit of rage after all, so maybe sheâd earned some type of punishment. Note to self: next time I feel like wrecking a functional real estate element, think it through.
She turned her back to the closed door and ripped the soft, high-cotton-content envelope open to read an even fancier paper inside, written in golden, loopy calligraphy inside an intricate frame of bows and snakes.
-Are you fucking kidding me?!
Lute yelled, by herself in her chambers. The echo bounced off the empty walls as she threw the balled up official notice, aiming for a satisfying crashing sound, but alas, it was paper and it barely made any drama. Somehow that irritated her even more.
The fancy note was from Sera and Emily. Something about integrating the snake guy into Heaven, blah blah. No funeral or anything for Adam, just a party at a cave-like library and cafeteria.
Funny how Heaven is supposed to be a perfect place but there is no place for anything âbadâ, not even being upset about the death of a loved⌠BELOVED ONE?
-Stop it!
She growled into her barely furnished quarters and pulled her hair. And then remembered Abel said something about âplease not going bald". Ugh.
No use reflecting too much now. Sheâd have to attend if she wanted to have any hopes of fucking up that goddamned âredemption hotelâ in time; maybe getting some intel on the snake instead of attempting making snake kebabs would help too. Kebabs didnât seem to be an option, anyway. Sheâd bring her sword just in case.
Ugh, the invite said no weapons. A knife hidden in her boot, then; they could regret inviting a sinner at any point! How the HELL had Heaven survived this long with all this lack of caution?
âYooooo I bet that pussyâs built gigantic dildos in his spare time!! How do you think heâd use them?!â Adam would say if he saw a huge snake that built warfare machines but stuttered.
Oh, no one knew who they were dealing with⌠nobody seemed to take her seriously. But it would make sneaking Adamâs special stolen drink from hell to the party that much easier, fuck it. She had no patience for happiness, apple juice and bubblegum soda today.
Time to fly to the general office building; the bigger stash at Adamâs place was a bad option; the whole site was still being surveilled; mostly for show, as his workplace, which was away from civilians, was not.
Lute had a spare key for Adamâs office nobody knew about, not even Adam. She didnât get enough credit for how much she had saved that man from himself; if heâd gotten his hands on that key, itâd have beaten its purpose.
Ah yes, saved him from himself but not when it actually mattered
-Shut up!
She made sure not to be seen by anyone and as she arrived to said office, ripped away the âclosed for repairâ tape from the golden handles, kicked the huge wood door open unnecessarily and barged in. A cleaning employee nearby jumped, scared by the noise.
Lute remembered where Adam had put his secret stash, just not exactly what the drink was; it tasted bad, but it numbed you a bit and relaxed you.
Banned in Heaven, of course, for a good reason; people went overboard with it all the time and did things that guaranteed a place in Hell. But she needed it. She knelt down in front of that one hidden trapdoor on the floor and gently opened it.
Adam and Lute used to sneak a small stroll of âday drinkingâ once in a blue moon; sometimes hid a bit of drink in a slushy. Fun times.
Remember that one time when you drank too much of it and he had to hold you tight so you didnât fall over? He laughed at âthe sight of a drunk angelâ, but his laugh was so funny you did too. You clung to him as if you had no wings. Youâre blushing, arenât you?
-Focus. Iâve found the chest, now letâs just bust the lock.
Adam drank mostly by himself though. And he never shared the weed he smoked either, but it smelled like shit anyway.
Funny how Emily and the others thought the redeemed snake, having lived in hell and all, and having a sinnerâs habits, would actually drink that awful sugar-rimmed, confetti marshmallow Shirley Temple willingly. Like that power metal song Adam covered says, âWhat if your heaven, was someone elseâs hell?â
-Oh, Adam.
She sighed and felt temped to light a bit of weed to smell it, just to feel like he was right there, behind her on his desk, pretending to work and blabbering about the latest rock albums.
The silence was starting to feel heavy in this cold, formerly loud office.
-Miss Lute? -a hesitant voice and its echo made her jump, startled- Knock-knock! Are you there?
Abel. Absolutely not! Lute hid the stash in its place and flew through the window she had broken last week with the drinks in tow.
-HeyâŚ
Abel poked his head into the room to find a light breeze and silence in his dadâs office.
-Miss Lute?
Abel let himself into the still disheveled office; his dadâs lieutenant had had one hell of a nervous breakdown in here last week.
Did angels who went to hell usually go crazy or was Lute personally always so un-heavenly and creepy-time-prone? And why was she so upset when he had wanted to keep his dadâs guitar?
There was nobody here, but he had heard a voice, hadnât he?
Maybe heâd imagined it.
He had been hoping to let Lute know he convinced Sera she didnât need to stay long at Pentiousâs gathering if she wasnât feeling merry⌠Itâd be awkward to say that she could leave soon once she showed up though! Nobody should feel unwelcome at a mandatory party.
Lute arrived, still in uniform, last to the party, and everyone seemed to already be in the mood for fun and giggly shit. Emily greeted her happily, and said she was glad she had been able to come. Of course, but the note had made it very clear this was mandatory.
The snake guy didnât seem to be enjoying himself too much, to her surprise. He was squirming around while Saint Peter and Abel tried to include him in a game. She noticed the guy actually looked like he was about to cry in overwhelm. Thatâs what you get for redeeming yourself, or what?
Sheâd avoid that corner. Emily had joined along with Molly, a winner whose brother was a pornstar and junkie in hell. Did she know? Why were the high-ranking angels so hellbent on torturing the snake?
She almost felt sorry for him; now Saint Peter had proposed a ring-around-a-rosie type of game where they surrounded the snake, singing something about a very merry un-birthday. Pentious screamed something about the original version, and someone brought two whistling kettles. Lute widened her eyes, almost amused. There was an original version about an unbirthing song?!
-You should join them, Lute.
Sera had the custom of showing up in silence and startling Lute.
-Itâs not like you have anything better to do, do you? -Sera smiled at her and removed the snacks Lute had been entertaining herself with. This wasnât a question then.
As she approached, the new guy visibly stretched and flinched while screaming in a hiss, if that was possible, and hid behind Emily. Unfortunately it wasnât a joke, he was probably having extermination flashbacks. She rolled her eyes, she didnât even have her mask or sword with her.
-Itâs okay, Sir Pentious, Lute is not going to harm you! You are in Heaven now! -Emily reassured him
-Correct, my orders are explicitly eliminating sinners only, -Lute said piercing past Emily into Pentiousâs eyeshot- While you are not proved to have not indeed been redeemed, you are completely safe from angelic steel.
Pentiousâs multiple eyes flew from Lute to Emily, in a hesitant smile.
-Lute just needs to get used to you, Pen! -Emily chirped while Pentious seemed to look for a way for his hat to swallow him into another dimension.
-We have had so many changes lately, but we can absolutely do this! -Saint Peter claimed, putting an arm around him and drinking a marshmallow Shirley Temple.
Lute would officially not bully the poor snake anymore. Neither of them had ever asked for this. He didnât know if his friends lived or died, and she had just lost the soul she loved, and nobody acknowledged either loss; the party went on.
-Letâs toast to that! -Saint Peter was on a roll- Everyone has their confetti Shirley Temples, right!?
Lute hid a discarded one on the nearest table behind her back.
-Uh, not me! Let me get one! -Abelâs mind was doing quantum physics over the missing drink, it was IMPOSSIBLE that it had simply vanished!- Uh, if thatâs okay!
-Letâs make you a new one! -Emily and Peter sang in unison and all of them turned to the bar
And Lute turned to Pentious, making sure Sera wasnât looking first
-Hey, snake, you donât wanna be here either, I see you trying to run.
-Please donât take me wrong soldier angel! I-
-See that window next to the bathroom? It is loose. You can get out from there to catch a break. Maybe even ending the gathering.
-Why?
-Do you wanna leave or not? -Lute urged- Quick, theyâre almost done! Iâll say youâre in the bathroom.
-Th-thanks.
Pentious smiled, and left. What had even compelled her to help him out?
Theyâd catch him though, but while they looked, she could have a break too. She poured some of Adamâs drink on a glass in the now empty party corner. And drank it. She felt a little sleepy but poured another one and went to an empty table. From afar, she could tell the search for the missing gigantic snake had begun. Fuck it, sheâd do the ânight drinkingâ and leave.
-Miss Lute, you donât wanna join us? -Abel smiled at her- Searching for Pen has sort of become one of our new favourite games! Itâs surprisingly fun!
-Not for the snake, I bet. -she flatly commented
-How can you say that? He just likes to explore, probably. You look very tired, Miss Lute, are you okay?
-Sir Pentious didnât get lost exploring, Abel, he pissed off.
-You chased him out?
-No, I told him of an exit and he used it, -Lute took a swig of the bitter drink- So my suspicion that he wasnât having fun was correct.
-Miss Lute⌠why donât you enjoy these things and just go with the flow?
-Do you have any idea what happened that day in Hell, or only what the others told you?
-Why would they lie to me? Come on Lute, itâs a party, and youâre freaky in the dark again-Abel was taken aback as Lute grabbed him by the neck of his robe and approached his face in and offensive stance,
-Do you realise he canât even tell if we killed his friends, and I canât know what happened to my commanderâs body after he was murdered? And you want me to pretend all is normal?!
Abel gently put his hand on hers and pushed it off him and onto the table, in a maneuver where she ended up sat on a chair. He sat on the chair next to it. This corner sure was freaky in the dark, but at least she didnât look as spooky now; she looked rather defeated.
-He was my father -Abel said wistfully- I regret his passing too. Even if we didnât understand each other. All I know is he was stabbed on the chest, and that Penâs friends might be alive. I want to distract him from all of it, because there is no way for us to assure anything.
-Exactly, you donât know! -she spat- And no matter how many sugar filled parties you throw, you cannot bring him back, or bring the snake to the friends he actually likes. Adam was stabbed in the back by a random, bug-eyed demon cleaner -Luteâs eyes had begun to feel heavy- Attacking from the back is against the rules of war!
-Neither the snake, nor I, want to participate in your confetti, unicorn filled party like everythingâs fine.
Abel averted his gaze, and poured some of the stash drink he spotted next to Lute on a cup for himself.
-Look, Miss Lute⌠I thought my dad was going to live forever. Iâm trying to forget heâs gone. He didnât like me, but I liked him.
Lute actually looked straight into his face this time, eyes wide.
-You know how when you are sort of immortal, you think you have forever to resolve whatever is not working between you and suddenly⌠forever is gone.
Abelâs eyes were suddenly glazed with a layer of tears he tried holding back, but Lute noticed.
He grabbed his chair and scooted closer to her to whisper,
-I recognise that drink from his stash. -he drank the whole cup in one gulp- Thanks for letting me have some.
Lute felt a little flustered. Must be the drink. She took his empty glass and poured more liquid into both. He looked at her as if heâd been drowning and suddenly could poke his head out of the water.
-They told us my dadâs body couldnât be recovered, that he was sort of pulverised. -Abel hesitated- I, uh, found it strange that only his halo, now your bracelet, could have survived that.
-His body wasnât pulverised, at least not while I was there. I took his halo and left; Lucifer and a bunch of sinners made us retire; I did see a horde of cannibals approaching though, and⌠I donât want to think about it.
Abelâs face reflected complete sorrow. Lute raised her glass on a toast, irony and bitterness on her face. They clicked them like a church bell announcing a funeral mass.
-Iâm sorry I couldnât recover his body. And people here donât take that seriously.
She was already very tipsy and felt the need to slump into the table
-Miss Lute, I would like to know⌠you and my dad, were you together?
-No.
Lute laid face down on the table now. The sorrow. Abel stroked her arm gently
-But for you, I get the impression⌠he was more than just your general.
He put an arm around her, expecting her to push it off. But she didnât.
Once her shoulders stopped shaking, Abel looked around. The others were throwing Pen around in a conga, the poor snakeâs face announcing he wanted to vanish into thin air. Good, they were distracted.
-Listen, Miss Lute, letâs go have some fresh air, youâre a little under the weather, -Abel grabbed Luteâs hand and squeezed- come on, Iâll go with you, if you want.
-Who do you think you are? -Lute protested and dragged herself off the chair- Iâll go by myself!
It was obvious given her eyes just randomly tried to roll to the back of her head, and her legs nearly giving away as she tried to stand, that doing so would be very difficult.
-Seriously, you canât think you are completely able toâŚ
Lute flapped around her wings in an attempt not to fall on the table and knocked off some blue raspberry puff tubs,
-I am fine! Look! -she let go of the table and immediately lost balance; Abel caught her on time by the waist, in an un-elegant tango stance. Heâd never been this close to her face before; it felt surreal and oddly vulnerable.
Lute felt warm. She didnât have to keep struggling anymore, she had just landed somewhere soft that smelled nice. She closed her eyes and dived into it. She wrapped her wings around the roundish, warm, soft surface, wanting more of it.
-Well this is reaaaally awkward, Miss Lute. -Abel looked around, feeling the inhumane strength of Luteâs arms squeezing his ribcage- Let us uh, sit you downâŚ
-No! -She groaned in a sleepy voice and snuck her arms to hang by his neck this time, which pressed her body right into his. She of course had hard muscle due to training but wasnât entirely hard, and she was warm and soft in some places, despite her appearance.
It was really not helping his case, and admittedly, flustering him. He had no idea, and wasnât prepared, for Lute making him feel this hot. It must be the room temperature and the surprise. Now they seemed to slow dance, but it was simply Abel trying not to fall or knock over the venueâs chairs and tables, or onto people, who were beginning to dance to the DJâs fresh arrival.
This made it harder to walk to the exit. The Seraphims would understand, right? Or would they think something weird?
She was obviously wasted, but still strong enough that he couldnât really pry her off, and they were still in public. And he felt bad thinking of prying her off him now.
It looked like he was simply holding her tight for no reason; had she been a normal angel and had he not been a little tipsy, he could have sat her down, but his luck was out (He wanted to hate this so bad but felt terrible it wasn't awful). And then she wrapped her strong wings around him. He turned red, not just hot. Saint Peter noticed and made an amused yet scandalised face at him; he would not hear the end of it, very soon.
He knew maybe sheâd never come to not hate him once the poisoning was over, and part of him wanted to bribe her into not disliking him, but partly, the first man was his dad too. She was, likely, someone he was friends with. He could have genuine solidarity and a desire for her not to hate him anymore, if only for selfish reasons.
He didnât want people actually discovering she was drunk on an illegal thing he had drank from too and all that; heâd get them both out of this place before it was more obvious from afar.
Hopefully, the Heaven born didnât know what a drunk person looked like, and just thought it was some scandalous affair.
The idea of a love affair with Lute sounded awkward but somehow it also made him feel really hot on the face. Maybe he just had too many layers of clothing on to be carrying someone else with him, could be nothing more!
Carrying an angel who likely didnât know how to drink and thinking of that was simply⌠anyway, heâd take his drunk lieutenant to his place to recover without people looking, or hearing potential crap, and then she could go home.
