#devilxhenchman

The darkness of his unconscious was invaded by sparks of pain.

When he opened his eyes, it didn't take long for them to become watery due to the unbearable light and heat.

He rubbed his eyelids until the tears stopped drawing kaleidoscopes.

It was then that he noticed that he was no longer wearing his bracelets, and not only that, his naturally rosy complexion had been seared a shadowy purple.

Desperately, sight and touch searched his entire body for his old self. Recognition boarded him. His body was no longer what he used to be. This was part of the divine punishment.

He had been corrupted.

The fear of the situation made him surround himself with his arms and wings, but when the latter flexed, excruciating pain invaded them. From the periphery of him, a vestige of his former pink self caught his eye.

They were feathers falling.

Henchman looked at the ground around him.

All those were the feathers of him...

How did he look now without them?...

Henchman forced himself to push that train of thought away and stop looking at the feathers, scrambling to his feet.

If he continued to regret himself he would lose his way, his reason.

Perhaps his mind was doomed to lose itself in the gravity of the situation, however, his body would not rest until he found that only reason he had left.

The one that had brought him here in the first place.

Not far from him, other feathers lay lifeless on the ground. Celestial, like the brightest sky...

Henchman followed the trail through the caverns and tunnels until a sound stopped him.

It was a cry.

Henchman ran towards him.

And he saw it.

A figure dark as midnight, with claws and horns of gold, his tail also ending in an arrowhead. He was kneeling on the ground.

He was the owner of those regrets.

The creature trembled violently as he became aware of his presence. An expression of sheer terror plastered his face.

─── Boss?... ─── Henchman asked hopeful and incredulous.

The creature's rubies seemed to glow in recognition.

─── Henchman?... ─── Then the soft voice of the angel he had known since it all began answered him.

─── Yes... Yes, it's me, boss! You don't know how worried he was! ──── Henchman ran and captured the taller one in a hug as gentle as it was firm. He felt that if he didn't hold it right there it might disappear like an illusion.

He had already lost it once...

He would not lose it again.

Lucifer didn't take long to cling to him.

So much pain had torn him to pieces from the inside out.

His nightmare had come true.

His father had abandoned him for not being who he wanted him to be. For not meeting his expectations and being brave enough to rip off what made him different from the other angels.

And yet, even if this was the worst moment imaginable; the worst in which it could exist..., Henchman was here...

Because like?...

─── What... what are you doing here?...─── murmured the angel, afflicted, shocked. Henchman was perfect, one of God's many truly perfect creations unlike him.

Why? Why would he banish him too? Did the mere fact of having been his servant make her an accessory to his putrefaction? Or was there more cruelty in his father's heart than he had barely witnessed?

As if the little Henchman had read his thoughts, he answered.

─── I came for you. ──── Lucifer did not believe that in so few words in an instant, such sincere and disinterested affection would fit inside. So strong, that he soaked him to the bone. Thus freeing him from his stormy trance.

─── Why did you do it?! ───Desperation ran freely in the form of tears down his cheeks.

─── Because I care about you, Lucy. ───

Henchman tried to calm the pain with soft caresses on his back.

But the angel hissed.

Even the slightest touch burned him like hot iron.

It was then that Henchman noticed Lucifer's wings... or rather, the absence of them.

Henchman's face contracted, his heart felt pierced by daggers.

─── T-t-take it easy. I-It's okay! I-I'll take care... ─── he promised him in a broken sweet whisper.

Henchman didn't know how to fix any of this.

However, the way the angel clung to him as his only lifeline in the infinity of this sea, gave him enough strength to try.

I would...for him.

A short time later, the imps found them. One of them, with greenish skin and a hiss on his tongue, welcomed them, leading them to a room where Henchman could treat the angel's wounds.

When Lucifer's wings were bound, a hint of tranquility was allowed to breathe in the air. Blood continually stained the white, but at least, covered now, they had a chance to heal.

They had to...

─── You didn't answer me. ───Lucifer spoke.

───Why are you here? Was it father's decision or... your decision?... ─── he asked again. Nervous fingers playing.

─── Boss... That doesn't matter. ─── replied the now purple demon solemnly.

─── What matters is... that we are together. ─── And, despite the gloomy situation, Henchman gave him one of his most beautiful and brilliant smiles.

It was thus that he knew that Henchman would never say a word to him about what happened after his fall and before their reunion.

And, one day today, Henchman appears the secret.

He never knew if it was his own rebellion that earned her banishment from him or... his unmatched loyalty.

The Devil admitted that there were nights when, sheltered from loneliness, he still found himself thinking about it.

Thinking about how time had passed.

How his life changed...

A soft knock on the door.

─── Boss~!

And how some things just... stayed the same.

Every smile, compliment, touch, encouragement, comfort... Everything Henchman ever gave him shot through him like a shooting star through the cold emptiness of space, lighting up the darkness around him...

───Thank you, Henchman... ─── he muttered weakly, closing the book he had been pretending to read.

─── Duh. Why, Boss? ─── the purple demon questioned smiling, thinking that this was one of the Devil's tricks.

Until he felt arms encircle him with gentle firmness; and warm tears falling on his head.