.- ... .- . .-..

Rustles of the blankets and light steps against the floors above us almost match the hard pounds of my heart.

Turn it up more so at my companion's caresses on my waist. What is he doing?

"We've secured the entire beach," one guy says, and after a pause, he adds, "The juniors are standing by after asking around as well."

"And?" Rafa replies.

God. I still can't believe it's Rafa. Raphaela Gessel. My supposedly unsuspecting bride who knows nothing about anything behind the scenes. Does this mean I really am the only one kept in the dark about everything?

But it doesn't add up. Why would Rafa be the 'boss' of anything? Her background, as my family and herself vaguely revealed to me, is related to being the head of some small-time charity and giving back to the orphanages, especially the one that raised her.

I should've asked more questions. I should've been more skeptical.

"Nothing."

"So they're still somewhere in the vicinity? Or have they gone away earlier than anticipated?" another person chimes in from above the floorboards.

Heeled steps on wood resound near the exact spot where me and Lucifer are. I hold my breath as Rafa stops walking right above us. "Or... they could still be here. In this lighthouse."

When... has her voice sounded this calculating and commanding?

"..Hiding," she whispers, the words echoing in the only thing separating her from seeing us.

Lucifer's caresses around my waist move lower, my hands gripping harder on his arm. What the hell is he doing?

Before I can stop whatever it is he's doing, his body and mine become transparent, mixing in flawlessly along the shadows. Just like shadows, it's as though my weight vanishes completely. Only Lucifer's body flush against my back weighs something in my senses. Our bodies seemingly merge and become one with the darkness in the walls. Then, my heart seems to have stopped beating.

The floorboards above us crash, planks flying across the place, clashing loudly as they fall on the metal stairs. Newfound light from the gallery shines upon the circular build of the tower, casting less shadows around the spiral staircase.

Deafening silence peers into the space, with splinters and dusted pieces of the crushed wooden floors dancing in the air as they descend the spotlight above toward the dimness below. Almost as though... the heavens peering into earth. Or hell.

"Huh." A voice I can swear is still Rafa's despite it sounding more masculine and rough, hums in disappointment. Or confusion? "I could've sworn I felt traces of the wretched fallen one right there." What?

I don't know what Lucifer did, but if he hadn't done this merging with the shadows, what would've happened? Rafa will have spotted us. Then, what?

She knows. She knows about Lucifer. How? No. Why?

"If I may speak out of turn, my lord." My lord? Not ladyship, or I don't know, boss, like they used earlier? Wait, no. Why would they address her so highly? So... royally?

"Drop the title. We can't risk anything here. Speak." That's... still Rafa, right? The voice is... changing?

"You... broke human property."

"Oh..."

Human property.

With a sigh, white, pointed heels steps into the hole from the crash earlier. But she doesn't fall. The feet up to the figure-hugging white dress levitates down, light brimming from somewhere behind her, like specks of dust twinkling and coming together to form a clear image of something akin to wings. Right there, as the light collects itself, it sparks and shatters, and pure white, giant wings flap softly, carrying her around the space as she navigates it.

An angel.

"I... don't suppose we can simply contact the Uriahs to cover for this, no?" she says, almost with a crooked smile, followed by a nervous chuckle as she observes the broken pieces of wood scattered around. Her voice doesn't sound like hers anymore. Deep, yet clear and confident. Authoritative. Perhaps this is her real voice.

Rafa... is an angel. No... she's more than just an ordinary angel.

One guy joins in her laughter with more confidence, another collective formulation of light and dust gathering above. A man in his formal suit and cleanly swept hair, now descends the hole with his own pair of wings. But somehow, they're smaller. Much, much smaller compared to the one behind Rafa's back.

Raphaela Gessel is an archangel.

"Worry not, my lord." He hands her a phone from his pocket. "I'm sure they are able."

So that's why they call her that.

"I told you to drop the title." She sighs once more as she palms her face, one hand taking the phone. "Let's hope Faye or Remi picks up instead of Mike."

Mom. Remi. Dad.

I can't tell if my body is trembling, but I can feel my breathing hastening despite Lucifer's gentle yet firm grip over my mouth. One of his hands slips inside my sweatshirt and caresses my stomach. When I turn my head towards him, the blur in my vision and all the thoughts running in my head come to a halt as his mouth takes over mine.

What are you doing, Lucifer? I... I can't think properly like this. Not when his hand cups my face tenderly, his other hand exploring my skin, and his mouth taking every breath and sob away from me. His touch is like a weak fire. It burns, but the heat is gentle, even a little ticklish. Like a comforting embrace. I close my eyes and hold onto his arms, returning the mindless actions depriving me of all the sourness soaring inside me.

We are one with the shadows in this moment, for some reason, invisible and undetected even by the eyes of angels, and Lucifer is making me wish we aren't. Every touch burns still, but it's not enough when it's not our actual bodies touching.

His tongue rolls inside my mouth and swirls around my own. Fudge. I can't think straight anymore. I can still hear Rafa and some others talking amongst themselves, but nothing about it is pulling at my heart as strongly as it did a bit ago. At least, not right now. I think.

Lucifer's hand tugs on my nape more, engulfing the sounds my body is begging to let out as his other hand pushes out of my shirt and into my sweatpants. He's relentless. He won't let anything come out. I get it. We can't be seen. But even as I'm running out of breath, I can still manage with tiny reserves of air he's providing between our kisses. It's just right to hold myself longer.

Yet, not enough for my clouded head to gain full satisfaction.

"Yes, so," Rafa's voice carries along the space almost distantly with a nervous edge to it hidden by a snort. "I have good and bad news."

A string of saliva hangs between our mouths as Lucifer finally pulls away and grants me air. His hands pause, dimmed red eyes boring into mine, closing in his face and licking my lips. A shiver runs through me. Still, I make an effort to cage every desperate whimper I'm sure is lurking in my throat, pleading for him to continue taking my breath and thoughts away.

"The bad news first, then," Rafa answers, gentle flaps of wings casting dancing shadows near us. "I may have broken the lighthouse. Just a little."

Everything is clearer again. But my mind is still muddled. Lucifer leans closer, rubbing a thumb on my cheek as he presses our foreheads and noses together, our breaths mingling. My half-lidded blue eyes reflect in his red ones. He blinks once, and for some reason, it delivers a message that makes me want to break down even more so.

Eyes on mine only. You are not alone. I am here.

Rafa continues to discuss something about the expenses needed to repair the floorboards she broke from whatever angel powers she used. From the way she is speaking, it may not be who she didn't want it to be - Mike, my dad.

"The good news is..." The slight quiver in Rafa's voice vanishes. I can't see or look at her right now, but I can tell she has a smirk on her face. "They haven't gotten far."

The shadow of their wings flaps and brings them back to the gallery. Still, I keep my gaze on Lucifer's as I try to calm my breathing.

"Asael left the car at the hospital. What do you mean, what car? The one for our wedding!" Then she snorts. "I thought you'd know about Faye's little gift for us."

It couldn't be Dad she's talking to, and she mentioned Mom, so it isn't her either. So it's...

"Surely you witnessed it parked in the hospital. The one with flowers at the front. You see it, now? Gosh, Remi." So it is Remi. "If you'll check closely, there's bloodstains in the backseat, too."

And she's at the hospital.

"Neither Asael nor Mr. Xavier sustained that much damage from the incident. So, who else could it have been but that filth?" Disdain tugs at the edge of her words, almost like poison.

The crashed wedding ceremony and everything that happened that day flows back to me. I don't know how I managed to think things through, then. I know I'll be in trouble, but when am I not when I'm doing something I want?

I explained it to Lucifer earlier. I left him here at the lighthouse before returning to the hospital and taking a cab by myself. With all the supplies and change of clothes, of course.

"No idea. He could have rode a cab, but how will he explain anything to the driver?"

With a clearer and calmer mind, I resist a huff. Bet they still won't figure it all out. But, I'm the cornered one here. Not them. We are. Lucifer and I. And I don't know what to do next.

"In any case, Gabriel sure did us a good one back there." Silence follows, then a frustrated huff. "I know. It's not like Asael found the prayer suspicious, did he?" Prayer?

"Here." She opens a folder and stops on a page. "Make sure you're kneeling right in front properly. Hands together, eyes mostly closed or on the cross. No fidgeting and unnecessary movement, else the holy spirit will not find your prayer sincere."

Why didn't I suspect it at all back then? I...

Still, in Lucifer's eyes, everything remains unchanged.

Rafa giggles, the overall registration of her voice completely unrecognizable to me. It's almost as though I'm listening to a random man's conversation with my sister. Except I don't hear the other end of the line.

Maybe it's better that way.

"He's always been naive. The perfect bait to summon that spawn." Bait. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. Jeez. You're so sensitive when it comes to your precious Asalie."

So I really am the bait.

"That bit would have made more sense if the prophecy was already in motion, but Gabriel would have told us."

Prophecy?

"Yet all he could do was - yes, though, that did help confirm they are together." Rafa lets out an exasperated groan. "I still think Gabriel sent him the invitation too early."

With that, something in Lucifer's eyes shifts. My blue eyes reflect less in them, and he squints. Oh, of course he'll have some kind of reaction at some point. After all, a massive ton of our questions are being answered, although indirectly, as we remain one with the shadows.

Lucifer's eyes partially close, his gaze fixed on my lips. I gulp. Is he going to kiss me again? What for? I'm calmer now. I can think properly right now. I'm not trembling as much anymore. I am taking all these revelations relatively well.

Aren't I?

Slowly, all the voices fade away as he presses his lips on mine in a soft kiss, his eyes shut. I close my eyes and return the gesture, feeling the entire world and its lies vanish to the back of my mind.

What does it matter why he does this? I like it.

His hands cup my head, pulling me closer, as if trying to get me somewhere. Where?

My body against him remains weightless, but slowly, it's threading and thinning. In fear of disturbing whatever this is Lucifer is trying to do, I keep my eyes closed, like I'm under a spell. Maybe that's the point of the kiss to begin with.

Soon, his lips leave mine and I heave, my breath coming out heavier than I wanted. Heavy. Not weightless. My eyes open at the strange, but familiar sensation as my body's mass returns to me. Lucifer is holding me in his arms, a hand on my thigh and another on my back. We're not shadows anymore. And somewhere in his eyes flickers a tenderness I've never seen from anyone before.

I blink away from it, feeling my face heat up. As I do, we're outside the lighthouse? I turn my head around.

His feet are planted on nothing, but his back is pressed on the white-washed walls of the lighthouse. He inches to a side and nods in that direction. With my hands on his shoulders, I lean close to one particular part of the wall. There's a tiny hole.

Wait, is he saying we went through that while we were in shadow form? Was that the weird sensation from earlier? No, but how could he do this and more without getting caught? Didn't he say the angels will detect him if he does anything, I don't know, magicky?

Like a singular response to my questions, he kisses my cheek and nuzzles his head in the crook of my neck. Oh God, Lucifer, why are you like this? Why are you being adorable right now?

"...faint traces of the fallen's power," Rafa's voice echoes from inside the tower, all followed by a series of footsteps descending down the metal staircases.

So Lucifer isn't completely undetected like I wondered.

"Please, for someone as unruly, he is much preferred than a different ruler for hell." Rafa chuckles, the voice getting close to where we are, the tone is mocking. "What sort of hearsay prophesied the emergence of a new devil?"

Just like mine, Lucifer's eyes widen.

"Really." She sighs, defeated. "Look, I'm still with everyone trying to prevent it from happening. Lucifer will still be detained to ensure that, blah blah. But it doesn't mean I can't complain and be skeptical of its accuracy."

And that was the last thing we heard from them as Lucifer held me closer, pulling my face to his chest as we reverted to shadows. The wind brushes almost sharply through what skin of mine can feel. I pull my head out, only to see the lighthouse zooming far into the distance as we traverse from shadow to shadow. A commotion seems to bring forth from where we used to be. They may have figured out we were there and eavesdropped on them.

I tighten my weightless, shadow arms around Lucifer's own shadowed body. It isn't like I need to since he holds my entire weight with his, but I have to. I do.

How else can I comfort his trembling form against mine at this very moment?

I lose track of how long has Lucifer been running, as though running from the truth beneath the lies we happened to discover. And yet, he holds me like he's shielding me from the world. Like I'm the only thing there is to hold onto.

It breaks my heart in ways I don't quite understand.

Then, we stop. In shadow form no more. Distant revving of vehicles resound to a side. Right there is a highway road leading somewhere I'm not familiar with, all enveloped with a forest. The forest where we are.

Still holding me in his arms as he leans against a tree, panting, he pulls away, reflective eyes like glass about to shatter reaching mine.

"Salie..." He breathes heavily, the words coming out of his mouth in gasps. He smirks. "How about a date?"

Huh?

"Just you and me."

HUH?

.- ... .- . .-..

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Overall: 28106