While putting your favorite condiment on a sandwich, you accidentally make a magical occult symbol and summon a demon.
You silently take two more slices of bread out of the package and make another sandwich. You put it on a plate with a handful of potato chips and hand it to the demon. He takes the sandwich, smiles and vanishes in a puff of demonic smoke. The next day you get that job promotion you were after. There was no contract. No words spoken. You owe nothing. But every now and then, another demon pops in for lunch. Demons donāt often get homemade sandwiches.Ā
Can I keep this going? Iām going to keep this going.
It would be a little annoying, if they werenāt so nice about it. You donāt know what you expected demons to be like, but you certainly didnāt expect them to be nice about it. Thereās no demands, no voices like wailing babies, no blood on the walls (well, there was that one time, but Balthazak was very apologetic about the whole thing and cleaned it up right quick). Just the occasional demon stopping by for lunch. In fact, you could almost forget that they werenāt just ordinary people, the way they act. Nice people, too.Ā
You start talking with them, as time goes on. In the beginning you carefully pick your words so they couldnāt be spun to even imply a contract or reference a soul, but when they seem politely eager to have a normal chat, your words become a bit looser. You even begin gossiping with them - turns out, demons have breakroom gossip just like anyone else. You listened to Rekāththththtyrās account of Drokyarixās torrid affair with Irkilliz, and Ferkiyan didnāt even know what Drory was doing behind his back, poor dear, and you kept quiet and let Ferkiyan cry on your shoulder after Drokyarix finally broke up with him (the shirt was a bit of a loss, demon tears are ruinous to cloth, but Ferkiyanās a good sort and you couldnāt just turn him away). You even managed to talk him down from going and starting a fight with Irkiliz, who didnāt even know that Drokyarix was in a relationship, and who was almost as horrified as Rekāththththtyr.Ā
After that event in particular, you start to get a sort of a reputation as a place where a demon can come to relax, talk, and - of course - get a sandwich. Your sandwich-making skills have really improved since this whole thing began. Your luck seems to have improved too - youāre not sure if you can attribute the whole thing to the sandwiches and the reputation, but you donāt really want to know anyway.Ā
One day, thereās a bright flash of light from your living room. Nothing unusual in itself - most of the younger demons havenāt quite got the style of their elders, and usually just go for a materialization in a flash of hellfire over your fireplace - except that itās white instead of the usual red. You look up, and who do you see but an angel looking at you with a spear in his hand. Shrugging, you tell him to sit down and youāll have a sandwich for him shortly, and meanwhile he can just tell you all about whatās on his mind. This clearly is not at all what he was expecting, but after a momentās thought, he decides to take you up on your offer and starts talking. Apparently, heād been dispatched to take care of some demon summoner in the neighborhood, and while heād evidently got the wrong house the right one shouldnāt be hard to find - have you seen anyone practicing satanic rituals nearby? You laugh, a little, and tell him that you donāt really summonĀ them, they just come on their own. They do like their sandwiches, and theyāre quite nice folk.Ā
The angelās jaw drops, and you remind him to chew with his mouth closed.Ā
And Iām going to take this even further. Here we go.
It took a bit of explaining with the first angel to arrive. Telling him about the first accidental summoning and then how the demons just started stopping by around lunch time on your days off. But once he understood whatās been going on (and finished his sandwich) he nodded solemnly and said he would get this all straightened out āupstairs.ā
You eventually start getting more angels coming around for lunch. Sometimes they bring a small dessert for you to share after the sandwiches, and the dishes are always magically clean and back in the cupboard when they leave.
You lean that angels donāt have much of their own drama, but they do know all the truths about human tabloid drama and theyāre more than willing to dish on what the Kardashians have been up to.
The first time an angel and a demon show up for lunch on the same day is a little tense. You tell them that ALL are welcome for lunch in your house and that you would prefer it to be a no-conflict zone. It takes a while for them to settle, but eventually they grow comfortable enough to start chatting. Which is when you learn that because demons are technically fallen angels, youāve been having two sides of an estranged family over for lunch regularly.
Soon, you have an angel and a demon at every lunch. Old friends and estranged siblings meeting up to reconnect over a sandwich at your dinning room table. You help the ones who had a falling out reach an understanding, and you get to hear wild stories of what the āold realmā was like.
One day, as youāre pulling out the bread and cheese, a messenger demon appears. You greet him and tell him a sandwich will be ready soon, but he declines. He is here on behalf of Lucifer to ask if itās alright by you for him to āenter your dwelling so as to meet with his brother Michael over sandwiches.ā
A little stunned, you agree. The demon disappears and you prepare three sandwiches, setting them at the table.
When Lucifer (the actual devil!) appears in small puff of smoke, you welcome him and ask what heād like to drink. As youāre fetching the apple juice, a blinding flash of light comes from the dinning room indicating Michaelās arrival. You grab a second cup and walk back in to find a tense stand off between the brothers. You set down the cups and juice while calmly reminding them that this is a conflict-free zone, and if they are going to fight, please take it to an alternate plane of existence.
They donāt fight. They sit and enjoy the sandwiches and talk about what happened. You learn a lot about why creation started, what the purpose of humanity was and what itās grown to be. You only have to diffuse two arguments. And at the end when itās time for them to leave, they hug each other, agreeing to meet up again somewhere else.
In the following weeks you have the usual assortment of demons and angels stopping by. The regulars ask how youāre mom is doing and if your friend is settling in to their new apartment nicely. At some point during each visit though, they ask if itās true. Did Lucifer and Michael really come for lunch? You tell them yes, but wonāt say what was talked about. Theyāre disappointed, everyone likes the gossip, but they understand. Before they leave, you ask each angel and demon about this idea you have for the summer, what if you had a barbecue on the back patio for everyone who wanted to come? They think it sounds like a fun idea.









































