one in one thousand
pairing: natan, ganthea, raphriel word count: 1387 summary: new years eve means little, when you’ve lived for millennia, but it’s special this time around. notes: for the @presentsfromsatan gift exchange, happy holidays and a very happy new year @boobsyournoseboob!
Natalie laughed at Lucifer’s expression as Laila passed her another full cup, cheeks flushed with glee and the effects of all the drinks she had consumed already.
“I don’t think you need another,” he said, plucking it out of her hands as soon as Laila’s back was turned. She pouted, leaning heavily against him, reaching halfheartedly for it.
“Don’t be such a sourpuss,” she whined, and his eyes narrowed.
“You’re drunk.”
“It’s New Years Eve!” she protested. “And aren’t you what the kids call the devil?” He lifted an eyebrow at her as she poked him in the chest, amused at the point he suspected she was trying to make, and pulled the cup further out of her reach.
“I’d be more than happy to watch you drink yourself sick if I wasn’t the one who’d be cleaning up your mess,” he said, though it lacked the bite he might have directed at anyone else. She watched forlornly as he set the cup on the table and pressed a water bottle into her hands instead.
“Killjoy,” she muttered under her breath, swaying on her feet even as she twisted the lid off and took a drink. He might have laughed if the entire room hadn’t spun into a frenzy all at once, people scrambling towards the TV.
“One minute left!” someone, Kristi maybe, called over the commotion, and Natalie’s sulky expression disappeared, lit up with excitement. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the throng of people, using him as a plow to get her to the front.
“Hey—!” he snapped, though Natalie largely ignored his protesting, pressing herself tightly against his side and peering eagerly at the countdown on the screen as it ticked off the final seconds of the decade.
Lucifer had seen enough passing of centuries, of millennia, that New Years held no appeal to him. But the unadulterated joy on her face did, as she chanted with the rest of the people in the room, all the way until the last three seconds. Then she turned abruptly, as if finally feeling his eyes on her, and pushed up on her toes to press her lips to his instead of finishing the count.
Surprised, he didn’t even have the time to react before she was pulling away when her friends began cheering. His question must have been written on his face, because she smiled cheekily.
“They say whatever you’re doing at the stroke of midnight is what you’ll be doing all year long. And I decided,” she said, reaching up to tap his nose, “that I want to be kissing you all year.”
She didn’t wait for a response, instead tucking herself under his arm, not interested in watching him sputter.
“Happy New Year, Lucifer.”
x
Anthea pulled her coat tighter around herself as she shouldered her way through the crowded downtown streets, barhoppers and partygoers lingering on every corner and in every alley in preparation for the new year.
The club was another block away, and she was already running late for her shift. She glanced into a store with TV’s lining the windows, eyes catching on one of the largest displays of the New Year’s Eve party, and most importantly, the countdown to midnight blazing across the top.
11:57.
On another night, she could have made it there just in time with little problem. But with as many people as there were, packed into the square like sardines, she was going to have to accept the fact that she would be late, and therefore lose out on a few valuable minutes.
I should have left earlier, she thought as she scanned the crowd, searching for the best way to navigate the endless throng of people when her gaze snagged on something red, bright and furious as her own, and then—
Green. As bright as grass on a sunny day, as deep and raw and jagged as uncut emeralds, there were the eyes that haunted her dreams on the rare occasion she had them. And they were getting closer as Gabriel cut through the crowd like a knife through butter, and Anthea had nowhere to go, trapped by a wall of strangers and the intensity of his stare.
He was different now. Not only his hair, but in how he carried himself. That human phrase came to mind then, one that had never applied to beings as infinite as they were, but that seemed apt in describing the change in him.
New year, new me.
He stopped in front of her, and she was a little shaken by his boldness, by the new determination in him when he had never attempted to approach her before. Some deep, buried longing reared its head inside of her.
Time had not eased the ache that had come with her choice, with losing him, despite how much easier it had become to ignore it.
“Anthea,” he whispered, though she heard her name far more clearly than she heard the buzz around her that should have drowned it out.
And then the square erupted. People cheering and clasping loved ones and clapping in delight as fireworks went off above. She was late, and she couldn’t linger any longer. Taking advantage of Gabriel’s surprise, she slipped past him into the crowd, though not first without brushing her fingers against his, where they hung clenched by his side.
Her own burned for the rest of the night.
x
Raphael started when the doors to the infirmary slammed open, interrupting the peace and quiet of his work. He spun around, calming when he saw it was only Uriel.
“What are you—” Uriel cut him off, striding over to grab his arm.
“You work too much. It’s time for a break,” Uriel declared, and Raphael glanced back at the white, sterile room helplessly.
“But—”
“No buts. We’re getting you out of here. You spend too much time looking at the same four, white walls.”
Uriel, though significantly shorter and slimmer than him, was deceptively strong, and kept his grip on Raphael firm until they were well on their way out of the hospital. He couldn’t fathom where Uriel was taking him, until the calm, serene streets of Heaven were replaced with the chaos of earth.
Raphael blinked, stunned and confused, and Uriel shot him a conspiratorial smile that made his heart skip a beat.
“Come on,” he urged, leading him through the crowded streets, using Raphael’s height and bulk as a buffer against the surge of people.
“Where – Where are we going?”
Uriel didn’t reply, only shooting him another eager look over his shoulder, and Raphael decided that whatever it was, it didn’t matter. He would follow Uriel to the ends of the earth if it meant he continued to look at him like that.
The crowd began to thin out after a few minutes, and Raphael loosed a sigh of relief. Uriel heard it, and glanced back sheepishly.
“Sorry. I should’ve brought us closer to the edge,” he said, and Raphael shook his head, refusing the apology. Avoiding souls was his everyday, but seeing Uriel’s excitement wasn’t. His chest warmed when Uriel’s smile returned, dragging him to a secluded spot that had a good view of the sky.
Raphael stared at the few visible stars for a few moments in silence, before looking over at his companion.
“What are we doing here?”
“Do you know what today is?” Uriel asked instead, seemingly ignoring his question. Raphael hesitated, not sure if that was a trick question.
“Um… Wednesday?”
Uriel laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
“It’s the last day of the year. New Years Eve.”
“Already?” The question slipped out before he could stop it, and Uriel laughed again. It seemed like humans had just celebrated the start of a new year. It was common knowledge, but always off-putting, to be reminded of how short human lifespans were.
“Yes. And humans have this tradition, at midnight—”
Before he could finish, the sky erupted with light and color. Uriel grinned.
“They’ve created their own light. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes,” Raphael breathed, his chest feeling tight as he watched his partner from the corner of his eyes, illuminated by the explosive rainbows that lit the night.
Uriel reached over and took his hand, twining their fingers together, and Raphael squeezed.
