Falling Into Darkness

by L. M. Brown

  “Patience,” Lucifer whispered.

  “It’s been too long for me to be patient,” Michael complained. “I need you so badly. Lucifer, please.”

  Lucifer chuckled into his ear, then began trailing kisses back down his chest. He sucked Michael’s nipples into his mouth, worshiping first one then the other, until Michael thought he might come from that alone.

  Then, before Michael could embarrass himself with his lack of control, Lucifer moved lower again, dipping his tongue into Michael’s navel and licking along the line leading to his groin.

  Just when Michael thought Lucifer would take him into his mouth, he changed direction, sucking on the skin at his hip, marking him once again.

  Half-hard since the moment Michael had walked into Lucifer’s cell, his erection now reached almost painful proportions, and still Lucifer didn’t touch him. He felt the dampness of his pre-cum dripping onto his abdomen, and a moment later Lucifer lapped him clean with sweeping strokes of his tongue.

  Michael couldn’t believe he had given this up for so long. No one knew how to touch him as Lucifer did. What mortal could know just what he needed? Lucifer had learned every inch of his body thousands of years ago, and he remembered every tiny detail.

  When Lucifer finally touched his aching cock, Michael moaned, long and low, with pleasure. He planted his feet on the bed, spreading his thighs and opening himself to Lucifer’s expert attention.

  Michael craved Lucifer’s mouth on his shaft, his lips circling him, his tongue stroking his sensitive flesh while he swallowed him deep in his throat.

  “Lucifer, please,” Michael begged, hoping his lover knew what he craved, because he had lost the ability to form coherent sentences the moment Lucifer’s fingers had grasped his dick.

  He knew, of course he knew. Lucifer sucked his cock head and teased the tip with his tongue. Michael bucked and moaned, shouting for more. Only Lucifer could give him what he needed.

  Michael wanted everything Lucifer could give him and he wanted it now, before he lost his mind to the endless need. He spread his legs wider and Lucifer dipped his head, sucking one of Michael’s balls into his mouth. When he had done with the first, he gave the other the same exquisite treatment. His long hair brushed against Michael’s erection, causing renewed sparks of desire to shoot through his body.

  “Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer,” Michael moaned, his lover’s name the only word he could recall as he spiraled out of control.

  A finger at his opening sent him soaring to new heights of pleasure and Michael pushed down against the digit. He expected Lucifer to breach him with his fingers, but once again he surprised him, exploring his anus with his tongue. Lucifer didn’t seem in any great hurry to move things on to the next level, something Michael found himself grateful for, because he didn’t know when they would have the opportunity to be together again.

  Lucifer sat back and pulled Michael into a sitting position so they were eye to eye. “I love you, Michael,” he said. “More than anything.”

  Michael didn’t doubt that he meant the words, even if they were spoken in the heat of passion.

  “I won’t lose you again,” Lucifer continued. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stay with you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Michael nodded, even though he wasn’t entirely sure he did. His head was cloudy with lust and he ached to be taken. He needed Lucifer inside him more than he needed to draw breath. He grasped blindly for Lucifer’s erection, finding the thick length with his shaking hand.

  Lucifer groaned when Michael held him, squeezing gently.

  “Need you,” Michael said against Lucifer’s lips. “If you love me, please don’t make me wait any longer. I need you in me, now.”

  Lucifer pushed Michael onto the bed and eased his legs back. Michael held them in place as Lucifer scrambled into position, lining up his cock with Michael’s anus.

  “Do it,” Michael said. “Now!”

  With one smooth thrust Lucifer entered him, filling Michael as no other man ever had or ever could. Only Lucifer could make him feel so completely claimed.

  The pain of Lucifer’s entry burned for a few seconds, until Lucifer took away his sting with a stroke of his fingers. Michael had definitely missed that with his lovers on Earth, but he at least had the presence of mind not to mention the fact right now. Reminding Lucifer of his life without him on Earth would be a definite mood killer.

  Lucifer moved, easing in and out of him with shallow thrusts. “That’s it,” Michael urged. “Right there, Lucifer, right there.”

  Michael shouted encouragement until he lost the power of speech. Then all he could do was moan and scream and hope Lucifer understood what he wanted. And Lucifer did. He took Michael’s legs and placed them over his own shoulders, all without breaking his rhythm.

  They moved together until their bodies became slick with sweat. Michael’s cock bobbed between them, and he knew without a doubt he would come without being touched again. He closed his eyes and held on to the last bit of his control, knowing he wouldn’t last much longer.

  Lucifer shouted out his name, pleading and begging Michael for anything and everything. Lucifer filled him, covered him, and claimed him completely. Michael accepted that he couldn’t walk away from Lucifer this time. He wouldn’t survive another separation. This one had been too much to bear. He couldn’t go through it again, searching his entire life for something that was missing, without even knowing what he sought.

  “Michael!” Lucifer screamed as he stiffened and filled Michael with the heat of his release. That was something else Michael realized he had missed, and he savored the sensation of his lover coming inside him, with nothing between them at all. On Earth he had never had unprotected sex, never having found someone he loved and trusted enough to take such a step. He clenched around Lucifer’s softening cock, moaning loudly, on the brink of his own climax. Then Lucifer moved inside him again and Michael cried out, coming harder than he ever had before.

  When he recovered from his orgasm, Michael realized Lucifer was licking him clean. Michael touched Lucifer’s face and, when he had his attention, he beckoned him closer, seeking his lips and the kisses he so desperately craved.

  They lay on the bed, kissing languidly, the outside worlds forgotten about. The realm of angels, the Underworld, Earth, nothing mattered except this room and their own private paradise.

  Unfortunately, paradise couldn’t last forever, even if Michael would have hoped otherwise. Gabriel would be here soon, searching for him and asking him what his decision would be. Michael wished there was an easy answer to his dilemma.

  “Having regrets?” Lucifer asked. He brushed a stray lock of hair from Michael’s face, worry evident in his expression.

  “No, never.”

  “Then why the long face?”

  Michael forced a smile to his lips.

  “It won’t work,” Lucifer told him. “You’re still worried about something, so how about we try that old-fashioned thing called honesty and talk about what’s bothering you?”

  Michael sighed. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do and I need to make a choice soon.”

  “What are your options?” Lucifer asked.

  “Rebirth or you,” Michael replied. “I didn’t want to make a choice between my wings and you before, so I chose rebirth instead. I’m not going to run away again.”

  “Gabriel said you decided not to give up your wings because you’d have been a target for every demon in the Underworld who wanted a piece of you.”

  Michael hesitated before he replied. “Yes.”

  “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

  “I know I’d have been a target, but I also know you’d have done everything in your power to protect me from my enemies.”

  “I can’t watch you every minute of every day. If I could, you’d never had suffered all those accidents.”

  “Don’t try to make excuses for me,” Michael said. “I should have placed my trust in m
y love for you. Instead I didn’t give you the chance to prove yourself worthy of that love. I ran away in a manner unworthy of an archangel.”

  Lucifer kissed him softly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I had done little to earn your love and a great deal to drive you away. I never deserved you.”

  Michael opened his mouth to argue, but Lucifer cut him off with a finger to his lips.

  “I didn’t, and we both know it. Now we have a second chance to put things right and I think we should consider all our options. What are the choices, as you see them?”

  “Well, my wings aren’t an option according to Raguel. I didn’t do anything worthy enough in my life to warrant being restored to my archangel status. That leaves two choices—rebirth again, or life on Earth with my memories and you as my lover.”

  Lucifer nodded. “I can see why you’ve discounted the third option, that being turning demon, but I don’t think you’ve considered the fourth one.”

  “What are you talking about? These are my options and I think we both know what I’m going to decide. I don’t want to be reborn again. I want to remember you from this day forwards.”

  “I want you to remember me too. But if I were to visit you on Earth, it would only be with one of your archangel friends escorting me. I’m sure you don’t want an audience, and now I’m sober, neither do I.”

  Michael frowned at the reminder of what Lucifer had put him through that dreadful night.

  “I’m so sorry,” Lucifer told him again. “I’m ashamed of what I did to you. I want to destroy every demon who was present.”

  “I’d rather just forget about it,” Michael replied. “Besides, I’m sure the archangels would give us a little privacy.”

  “Personally, I’d rather not test your theory.”

  “I don’t see we have any other choice, unless you want to tell me what you think our fourth option is?”

  Lucifer smiled and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “What do you think would be a worthy enough act to earn back your wings?”

  “I don’t know,” Michael admitted. “I recruited based on the hearts of humans, not on their acts. But each archangel chooses their angels in a different way, and the majority voted I don’t deserve my wings yet.”

  Lucifer nipped his earlobe then sucked it into his mouth. It was quite distracting. What had they been talking about again?

  “Do you think,” Lucifer whispered, “saving a fallen angel might convince even the strictest archangel that you’re worthy of your wings?”

  “Hmm,” Michael murmured. Lucifer sucked on Michael’s neck and his arousal spiked again.

  “What do you think?” Lucifer asked.

  Michael blinked at Lucifer, his mind fuzzy. “About what?”

  Lucifer rolled his eyes and drew back. Michael whined at the loss of contact.

  “I want to go home,” Lucifer said.

  “These cells can’t hold you,” Michael pointed out, his head a little clearer now Lucifer had put some distance between them.

  “I’m not talking about the Underworld.” Lucifer stood and Michael watched him morph into his full demon form. Lucifer held out a clawed hand. “I told you, back on Earth, I would give you anything you wanted, that all you had to do was ask. You don’t need to tell me what you want. I already know your deepest desire is the return of your wings. I’ll do anything to make you happy, Michael.”

  Suddenly Michael understood what Lucifer meant and his heart raced. He took Lucifer’s hand and squeezed his fingers briefly. He blinked back tears of joy, barely able to believe what he saw. Lucifer’s horns disappeared, his claws retracted, and his leathery wings transformed back into the soft feathers of an angel. Slowly, every sign of the demon vanished, until the most beautiful angel Michael had ever laid eyes on stood before him.

  For the first time in countless centuries, Michael gazed upon the son of the morning in all his angelic glory. The sight left him speechless, just as it had all those years ago, when he’d spied on Lucifer in the pool of jewels.

  Almost as if he knew where Michael’s thoughts had gone, Lucifer opened his hand, which had been empty a moment ago, but now held a necklace with a blue gemstone, the exact same color as Michael’s eyes.

  “Gabriel gave this to me,” Lucifer explained. “He told me I should be the one to give it back to you. Do you accept my gift?”

  Michael could tell Lucifer was asking about more than just the necklace. He nodded and let Lucifer tie the clasp beneath his hair.

  “Cough, cough.” The voice came from the next room and Michael recognized Gabriel’s humorous tone. “Are you both decent?”

  Michael laughed. “Not a stitch of clothing between us,” he said right as Gabriel strolled in the door, the warning coming too late.

  Gabriel ground to a halt and gaped at Lucifer.

  Michael smiled at Gabriel’s reaction, knowing Lucifer’s nakedness wasn’t causing the archangel to stare so blatantly. To gaze upon Lucifer in the form he had been born to was to see something so pure and beautiful that even Michael had forgotten how the sight could take a man’s breath away.

  Gabriel sank to one knee before Lucifer and bowed his head, deferring to an angel who outranked even him.

  “Oh get up,” Lucifer muttered. “I’ve had enough beings kneeling before me. That’s no longer what I want.”

  Gabriel rose and continued to stare at Lucifer, clearly at a loss for words.

  “The archangels will wish to see him,” Michael said.

  Gabriel nodded. “And you too.”

  Michael and Lucifer dressed and the three of them left the cells. This time Lucifer carried Michael as they flew to the main concourse and the archangels’ chamber.

  From the moment Lucifer landed, depositing Michael gently on the ground beside him, they drew stares from everyone. Lucifer may have been able to hide amongst the angels before, but not any longer. The son of the morning could never be passed over.

  Michael took Lucifer’s hand and he could feel him shaking. “Don’t be nervous,” he said.

  Lucifer smiled and together they walked away from the crowd and into the chamber of the archangels.

  It didn’t take long for the rest of the archangels to arrive and each of them appeared equally awed by Lucifer’s presence.

  “I don’t think this will take long,” Gabriel said as he took his seat.

  Michael and Lucifer stood in the middle of the room and waited.

  “Lucifer has been restored to us,” Gabriel continued. “And Michael was the one to bring him back to the light. I therefore petition for Michael to be restored to his former status as archangel, and our leader.”

  “Agreed,” Raphael declared, and one by one the rest of the archangels—even Raguel—voiced their support.

  Power surged through Michael’s body and he spread his wings for the first time in more than ninety years.

  Gabriel gestured to the empty seat and Michael nodded. He didn’t move from Lucifer’s side to take his place, though, simply because he didn’t want to release Lucifer’s hand quite yet.

  “Welcome home, Lucifer,” Gabriel said. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say this is an unexpected pleasure.”

  Lucifer accepted his words with a small smile. Michael tried to stifle his own grin of delight, but it wouldn’t be contained. This morning he had been so conflicted, and now he had everything he had ever wanted. He barely registered what Gabriel and the others said, but he heard just enough to understand the general gist of things. Lucifer would be performing his former duties, while at the same time he would be doing whatever he could to restore peace to the world, most specifically by encouraging the other fallen angels to follow his example and return to the light. Michael felt sure he was up to the task, and he intended to help him in any way he could.

  Gabriel called the meeting to an end, making one final comment that they would have to find another chair for Lucifer, so he might take his rightful place amongst them.

  Lucifer laughed
and sat in Michael’s seat, pulling Michael onto his lap as he made himself comfortable. “Don’t hurry on my account,” he said. “I’m sure we can make do for a while.”

  Gabriel laughed and shook his head as he left the room.

  Michael waited until the room had cleared before he wrapped his arms round Lucifer’s neck and kissed him. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for, don’t we?”

  “We do indeed,” Lucifer replied between kisses. “I think we should start immediately.”

  Michael settled into Lucifer’s embrace. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  * * * *

  Michael and Lucifer had been home for nearly three months. Lucifer had moved in with Michael, declaring his home more modern and homely, unlike his own cold residence, far removed from the rest of the populace.

  They were very much in a honeymoon period of their relationship, and although Michael knew it wouldn’t last forever, he intended to enjoy the bliss for as long as he could.

  Michael had visited all his friends, as well as his recruits, resuming his duties as though he had never left. He also spent some time on Earth, reconnecting with his daughter. Throughout it all, he kept Lucifer at his side, encouraging him to socialize, and not cut himself off from the rest of the angels, as he had before his fall. Michael explained to Lucifer that it wasn’t because he feared he might fall again, he just wanted to ensure he knew how much he was loved, not just by Michael, but by the rest of the angels too.

  “Our first day with no duties for either of us since I came home,” Lucifer said as he attempted to tug Michael from the comfort of his bed.

  Michael mock glared at his lover. “I take it we aren’t sleeping in this morning?”

  Lucifer shook his head and grinned. “Your guess is correct.”

  “It’s still dark,” Michael complained.

  Lucifer laughed and whipped the covers from Michael. “Come on, hurry up, or we’ll be late.”