KISS OF LIFE

A huffed snicker escaped past Luciano's lips as he watched the two bickering through the window. Their animated gestures and furrowed brows spoke volumes of the heated argument unfolding before him. Even if they were to look over at him, they would not see him in his demonic form. He was but a mischievous yet silent observer, safely hidden from their view, privy to a private moment that was never meant for his eyes.

The fair skinned one mentioned how the flamboyantly, blue haired one did not contribute to any source of income in the house and she retorted to this point by telling fair skin that he did not bother with the household chores so she might as well have cleaned as her bit of income.

Mortals were so easy to rattle with. Their emotions were all over the place. That was how the gods made them, to serve as entertainment. And boy, were they entertaining Luciano right now.

All he had to do was push one button and wait for the fun to unfold. The humans would say 'bring out the popcorn', but after Lucifer became a fallen angel, they all lost the right to have niceties like being able to consume comestibles and actually tasting them. It never bothered him, really. One could not miss what one never had.

Lucifer did have a tendency to complain about it.

Not so long ago, the flamboyantly blue haired one had welcomed her lover home with a passionate kiss. It was bound to lead to a night of erotic intimacy. That was until he butted in and excitedly sprouted a seed in fair skin's mind. It was not that he planted the seed like a warlock would. Luciano did not specialise in deceiving others with his own thoughts, the seed was already there. All he had to do was water it and let it materialise into something.

When he entered past the door with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, fair skin had the sudden thought that his partner did not pay for anything, but he noticed how he immediately buried the thought under anxiety. It was human nature, to avoid confrontation at all costs. He saw mortals for what they were, cowardly but also an amazing opportunity to be entertained.

"But it's not my fault," blue hair's voice wavered when she said this.

A frown marred fair skin's face when her eyes glistened with tears.

"You make it seem as if I have not been looking for a job. Do you really think I enjoy living off of you?" she mused rhetorically and before her partner could reply, she added adamantly, "Before you say yes, I do not, Noel."

Oh, but she did. She really did. Blue hair did not like the idea of working when she did not have to. Exerting oneself was for the middle class and fair skin both came from a well-off family and made enough to support them both. Holding onto this thought as some form of cope, she convinced herself that they did not require any contribution from her. She even had the latest model of one of those devices they spoke into, a smartphone. Everything was supplied with his income.

What was even more hilarious was that even though fair skin did not like supporting his lover, he had somehow convinced himself that he liked fending for the both of them. Perhaps to avoid confronting her.

"Drew, come on," he muttered with a fed-up look painting his expression. "Pretty sure there is at least one vacancy out there somewhere at a restaurant or some bar. Have you tried to ask at Jerry's?"

With a petulant pout, she averted her gaze to the left and stammered unconvincingly, may he add, "That was the first place I went to."

Liar, liar. Pants on fire.

"If you're gonna fucking lie to me, Drew, at least make an effort to sound convincing."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are."

"Okay, so maybe I don't want to work at Jerry's. That place is grim as fuck," she replied after being pressed for a truthful response and the grimace on her face was telling. "Do you have any idea the kind of harassment the girls go through there? Do you want that to happen to me too? Besides, you know Jerry fucking hates me."

"Jerry does not hate you."

"Yes, he does."

"Then why did he offer you a job if he hated you so much?"

"So he could impress you, you moron," she yelled, pressing the heel of her palm against his forehead. "How are you so oblivious to the fact that he clearly wants to fuck you? Every time we go there, he spends all his time flirting with you."

Oh, how the plot thickens…

"That is bullshit and you know it," he replied with a stutter and his eyes wavered.

At that very second, Luciano curiously pried into fair skin's thoughts and when he caught the string of words which were rambling around his brain like a wave of confusion, a mischievous grin spread across his face from ear to ear when the words eventually painted a clear picture for him. So actually, fair skin was aware of this Jerry character's flirting? Did he secretly love the attention?

"Oh, okay," blue hair rolled her eyes in a sardonic manner. "So that must mean I'm seeing things, right? I must be going fucking crazy."

"With the way you're acting right now, I might just believe that you are."

Luciano smirked in amusement.

"Oh, fuck you, Noel."

Fair skin stared at her, unimpressed and monotonously, he mused, "Fuck me?"

"Yeah, fuck you!"

Okay, ease it with the cursing there, blue hair.

"Okay, Drew." Fair skin dismissively turned away from her and grabbed his jacket from the couch.

"Where are you going?"

A bemused scowl jumped onto his face. Yeah, where was he going? This was not part of the plan. They were supposed to fight some more. Entertain him for a much longer period to distract him from… certain things. He could not go back to the Underworld just yet. He needed them to continue arguing to distract him.

Fortunately, at that moment two thoughts popped into the girlfriend's mind. One of those thoughts worked in his favour and the other one was just plain, old stupid. It did nothing to distract him from… him.

"You can't just leave," blue hair pointed out in panic.

That was the thought that worked in his favour. Get him to stay.

"Fucking watch me." He grabbed his keys.

"Where are you even going?"

"I don't care. As long as I'm not here." He shrugged the jacket on.

"You can't do that."

"No, what I cannot do right now is this, Drew." His hand was already on the doorknob.

Stop him, you moron!

"Noel please." The door opened. "Please don't leave me."

Blue hair's voice dropped to a quiet whisper that he wouldn't have heard if it were not for his hearing. It was not as good as other supernatural beings out there, but it was better than the shitty range that mortals had. Fair skin paused with one foot out the door and this time Luciano prompted him to leave, because if he stayed then he knew for certain that they would make up. That was not why he stirred things between them.

The tears eventually fell in full droplets onto blue hair's high cheekbones.

"Don't do this, Drew. You always do this."

Blue hair walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back. "Please, don't be mad at me. You know I cannot bear it when you're mad at me. I will genuinely try to find a job this time, I promise."

Luciano's gaze flickered over to fair skin and the emotion playing in his eyes told him that blue hair won this round and many more to come if she used this crying tactic all the time.

Fair skin's eyes made it seem like he was hesitant to let this issue go, that he wanted to keep addressing it before the courage burned out and he could not bring it up ever again, but he also did not want blue hair to cry. Seeing his lover in this distressed state took jabs at his heart. He… loved her. He did not want to be the reason she cried.

Mortals really were something peculiar.

Eventually, his resolve broke and he shut the door, hugging his lover. "I'm really sorry, baby. Please don't cry. I can't stand to see you crying. I did not mean to upset you."

Blue hair glanced up at him with her big, doe eyes. Guileless. "Noel?"

"Mmh?"

"I love you."

Argh!

This was not what he came here for. He came here to be entertained.

"I love you too, baby."

And that is my cue to go.

As his wings beat against the air with increasing intensity, he ascended into the velvety night sky. His fingertips glided over the sleek surface of the glass, while the rushing wind stung his face as if attempting to force him back to the earth. However, he persevered until he reached the pinnacle of the building, where he unfurled his wings to their fullest extent.

In that exhilarating instant, he experienced a profound sense of weightlessness, as if all his pent up anger and lust dissipated, leaving him surrounded by a tranquil aura.

And he began to fall.

His body was hugged by his wings when he landed back on the ground and he instantly allowed them to warm his body up. They twitched and flapped around as if they had a mind of their own.

As he cautiously approached the rear of the familiar apartment, his steps slowed as he hesitated for a brief moment. He glanced up at the window he intended to peer through, then scanned the surroundings for any signs of observation. Sensing no presence nearby, he gracefully ascended into the sky and perched on a sturdy tree branch, from where he discreetly peered through the window.

His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the impeccably made bed. It felt strange not to see him lying there as he usually did.

Something was definitely amiss, he could feel it.

When he saw the silhouette of someone busting the door off its hinges, he quickly hid behind the tree bark.

Until he realised how idiotic he was being and looked through the window again. Even if he stood out in the open like this, he would not be able to be seen in his demonic form unless summoned.

The intruder instantly began to ransack the place.

What had that mortal done now? he wondered.

Thinking quickly, he took flight with his powerful wings beating the air and he swooped down towards the window, breaking through the glass. The lean kid with the handgun whipped his head around, eyes wide with alarm. Then he fumbled with his weapon at the sudden intrusion, however before he could take aim, he dove straight at him with his long talons extended.

The kid yelled in surprise and tried to duck away from him, but he was too late. The gun clattered across the floor after he pinned the kid under him.

"Who are you?" Luciano interrogated the kid, his voice low and menacing.

"What the fuck, man?" he mused in panic, glancing at his expression with a look of horror. "Get off of me!"

"I said who are you?"

"Sean," he stuttered fearfully and he could tell that he was trying to avoid his piercing gaze. "My name is Sean, okay?"

"Where is the owner of this place?"

The kid flinched, his eyes darting around nervously. "I don't know, man," he stammered, his voice quivering with fear.

Without warning, his sharp claws slowly dug into the skin on his shoulders, eliciting a howl of pain from him. The kid writhed in agony underneath the weight of his body, desperately trying to break free from his grasp.

"You're obviously here for a reason," he growled, his grip tightening on him. "You best tell me something useful if you know what's good for you, mortal."

He whimpered, tears streaming down his face. "Please, I don't know anything. I swear."

Luciano studied his face for a moment, searching for any sign of deception. The kid's terror-stricken expression told him that he was telling the truth. With a frustrated sigh, he extracted his talons from him, and he crumpled to the floor in relief, gasping for breath.

"Then of what use are you to me?" he muttered more to himself, preparing to kill him right on the spot.

His eyes widened and desperately he yelled, "Wait, hold on. I am only here to dispose of the evidence, man. I had nothing to do with the disappearance of your friend. Please don't kill me."

His face was pale, beads of sweat glistening on his brow.

"Evidence?" Luciano mused with his eyebrow arching up in intrigue, lowering his hand slightly. "What evidence?"

"Your friend's phone, his wallet, anything that could link him to the people who sent me here." He swallowed hard, avoiding his piercing gaze.

Luciano felt a chill run down his spine at the prospect of the mortal who he kept an eye on for all these years being dead.

An intense rage suddenly boiled inside him, but he forced himself to remain calm. He needed answers, not blind vengeance. "Who do you work for?"

The kid hesitated but when he narrowed his gaze on him, he let out a shaky breath. "Alright, alright. But you have to promise you won't kill me. I'm just the guy on the ground floor, okay? I don't know the bigger picture."

He considered his request for a moment, then nodded. "What do you know?"

"All I know is I'm only ever called to do something like this when a person has been permanently taken care of."

He squinted at him in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

A darkness coloured his gaze and reading between the lines, he realised what the kid was saying.

After staring into his eyes hypnotically and manipulating their encounter in his memory, he turned away and disappeared into the shadows. His wings carried him up into the sky and after being high up enough to overlook the world stretched out in a patchwork of winding roads, rivers and clusters of buildings, he focused all his energy on finding the mortal's familiar signature.

The currents of the wind guided him higher, dancing between the puffy clouds that dotted the vast, starry expanse. But he paid it little mind. His sights were set on finding the one he sought. He soared effortlessly, his sleek feathers gliding through the air.

After what felt like an eternity, a faint trace of his essence drifted up to him. Weak, but once he honed in on the signal with a single minded focus, it was like a beacon in the endless sky, pulling him forward. He angled his wings and dove. The closer he got, the stronger the connection became. He could feel his presence, read his unhidden thoughts, his very being.

The mortal was fading fast.

Finally, Luciano spotted him down below, a small figure along a solitary alleyway. When he stumbled ungainly off his feet and took a tumble onto the ground, without hesitation, Luciano folded his wings and plummeted downward, the wind rushing past and he took a step closer to him, closing the distance between them. Just as he was about to reach him, his wings unfurled, reminding him of his demonic form. Immediately he came to a stop.

Luciano could not let the mortal see him like this. Lucifer would surely have his head on a stick if he revealed his true nature to this human. The Prince of Darkness was not one to be trifled with, and he valued his continued existence far too much to risk his wrath.

So he quickly shifted, the familiar feline form he normally took on during the day settling over him like a comfortable cloak. He hated how small he became in this stupid form, but if he wanted to have his cake and eat it too, some things had to be sacrificed. His tail twitched with indecision, the only outward sign of his irritation.

It seemed as though the mortal was having trouble keeping his eyes open what with them weakly fluttering shut. Luciano caught the red liquid from his abdomen through his fingers when his gaze flicked down.

To catch his attention, he let out a humiliating mewl.

Luckily, the mortal's eyes opened and his bemused greys settled on him.

Urgently, he pressed forward, his paws making no sound against the cold, stone floor. The rancid stench in this area was causing his nose to wrinkle in disgust. Why had he chosen an alleyway of all places to stumble into?

He could practically feel the warmth radiating from his body. It was disappearing fast; probably because of his bleeding gash.

When the mortal reached his hand out to him, he tensed cautiously but then he simply ran his hand through his fur. He still tried to wrestle away from the feeling creeping up on him from his touch.

He watched as his unruly curls stuck to the beads of sweat on his forehead, matted against his pale skin. The light in his grey eyes was beginning to dim like a candle slowly being extinguished by a relentless wind and his laboured breaths grew shallower with each passing moment. Then the strength left his body and his hand grew lax on his small body.

He glanced up at the mortal irked, shaking his head in disapproval.

What had he done to get himself in this state?

What a fool.

Morphing back to his usual form, he tilted his head to the side to get rid of the knot entangled in his neck with a groan. His wings unfurled before rolling back, twitching mindlessly. Then he cautiously reached out to lift the bottom of his tattered shirt, the vibrant crimson of his life essence seeping through the fabric still.

A furrow twitched onto the corner of his eyebrow.

Who had done this to him?

His ethereal fingers brushed against his wound, and the mortal flinched in pain. For the briefest moment, his eyes snapped open and met his. In that instant, he saw the full spectrum of human emotion.

Fear.

Then pain.

Now acceptance.

His lips curled down in annoyance, despising how easily this mortal was willing to fall into the grasp of Death.

Every time he was around him, he could not help but be bemused. Never had he met a mortal who was so eager to die, even going out of his way to put himself in situations where the likelihood of death was higher than usual. But for some reason, he could never let this mortal take his final, shuddering breath. Or rather he would not, not if he had anything to do with it.

With determination filling him, he grabbed a hold of his neck.

Then he pressed his lips against his parted lips. His skin was cold like a dewdrop on a soft petal of a rose. Luciano focused all his energy on healing his wound, his mouth moving in a sensual manner. His own strength began to ebb away, his vitality seeping into him. It was a familiar dance with the mortal, saving him from the hands of death.

Breathing life back into him.