GREED COULD SEE demons in the corner of his eyes.
Well, only the one, really.
Occasionally, as Greed was going about his day, Lust would show up in the corner of the room, lounging on an arm chair or flipping through a magazine. There was a gaping hole where his heart should have been. Greed would glance over to Gluttony to make sure he wasn't going insane. Gluttony would give a stiff nod and avert his eyes from their resident demon.
It seemed that only Greed and Gluttony saw him. It was probably some sort of gift granted by Lucifer; to only be visible to certain people at your will. Greed figured it probably wasn't the only powers that Lucifer had granted him.
He was too powerful.
Greed hated it. The almost constant reminder that they were inferior to Lucifer and Lust and whatever fucked up army they had hiding behind Hell's gates.
Lust didn't seem to be showing up to piss Greed off, though. He stayed silent, mostly, except for when he listened to the group's conversations and threw in the occasional dirty joke or suggestive comment. Of course, only Greed and Gluttony could hear him. Lust would only smile sadly when he got no reaction from the others.
He even did the chores around the house. Greed would leave the kitchen to grab a shower and return to an empty sink, the dishes clean and drying. Gluttony noticed it too. He clenched his jaw and ignored it every time without fail, but Greed could see the way his eyes shined with tears.
Lust was not Lucifer's pawn as they had thought.
It was a terrible realization. Lust was not being controlled; it was obvious now. He held himself the way Greed remembered he used to---a grin always on his face, a little limp in his left leg from when he was first cursed to be a sin.
He sounded and acted too much like himself. He was his own person, completely and fully in control. Their friend had turned to the side of evil, and it seemed he wasn't coming back.
Greed had to talk about it. He had to know for sure.
As the others sat down to begin lunch, Greed tilted his head towards the hall leading down to the bedrooms. Lust smirked and Greed could practically feel the way he was suppressing the urge to make a dirty joke. But he stood silently and followed Greed.
Gluttony said to the others, "I'll be right back. You can start without me."
The three of them headed into Gluttony's room, Gluttony the last to enter. He closed the door behind them and they stood in a heavy silence.
Lust broke the silence first. "I assume you didn't invite me to your room so I could dick you down?"
"You fucking idiot," Gluttony hissed. "You joined Lucifer? Willingly?"
Lust blinked slowly. "I'm sorry, but. . . was that not clear before?"
Greed stuffed his hands in his pockets, because if he kept them out he was sure he'd end up punching Lust. "Envy was convinced you were still under control."
Lust sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Envy is. . . misguided."
"So are you," Gluttony growled. "Working willingly with Lucifer---"
"It's the only way to survive."
Gluttony stopped mid-sentence. He closed his eyes and exhaled, knowing Lust was right.
"Fuck," he said.
"Can we?" Lust asked. At Gluttony's glare, he smirked. "Right. My apologies, doll. Anyways, yes, I am willingly working with Lucifer. I really thought you knew."
"So he doesn't know you're here," Greed concluded.
Lust shook his head. "Incorrect. He knows I'm here. In fact, he's the one who tracked your whereabouts in the first place."
Gluttony's hand immediately went to his belt where he had his dagger hidden. Lust flinched a little at the sudden motion.
". . .Sorry," Gluttony muttered. He released his grip on the hilt of his dagger. "But, if he knows we're here. . ."
"He will not send an army to attack, if that's your concern," said Lust. He grimaced, still eying Gluttony's belt. "In fact, he's hoping you don't come to Hell at all. He doesn't want to kill you. He'll do what has to be done, but that doesn't mean he wants to speed up the process."
"What about back at Greed's apartment?" Gluttony asked. "A demon was sent with poisoned cookies."
Lust shrugged. "I switched out the poisoned cookies for real ones. It was just to scare you. Lucifer was bluffing so that the higher ranked demons who want you all dead would believe action was being taken."
"So the offer to join Hell's ranks came from him as well?" Greed asked, eyes wide.
Lust nodded. "He might have offered again, had Gluttony not killed me."
Though Lust didn't truly die, the words 'killed me' made Gluttony duck his head in shame. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. It was kind of sexy."
Greed snorted. Then he frowned. He pointed at the obvious hole in Lust's chest. "You said you were immortal. Why is that still there?"
Lust blinked, then glanced down at his chest. "Oh, this!"
". . .You forgot you had a hole in your chest?"
"Yes, well. Truth be told, I'm perfectly fine. It was just to be dramatic. But thanks for your concern, darling." Lust then glanced at the bed. He pointed at it. "So are we gonna---"
"Lust."
"Right," he said again, giving them a cheeky grin. His grin fell suddenly. "So, you really are not going to join me in Hell?"
"Can't," Gluttony said shortly.
"You'll die."
Gluttony remained silent. Greed almost opened his mouth to say 'we know', but then thought better of it. Besides, it seemed Lust had already understood.
He stared at them, his eyes showing sorrow. "You two are willing to walk to your deaths rather than betray your friends."
"Friends is a bit much," Greed muttered under his breath. "Allies, at most."
Lust smiled sadly. "We used to be friends. All of us."
"Things change."
"And your suicide mission cannot?"
"We aren't going to side with evil just to save our own asses," Gluttony said, fists clenched by his side. "Just because it was so easy for you---"
"Easy?" Lust repeated angrily. His joking demeanor was gone in an instant. His fangs grew long again and his eyes flashed red. He stepped forward, grabbing Gluttony's collar in his fist, growling, "You think this is easy for me, darling?"
Gluttony didn't answer, eyes fixed on Lust's angry red eyes. He swallowed nervously.
"Lust---" Greed began.
"No," he snapped. "No. You've all misunderstood. . . all of you, misunderstanding everything all the fucking time!"
Greed's hand went to his belt, but he paused, remembering Lust couldn't be killed.
"You think I want this?" Lust whispered, nose to nose with Gluttony. "I want to be here with you! With my friends! Shit has hit the fan but I didn't want to leave any of you in the first place! But I will die otherwise. You will all die."
He released Gluttony and Gluttony stumbled backwards. Lust scoffed at him. "You don't understand the things I tried to do. After I regained control of myself, I tried to kill Lucifer. I tried so fucking hard to infiltrate Hell from the inside. But he caught me. You know what he did?"
Greed winced, expecting something horrible. But Lust said, "He gave me another chance. Something Heaven never did. You think this is easy? You think staying on this side, the 'good' side, makes you better people? You're sins, god damn it!" he roared. "You aren't proving anything to anyone by pretending to care for lives other than your own!"
Greed swallowed. "We're not. . ." He didn't finish that sentence. He didn't know what to say.
Lust's red eyes glinted. "Doesn't it get tiring, hiding behind these masks of yours?" he spat. "In the end, you will turn. You will show your true colours. And you'll regret not having done it sooner."
Lust brushed past them towards the door. He opened it and, before he left, he said, "You leave for Hell tomorrow. I overheard Envy and the others saying they would discuss a plan after lunch. Have fun getting yourselves killed. And when you get there, don't expect any mercy from me."
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