Lucifer took a sip from his whiskey, then gently put the glass back on top of the piano. He started playing a slow song, pouring all of his soul into the music.

"Seriously? Again?" Uriel lamented from next to him. "I'd rather you kill me now than having to listen to this again." His voice turned accusatory. "We both know you'd do it, don't we? You'd kill me. Even though I'm your brother. Just get it over with."

Lucifer started singing, ignoring the thing that wasn't his brother. "Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."

Uriel rolled his eyes but stayed silent, as if he knew it was a lost cause, and he wasn't going to get killed today.

Lucifer gave it his all, his voice thick with emotion as he went through the all too familiar lyrics. They resonated exceptionally well with his current mood. "In restless dreams I walked alone. Narrow streets of cobblestone," he sang, thinking about the countless hours he'd spent walking restlessly through the vast labyrinth of corridors in hell, not knowing where he was going or why, just needing to get out, out, out.

"And in the naked light I saw. Ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening." So many rooms, so many lost souls. So much hatred, and self-loathing, and disgust, and anger. It hadn't bothered him before, but now it did. Now it did, because deep down he knew he was one of them.

"'Fools' said I, 'You do not know. Silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you. Take my arms that I might reach you. But my words, like silent raindrops fell. And echoed in the wells of silence."

On his return, he'd tried something he'd never done before. He tried talking to them. He started with the ones that were here the longest, those who had been punishing themselves for millennia. He told them that the doors were open, that all they needed to do is forgive themselves. None of them seemed to comprehend what he was trying to tell them. They just continued living out their punishments day in, day out, ignoring his pleas.

"And the people bowed and prayed. To the neon God they made," he sang, anger shining through in his words.

He finished the song, pouring everything he had into it, even though nobody but him was there to hear it. When he was done, he turned around, becoming aware of two things. First, that Uriel had disappeared at some point, apparently realising that Lucifer was not going to get trapped in his guilt today. Second, that Amenadiel and Azrael were standing close by the door, staring at him in silence. He hadn't heard them come in, too caught up in what he was doing.

Lucifer cleared his throat. "How long have you been standing there?" he inquired. He looked up to meet their eyes, and the look of pity on both of their faces gave him all the answer he needed.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Just go away. There is no need for all of us to be miserable."

Amenadiel stepped closer. "That is actually why we are here."

Lucifer frowned. "You want to be miserable? Well, you've come to the right place."

Amenadiel came to a stop in front of the piano. "We have a proposal for you."

Lucifer took another sip from his drink, making a face at the bitter aftertaste. Everything had a bitter aftertaste in hell. "I'm not interested."

Amenadiel crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowning. "You haven't even heard our proposal yet."

Instead of replying, Lucifer focussed his attention back on the piano, starting to play a fast, upbeat song. Maybe his brother would finally get the message, and leave.

Amenadiel raised his voice over the sound of the music. "Please, Lucy, at least hear us out."

Lucifer stopped playing again abruptly, leaning back, crossing his arms over his chest, mirroring his brother. "Get it over with, then."

Amenadiel cleared his throat. "Hell can only be ruled by an angel. But none of us want the job," he began.

"I'm with you so far."

Amenadiel hesitated on the next words, uncharacteristically uncertain. "And for the longest time I believed it to be a fair arrangement that you should need to fulfill this task. After all, you rebelled. I thought you deserved it." He paused, locking eyes with Lucifer. "I no longer believe that to be true. I don't think you deserve to be trapped down here any more than I do. Or anybody else for that matter. Hell needs a ruler, but you shouldn't have to be the one to carry the burden alone."

Lucifer stared at him, eyes wide in surprise. "I'm sure I didn't hear that right. Are you volunteering to be king of hell, brother?"

"I think we should share the burden of ruling hell."

"Share?" Lucifer asked incredulously, looking from one of them to the other.

"Take turns," Amenadiel clarified. Lucifer snorted.

"You are aware that hell is not a timeshare condo in Aspen, right?"

Amenadiel glared at him. "Can you please, for once in your life, take something seriously? We are proposing to split the duty of keeping an eye on things down here between the three of us, meaning each one will spend one third of their life here, and the rest as they please. It's not an ideal arrangement, but at least it gives everyone a chance to spend the majority of their time away from hell."

Lucifer frowned, looking over at Azrael, who had been standing quietly by the door for the entire exchange. "You're awfully quiet, sis. Is this really what you want? To be Queen of Hell?"

Azrael sighed, slowly walking over to them. "Actually I could think of a lot of things I'd rather be doing with my time. But I agree with our big brother. We've been letting you do all the dirty work for far too long. It's high time we chipped in."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at her. "You see yourself commanding a horde of demons, do you?"

Azrael crossed her arms in front of her chest as well, smirking at him. "If you can do it, how hard can it be?" she teased. Lucifer chuckled, shaking his head.

"You two can't be serious."

"We're dead serious," Amenadiel stated, and Azrael nodded.

"What about your son? And Linda?"

Amenadiel's expression hardened. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I will still be able to spend a lot of time with them. I guess it will be similar to a mortal father having to go to work."

Lucifer shook his head. "You have people who depend on you. People who need you. I should be the one in hell."

"You have people who need you as well. After you left, Chloe-"

Lucifer raised a hand to stop him, a pained expression crossing his features. "Don't." He stood up, facing Amenadiel. "I rebelled. I did terrible things. I deserve to be here."

As the words tumbled out of his mouth, he realised that Linda had been right, as usual. It appeared forgiving himself wasn't quite as easy a task as he'd thought.

Behind his two siblings, Uriel reappeared, a sad smile on his face. Lucifer swallowed, suddenly uneasy. This was certainly not the right place to be contemplating his sins. He looked down to find the blade once more in his hand.

"Let's take this conversation elsewhere," he stated hurriedly, dropping the blade as quickly as if it had burned his skin, rushing out of the room. Outside in the corridor, he took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. This was madness. He couldn't actually consider their offer. They didn't deserve this.

He quickly led the two of them to the vast reception hall, sitting down in the massive throne in the middle. There were several of them placed all over hell, all cut from the same black stone, all meant to intimidate whoever stood in front of them. Both sides of the hall were lined with demons standing still, awaiting their king's orders. It was quite an impressive sight.

Lucifer placed his hands on the arm rests, sitting up straight. "Besides, I look much better on here than either of you," he stated jovially.

Amenadiel came closer, not one bit intimidated by the setting. Not that Lucifer had expected him to be. "Why won't you even consider our offer? We are doing this for you."

Lucifer finally snapped, jumping out of the throne and stepping right in front of Amenadiel. "I don't need your pity," he spat, voice cold fury. "I've been doing fine here for millennia without either of you giving a damn, and I'll be doing fine for millennia to come."

Amenadiel nodded. "Yes. We haven't done right by you, brother. But we want to make up for it now. Please. Let us atone for what we did."

Lucifer shook his head, his voice suddenly much more quiet. "I can't let you do this. I can't let you give up so much for me. I'm not worth it."

"Yes you are, you idiot," Azrael said with conviction, enveloping him in a tight hug. Lucifer looked down at her head, a confused expression on his face. He shook his head slightly, giving Amenadiel a pleading look.

"I'm not," he whispered, voice cracking with all the emotions he was trying desperately to hold in check.

Amenadiel stepped even closer, putting his hands on either side of Lucifer's face, forcing him to look him straight in the eye. "You are. You always were. And I am deeply sorry that it took me so long to realise it, brother."

Lucifer took a deep breath, refusing to cry in front of his brother. He looked down at Azrael, then back up to meet Amenadiel's eyes. "Fine," he said in a quiet voice, hardly able to believe that he was actually agreeing to their insane plan.