We'll Let The Fires Just Bathe Us

It had been five months since the basket of metal had been left on the doorstep and we were beginning to think that whoever it was, it was just some weirdo and that we didn’t actually have anything to worry about.

Jack got a message from Rian, who got it from god knows who, that Pete was coming to town. It was a bit of a relief because we were both pretty hesitant to go back to New York so that we could talk to him.

“When we’re meeting someone, why do we always go? Why don’t you just make them come back to the house?” I asked, walking into the lobby of the nicest hotel in Maryland.
“Because I am a man of action. If I want to meet someone, I will go myself and meet them. I’m not going to be some lazy king in his castle.” He replied, hitting the button on the elevator and stepping in with me.

I gripped onto his arm once we started moving and he placed a hand over mine, running his thumb over my fingers.

Jack knocked on door number 824 and within five seconds it was opened. A shortish man with bleach blond hair opened it.

“I wondered how long it’d be before you came to me.” He hummed.
“You know about Hell?”
“Of course I do. Come in.” He stepped aside, “I have to say, I thought you’d come sooner.”
“I meant to but there were…Complications.” He replied, referencing the car accident.
“Oh yes I heard about that.” Pete half smiled, leading us into his living room.
“Any idea who it was?” Jack asked.
“We’ll get to that, but for now, bourbon or whiskey?”
“Bourbon.” Jack replied, letting the Hell subject go and going along with where Pete directed the conversation.
“And you?” Pete asked, looking straight at me.

Admittedly I was pretty caught off guard considering demons never really payed attention to me unless they were being threatening or annoying.

“W-whiskey.” I replied and Pete nodded, pouring one for himself too.

He handed us the drinks and motioned for us to sit down on the leather couches. Pete intrigued me. He seemed relatively quiet and modest, but a confident and controlled aura came off him. Not controlling, just controlled. Like he knew exactly what he was saying and doing.

“So I’ve heard that you want to fix Hell.” Pete remarked.
“That’s the plan.” Jack sighed, taking a sip which reminded me that I hadn’t drunk yet.

I decided to wait a minute before drinking so it wouldn’t look like I was waiting for him or that I had forgotten about the glass because frankly, I had.

“Why do you think I can help?” Pete asked, cocking his head.
“Because you’re you.” Jack scoffed.

I took a sip, deciding that the appropriate amount of time had passed.

“Why would that make a difference?” He asked with a glint in his eye.
“Pete, I know you know something. Maybe you know how to fix Hell, maybe you don’t, but you’ve got to know something.”
“Alright,” He raised his chin slightly, “The only thing that can fix Hell is time, provided that any stress on it is removed.”

I bit my lip. Jack was falling for me and the more his affection grew for me, the more stress Hell was put under.

“I can’t remove all the stress but I’ll do what I can.” He replied.
“I don’t think you understand. You don’t heal a broken bone by removing most of the stress, you put it in a cast, don’t touch it, and let it heal.”
“Okay fine, is there a way we can strengthen it? Give it like a Hell five hour energy or something?”
“To my knowledge, no.”
“How do you know all this?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Jack gave me a warning glance but Pete didn’t seem surprised.

“Years ago I was Lucifer’s right hand man. I learned a lot from him.
“Were you there The Day of The Fall?” I asked in a quiet voice.
“Yes, I was the one who helped lock him in the box.” He replied.
“What?” I gasped making him smile.
“Lucifer was insane, Alex. You can only have so much chaos. Too much, and the world destroys itself. He was going too far, making calls that shouldn’t be made. So when I came across those hunters, I helped them.”
“How’d you know my name?”
“Everyone knows your name, archangel.”
“H-how?” I stammered, looking to Jack who had the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Pete got a few abilities from serving lucifer. There are some things that he just knows. Kinda like a demon psychic but he can’t read your mind.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He assured.

Another thing I noticed is that he didn’t sneer down at me, instead looked me in the eye and gave me his full attention while I was talking. It honestly made me feel respected which, while it was a good thing, it still made me fidget as it wasn’t something I was exactly used to.

“But back to what we were talking about, the only solution I can think of other than removing the strain on Hell, is to find a new king. But I seriously doubt you’ll find someone willing and with proper control. And even if, however unlikely, you do find someone, there’s no telling whether or not Hell will even survive such dramatic transfer of power, nevermind you.” Pete said.
“Worth a shot.” Jack shrugged, getting up.
“Jack,” Pete spoke when Jack turned to leave, “Whatever it is that you won’t let go, it’s tearing Hell apart. It will cause the second apocalypse and will end the world… I hope it’s worth it.”

Jack glanced at me before answering,

“It is.”

Notes

title cred: Get Down On Your Knees and Tell Me You Love Me - All Time Low