A/N: God's voice is in all caps.



January 13, 1977

ORLANDO WAS BORN TODAY.

Most beings jump when they are addressed by God, especially when a disembodied voice sounds unexpectedly in an otherwise unoccupied room. Not the man standing in front of a newly stretched canvas propped on a paint stained easel. He didn't even look around, knowing after a millennia of these conversations that God wouldn't take on the appearance of a mortal for a conversation they'd had countless times before. "I know. I *can* count. Every ninety-nine fucking years. You couldn't have made it an even hundred? Easier to keep track of."

HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?

"No, and I'm not going to. I've had enough of this game. Orlando can live out his life to a fucking ripe old age without me. I'm not getting anywhere near him this time."

HMMM…YOU KNOW IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME. THE FIRST TIME WAS A FRIDAY, WASN'T IT? THAT WAS THE LIFE HE…

A feral growl emanated from deep inside Lucifer, ending God's 'idle musings'. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PUNISH HUMANS FOR YOUR HEARTBREAK, YOU KNOW.

When he spoke, Lucifer's voice was back to its normal 'couldn't fucking care' tone. "I know. I *like* tormenting humans. The thirteenth of a month falling on a Friday just gives me a little added incentive, a celebration of misery if you will."

2006

Lucifer stopped his hand poised midway to a canvas, cerulean blue on the brush. Orlando was scared, and it was distracting him. It had been twenty-nine years since his birth, and Lucifer had held to his word. He hadn't laid eyes on him in this lifetime, but it hadn't stopped him from feeling every strong emotion. When Orlando had fallen and broken his back, he had almost given in, but the pain medication administered by the hospital had actually lessened the connection, giving him the time to rebuild his defenses.

Forcing himself to place the brush to canvas, his arm jerked, marring the image he'd been creating with a broad slash as fear turned to pain. Purposefully rinsing his brush in turpentine, Lucifer clenched his teeth and repeated the mantra he'd been using for the last twenty-nine years. "I don't care. This lifetime will not include me. He's on his own."

No longer able to concentrate on his painting, he paced.

Worried the buttons on his shirt.

Broke objects as books were flung across the room.

When he felt the rent in Orlando's soul, he could no longer resist the call of his soul mate. In an instant, he was at the young man's side. Four large men had Orlando pinned in a dark, dirty alley. He'd been beaten and obviously raped.

The alley flashed with bright red light as Lucifer's rage manifested in blinding flames searing each man directly through the heart. Their screams echoed off of the brick, but it wasn't enough. Turning his complete force on each in turn, he let them recognize him for the supernatural being he was, relishing the look of utter panic before reducing them to a pile of ash. As the last one collapsed, Lucifer knelt and pulled Orlando into his arms.

Before losing consciousness, Orlando looked into familiar blue eyes and whispered, "My angel."

Lucifer's eyes filled with tears as he cradled the limp body to his chest. "My love…" he sighed, laying his forehead against Orlando's.

Quickly determining that Orlando's wounds were not mortal, he decided on conventional transportation, stealing a car at the end of the alley to take Orlando to the hospital. Standing next to the young man's pale, unconscious body in the sterile, white cubical, Lucifer brushed the dark umber curls back from the familiar face. "They'll take care of you," he whispered before turning and walking out, telling himself with each step not to look back.

The desk nurse's curious gaze followed the determined looking man as he walked across triage muttering, "Not in this lifetime."

~~~~~

Whisking himself to a remote mountain top, the fallen angel screamed at the heavens, "You did this!"

YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT. THIS IS A RESULT OF EVIL BEING ALLOWED FREE REIGN ON EARTH. IT IS OUT OF BALANCE, LEADING PEOPLE TO MAKE BAD CHOICES.

"So you're trying to say *I* did this?"

NO. IT WASN'T ME AND WASN'T YOU. THE MEN MADE THEIR OWN DECISIONS. ORLANDO JUST GOT CAUGHT IN THE FALLOUT OF THOSE DECISIONS.

"Bullshit! You were trying to get me to pay attention to him, but it's not going to work. I don't have a heart left to love him with. He destroyed that long ago."

YOU ARE BEGINNING TO BELIEVE YOUR OWN PROPAGANDA. LOVE CAN CONQUER ANYTHING.

"Now who's spouting propaganda? I've been in love for several millennia and believe me, it's nothing but a pain in the ass."

HE'S BEEN IN LOVE THAT LONG TOO, YOU KNOW?

"Yeah but he doesn't have to remember it. He gets to forget it every lifetime. I get to remember every single moment. Every single time he's turned his back on me. Every heart breaking moment as he's chosen someone else."

I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN HARD ON YOU, BUT AS LONG AS YOU CHOOSE TO HARDEN YOUR HEART, YOUR LOVE WILL CONTINUE TO FAIL. BOTH OF YOU COMPLETELY SURRENDERING TO IT IS THE ONLY WAY.

With cold finality, Lucifer turned his back on God, whispering, "Then it will fail."

Read Chapter Two of Fifteen of When Worlds Collide