Dealing with the Devil (King Dice x Devil)

Chapter 11

Dice took one look at the glowing letter and grabbed it before running back to the Devil's room. He doesn't hesitate to slam the door open, "Boss!"

Devil jumps and turns around, brush still in hand, he glares for a moment before realizing it's Dice, "What? What is it, Dice?"

Dice takes some deep breaths, not being used to running, "A- A letter came in boss."

"So?" His voice is laced with indifference and a mild bit of confusion.

"It's... It's from," He pauses and looks up, "upstairs."

Devil's face would have paled if it could be seen beneath his fur and the brush fell from his hand, "You're sure?"

"Positive, it was glowin' and everythin," Dice responds, handing the glowing parchment over to Devil. 

The Devil snatches the letter from Dice's hand, rips off the seal, and his eyes rapidly scan over the paper. He looks at Dice, and then back down at the paper. "Get out." 

"Pardon?" Dice asks, looking at Devil with confusion. Why wasn't his boss telling him what the letter said, why did he need to leave? The questions swirled in his head. 

"I said, Get. Out." Devil repeats, his sharp teeth gritted, "NOW!" He yells angrily, his voice booming as he points to the door.

Usually, this would not scare Dice, he was used to his boss's temper tantrums but something about this felt different, almost as if Devil wasn't angry but scared instead. Dice considered staying to argue, to try and calm him and get some answers, but something about this was so raw and real. It felt so much worse than anything ever before. Maybe if he just gave his boss a moment, he would process it and they could talk. The whole time he stands there, lost in thought, trapped in an internal debate of what is the correct response to this. 

"Didn't you fucking hear me?!" The Devil roars at Dice, getting into the shorter man's face. 

Dice looks up at Devil, and stumbles back slightly, wanting to put a little distance between him and Devil, "I heard ya just fine, boss. But..." He swallows, this would either go well or backfire horribly. "But I ain't goin anywhere." He says firmly as he reaches for the Devil's hand. 

The Devil takes a step back his eyes wide as he looks at Dice. Did Dice just say that he was going to stay? He didn't even know what he was getting into? He shakes his head, "No. No, you can't do that."

"Dev, talk to me, please." Dice replies, taking a step towards him again, "What is goin' on? You know you can trust me."

"No, no I can't. You...," He pauses, he knows he's going to regret saying this and he shouldn't say it, but he wants- no, needs Dice to leave, he has to keep him safe, as safe as he can keep a sinner, "You ran the last time things got tough." He knows that was unfair, he can feel the intense regret welling up inside him as he feels as though he could be losing the man he so desperately loves whom he had only just admitted his feelings to.

Dice freezes, and the air becomes thick with tension. He stares at the Devil, processing what was just said. For a time, everything is still, and the Devil is almost certain he is a dead man, he squeezes his eyes shut, this was it, Dice was going to rip into him for that. But it doesn't happen, it doesn't get loud, Dice doesn't shout at him, call him an asshole, or anything the Devil expected. Instead, he feels Dice's hand in his own, and he opens his eyes, snapping his head up to look at the other man. 

"You and I both know that you're just tryin' to come up with reasons for me to leave. If you want me to give ya space to think things over, tell me. But don't shout and roar and throw a fit and expect things to go your way. We are partners now, in more than just the business sense. I need you to understand that I am not gonna leave. Okay?" He asks. It feels odd to be so understanding, he can't recall a time that he was like this for anyone else. But even though he understood, he still expected an apology for what the Devil had said, even if he hadn't meant it, and if he had, that would be a bigger discussion to have. 

The Devil was speechless for a moment, and he slowly started to nod his head, "Okay. Okay, I just- I need to process all this, can I explain later?" 

"Yes, you can. But don't keep me in the dark too long. Now, I have to get back to work. Call me in when you're ready." Dice says before leaving the Devil alone with his thoughts. 

The Devil sighs as the door clicks shut, and he looks down at the, now slightly crumpled, parchment from Heaven. He sits on his chair and leans back, staring scornfully at the letter. 

Lucifer,
The time has come to make good on the agreement you and God had come to in exchange for your life all those years ago. God believes it is time for armageddon and would like for you to create the antichrist that will destroy this world and everything in it. He will create a new, better world on the ashes of the old. Make your peace and choice quickly. 
Regards, Heaven