Ever.

He hadn't been this close to her since she woke up a new person... a mortal. He could smell her, the natural sweetness, and the light fragrance of flowers, with a hint of sweat lingering on her skin. And he could feel her warmth from where he stood, feel it radiating from her and absorbing into him. Her heartbeat was louder so close, tempting him, calling to him.

What harm would it do to touch her one time? Just once, a graze of her skin, to stand flush against her body and breathe her in. She'd never know, as long as he was willing to let go.

In a moment of weakness, he took a step toward her, just as she swung in his direction. Her gaze flickered up toward the door as she abruptly stopped dancing, eyes going wide. Her heart stalled, the brief moment of silence screaming loudly to Lucifer, ripping him to shreds from the inside out. His worst fear was coming to life, even for a second: Serah's heart wasn't beating.

He felt the pain gripping his own chest.

But then her heart kicked into overdrive, pounding violently as she startled, yanking the music from her ears. A gasp resounded through the room when her lips parted. She stared through him, around him, at something near him, but there was no way she stared at him.

No way.

It just wasn't possible. They may have stood in the same room, but they were on entirely different planes. A human couldn't see an angel unless they purposely showed themselves, and he'd never shown himself to a human. Never.

"It's you," she whispered.

Lucifer stared at her with disbelief. Me?

"I, uh... I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't know anyone was in here... I didn't think... I mean, I thought... well, check out was an hour ago, and all your things were gone, and I didn't realize..."

She stammered on and on. Lucifer was dumbfounded, remaining quiet and gaping at her like he was the one seeing a ghost.

"I can go, and come back," she continued. "I mean, if you still need the room, that is. I don't want to be in the way."

She started for the door, trying to go around him. On a whim, Lucifer stepped in her path, still expecting her to go right through him, like humans always did, but her footsteps stalled. Her heart skipped another beat as she swallowed thickly. He could sense it then, something angels were trained to detect, the one thing that surrounded him day in and day out down in the pit. Fear.

"Can you see me?" he asked, arching an eyebrow in question.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, and he still thought maybe she stared through him, until she slowly nodded her head. "Of course."

"You see me," he said again. "You know me?"

"Yes," she said tentatively, her heartbeat so frantic it was like a bass drum. Hope swelled through Luce. She really remembered him. "Well, no… I don't know you. I've seen you, but I don't know who you are."

His stomach dropped. "You don't?"

"Uh, no… should I?"

"But you can see me," he said for the third time, raising his voice. He ignored her question, the voice deep inside of him screaming 'how the fuck could you ever forget?' "You've seen me before."

"Yes, of course," she said, her voice quaking as she took a step back, wrapping her arms around her chest. "What's wrong with you?"

He was scaring her. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself down, but it was senseless. There was no way this was happening. It was a dream, or a fucking nightmare, punishment from his Father. He hadn't escaped the pit at all… maybe this was his new Hell, forever to be teased and taunted by her existence, close but still so far away.

Turning around, he stepped out of the open doorway and glanced around, freezing when he saw someone walking down the tier toward him. He stepped toward them as they approached the room next door to unlock it. Lucifer waved his hand in the woman's face, but she didn't react, brushing against him without noticing him there.

Once she was gone, he looked around again, seeing Serah watching him incredulously from the other room. He stood on the tier, looking around the neighborhood, seeing people walking by on the street below, others lingering in the parking lot.

He shouted, trying to get their attention, but his voice was lost to them, the wrong frequency for mortal ears.

Serah flinched, though, covering her ears and cringing when he turned in her direction. He stalked toward her, pointing at her, as she retreated back into the room.

"What's wrong with you?" he growled, echoing her question. It clearly wasn't him that was fucked up—it was her. Mortals couldn't see him, couldn't hear him, couldn't sense him, but she was holding a conversation with him as if this shit were normal. "How can you see me?"

"You're crazy," she said, something akin to terror flashing across her face. "Oh God, maybe I'm crazy. I'm really crazy, aren't I?" She plopped down on the edge of the bed, long ago forgetting she was in the middle of making it. She cradled her head in her hands. "I've lost my mind. You're not real. You're not really here."

Lucifer wanted to console her, to clear this all up and make sense of the mess, but he was speechless. How was this happening? He opened his mouth and closed it again.

What could he say?

"You're not crazy."

She laughed loudly with disbelief. "Then what am I?"

"You're—"

Before he could get out his sentence, a strong tingle shot down his spine, a brilliant glow surrounding him. The light exploded to a ball of bright white, blinding him for a second, before the world around him cleared.