"Really? You want to make a bet with me?" She asked, her voice flowing the distance between the two like birdsong. She looked over at Lucifer with humored eyes and leaned against the door-frame.

He stood there in a borrowed man. Grinning wildly. Confidence oozing out of the seams of his body. "Are you accepting my offer?" He asked, his voice deep and smooth. He held his hand out to her, waiting for her to take it. Wanting her to take it. But she didn't move a muscle.  Instead she looked up at the ceiling as if she was thinking it over. She would be a fool to accept his deal, and she knew that because of the many cautionary tales. Making her decision easy.

"No." She said quickly, giving him a sharp glance as she began to shut the door. Not interested in what he had to offer.

Her resistance was met with a thud as his foot had managed to keep the door pried open. "Why are you so quick to say no?" He asked his face twisting up in disappointment.

She rolled her eyes.  "Because you're the literal Devil. Accepting your 'bet' would be like jumping off the building hoping that gravity wouldn't smash you into the concrete." She said still trying to shut the door, even if it meant crushing his feet. 

"You know, that hurts Aphi.  We have never even spoken to each other before. You hardly know me."

In a way what he said was the truth. They had never spoken to each other before. But she had felt his influence in the past - his and his minions - and she knew that he was anything but trustworthy.

"I know you enough." She said narrowing her eyes at him, green pools filled with disdain; the effect she wanted dimmed as they still found a way to glitter against the light illuminating in the hallway.

He grinned and let out a low chuckle, in no way lifting the mood. It reminded her about her fallen comrades, and the 'bets' that they had lost; the price more than they bargained to give.

"Come on." He pouted, his age showing across the creases of his forehead.  "It's just one little bet."

An annoyed exhale escaped and she opened the door.  Her sweatpants ensemble displayed for the world to see.  "How many times do I have to say no before you leave me alone?"

His face shifted like he had been offended and he removed his foot from the entrance of her home.  "Fine." He straightened his suit, erasing the ripples of his jacket.  "I can tell when -"

"Trust me." She cut him off and finished.  "You can't." She shut the door and locked it before he had any chance to get in.  She turned around with a relieved breath.  He was finally out of her hair.  She could finally enjoy her morning.

A crisp knock sounded off against the door, disrupting the peace that was trying to set in.

"Would you just leave already!" She shouted in annoyance.

"Fine." His voice muffled through the door.  "Then I guess you can say goodbye to lover boy."

Her eyes widened and she swung the door back open. It had been weeks since she had gotten a message from Hephaistos, months since she last saw him.  He left on business of some sort.  But now that she knew that Lucifer was involved, she was more than worried...and a bit disappointed.  She thought he would know better than to make a deal with him - the Devil - who was still standing there with a smug look on his face, making her skin grow pink with anger.

"If you touched a hair on his head-"

He stepped in close, his face inches from her's.  "You'll what?" His eyes were widened, boring into her aged soul.  Chilling her to the bone and unleashing an uncertainty inside of her.  But she didn't dare look away. She had to stand her ground.  She couldn't let him see any weakness, or else, he would seize upon it.

His darkened eyes relaxed as he snorted, "I'm impressed." and stood back up to his full height, towering over her.  He wasn't expecting her to be as bold as she was.  Sassy and stubborn he expected, but before then he didn't think she could muster true bravery.  He looked down at her slightly, still sending a less than innocent presence.  "But that doesn't change the arrangement."

She leaned against the door once more and took a deep breath to calm herself down.  She couldn't believe what she was going to do next.  "Let's discuss this further inside." She offered, extending her arm out to showcase her home.

He nodded and briskly walked past her.   Leaving her to glance around the hallway to make sure that no one was watching.

"Nice place." He complimented looking around her apartment.  It wasn't hard to say something nice about it as it was the epitome of 'living room highlights,' a magazine that revelled in clean, fashion peaked homes. A magazine she was well versed in as she was a head editor for it.  Something that she wouldn't be able to maintain for too long.

She shut the door and glared at him.  "Close your mouth, you'll get drool on the carpet."

He chuckled and sat down on a bar stool. Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, green and sour. "You should watch what you say. Remember, you are not the one with the upper hand."

She snorted and walked around the island, leaning against the cool marble. "Then I don't suppose I can offer you a drink and say please then." She said sarcastically.

"No." He took a bite, a fruity mist spraying over the island; tarnishing the cleanness of the counter-top.

She rolled her eyes and turned around. "What do you want?" She asked, grabbing a clean glass cup from the cabinet; wanting to get their interaction over with. She could hear another bite get taken out of the apple as she filled her cup with water.

"You already know what I want." He stated, freezing her in place. She knew it was only a matter of time for it to come out. But it still made her heart quicken and her mouth dry up. Unconsciously her free hand drifted towards her chest and she licked her lips nervously. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." She said, trying to calm herself. She forced her hand to the tap and turned off the falling water. "We've never had the pleasure of speaking to each other before." She turned around and leaned against the sink, hoping that he would believe her fib.  But that had little chance of happening, and she knew that she was just delaying the inevitable.

He smiled and took another bite.  "Lying is a filthy habit." He said before getting up.  He slowly made his way around the island, taking calculated steps with his apple in hand.  "And you are not good at it." He stopped just mere inches from her and reached his hand out to get a glass from the cabinet.

She moved out of the way so that he could get to the sink.  "Isn't there anything else I can offer?" She asked. 

He shook his head.  "No.  You have nothing else that I want." He turned on the tap.

She walked away from him and looked out the window that stood from floor to ceiling, out at the numerous buildings that stretched towards the blue sky. But the view did little to sooth her. She didn't want to give him what he wanted, it would mean the end of her life and another token for him to stow away.  She didn't know why he wanted them, she just knew that it couldn't be for a good reason.  After all, Lucifer and good didn't go together. 

"What is with the face?" He asked, his reflection peering at her.  "You could win." He took a sip.

She turned around and snorted. "We both know that's a lie."

His smile turned into a grin. "In what way?"

"We both know that the odds will be stacked out of my favor. I don't need Athena to tell me that." She took a sip herself before uncovering her necklace. Bronze metal gleamed up at her, a heart etched into it. "It would be foolish of me to accept any kind of bet with you."

He raised a brow and took another bite of the fruit.

"But..." her eyes weighed down, heavy from the choice she was going to make. "he would do the same for me." She turned her head slightly to look at him. "What's the bet?"

His eyes widened, but not with surprise.  It was a malicious kind of look that was completed when his grin thinned into a smirk.  He put his drink down. "The bet is simple.  Just get two mortals to fall in love in a week.  Something I think you are familiar with."

She turned around and cocked her head at him. If she didn't know any better she would be grabbing at the chance to wager in on this bet. It was a fairly easy task. But she did know better.  So she knew that it wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.  "What's the catch?"

He smiled.  "No catch.  I just want to see your powers in action." He threw the apple core over to her and she caught it out of reflex.  Disgust filling her face as soon as her hands made contact with the sticky fruit.  "That's funny coming from the father of lies." There was no way that the bet wasn't rigged and she wasn't going to accept it without knowing how.

He walked up to her with a calculated look and stopped just an arms length away from her.  He reached his arm out into his jacket and pulled out a photo."  You know me well." She took the photo from him and looked down.  Her heart slowed as she took in the man in the image.  The Devil's tone went dark.  "But I know you better." 

She started to shake her head. "No.  This isn't just a catch, it's impossible." She stared down at the picture coldly. At the man wearing sunglasses and sporting a dark green jacket.  Out of everyone in the world it had to be him. The man she had tried to crack time and time again, but never succeeding. "Something is wrong with him."

"If you want your crippled friend back I suggest you accept."

What he said wasn't just a warning, it was a threat.  Sure the Devil had him already.  But if she said no, how much worse would it get for him?  She didn't know and she couldn't take the chance.  If there was any way to help him then she wanted to do it. A thought dawned on her, inspiration. She still had one last thing up her sleeve that might shift the odds back in her favor. One last thing that she had to put all her faith in. Because if it didn't work, then she was doomed.

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes and took a deep breath.  "You're a snake, but I accept your bet, " She said with a venom in her tone that she didn't know she could muster.  A small flicker of hope burned within her.  If there was a chance she could win then she wanted to believe it was possible.  She just had to make sure to play her cards right. 

She took his hand with hope in her heart, but before she shook it she finished.  "on the condition that I get to pick the lucky girl and we lay out some ground rules."

"Such as?"

She didn't have to think about what she wanted. She had been on the sidelines long enough to know what needed to be said. "I only have two requests. You and your minions don't get to interfere, and the contestants have to interact with each other."

He squeezed her hand.  "I would not have it any other way." He agreed without hesitation before they shook each other's hands, sealing the deal.

It only took a moment afterwards for her fear to set in.