"Lhori, my sweet kitten! You've made it!" shouted Asmo hugging her tightly and giving her big loud kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too, Asmo," she replied, gently getting out from his embrace.

They got inside a beauty salon and took their places in comfy chairs while two beauticians started to work on their toenails.

"Asmo, you are staring at me, what's up?" Lhori asked, feeling his piercing gaze.

"I don't know. Something's different about you," he said while deep in thought, tapping his index finger on his chin. "You look radiant, but I can't quite put where is it coming from..." He suddenly leaned into her and sniffed, his nose inches from her neck.

"Hey!" she protested.

"Ha! I knew it!" he shouted triumphantly, getting back to his chair. "You've just had sex!"

"Asmo!" she hissed, feeling her face gone scarlet. The beauticians kept their faces utterly indifferent.

"What? No sense denying it, I can smell it all over you."

"How can you possibly smell it?" she groaned. "I showered for like an hour at least!"

"I'm a demon of lust, darling. I can smell things you never dreamed of," he said proudly, his light red eyes shining with joy. "Sooo, that's why Lucifer was so happy this morning!"

"I didn't say it was him," she sighed.

"Oh, please. If you'd ever sleep with anyone else besides him, I would be offended if it's not me! You two are so boring when it comes to sex. Such unconvertable monogamous..."

"Asmo, please... can we maybe not talk about my sex life in such a public place," she groaned.

"Don't worry, ladies here are professionals, nothing we say here will go outside these walls. Am I right, darling?" he asked and gently stroke the beautiful red heir of succubus working on his nails. She smiled at him lovingly. "Those ladies and I go waaay back, so you don't have to worry about any gossips going out."

"Right," Lhori said and tried hard not to imagine what the last comment could refer to. "Anyway, there is nothing to talk about."

"What do you mean? Are you not back together then?"

"No, it was an accident." Asmo laughed.

"Lhori, my darling, can you please explain how having sex could be accidental? I'm having a hard time imagining it."

"Shut up! I was drunk. He was drunk. And it's just... sort of happened."

"Uuuuu!" Asmo squealed cheerfully. "Are you telling me, that my dear stick-in-the-ass proper brother got you drunk, seduced you, and then used for his sexual pleasure? I may owe him some respect after all!"

"No, Asmo. He didn't. I would say it was rather the other way around," she admitted feeling her cheeks going red again. But Asmo was the only person she could talk about this stuff and not feel like she was about to die from embarrassment. He was a demon of lust. Nothing she could ever do would shock him or make him judge her. That's why she enjoyed their little beauty retreats so much.

"You naughty girl!" he whistled. "Do tell me more!"

"Don't get too excited. I'm not going to tell you any details" she hissed. "We had a rough day, so I invited him over for some wine. So, we drank, and we talked..."

"And then you started making out," he added obligingly.

"Yeah, I have no idea how we got there though. And then I sort of dragged him to bed. Here, end of the story."

"Oh, no steamy details?" whined the demon, disappointed. "Not even a little?"

"Nope."

"Oh, you're not fun, Lhori," he huffed ostentatiously. But a charming smile quickly got back on his lips. "But then, you are clearly still into each other. What's stopping you?"

"I'm not sure I want to go back there," she said quietly.

"Why not?" She bit her lip and waver for a moment, not sure if she wanted to talk about her concerns out loud. "Come on, Lhori. You can tell me anything." 

She sighed. "I'm scared, ok? I'm afraid that I'll dive head-on into this relationship again and then after a while, I'll get discarded once more."

"What do you mean?"

"He left me hanging for three years, Asmo," she said, anger building up in her voice. "He wasn't responding to my calls or messages. He just cut me off."

"Did he tell you why he's done that?"

"He said he wanted me to be happy in the human world. It was obviously for my own good... blah blah blah."

"Oh, of course, he did. Our Lucifer always knows best what's right for everyone, doesn't he?"

"He does. Now he says it was a mistake. But what if at some point he decides that me being with him is not a good idea anymore? I don't think I can get through this again, Asmo."

The Lust Demon was thinking for a moment looking at her cautiously.

"You might not like what I'm about to say," he said thoughtfully. "Do you want to know my opinion?"

"Yes, Asmo. I don't have to like it. I want to know what you think."

"I don't think it is only Lucifer who should be blamed for your three years break up."

"Excuse me?" she asked, surprised. She certainly did not see that coming.

"Think about it for a moment, Lhori. You came back to the human world. Lucifer stopped talking to you all of a sudden. You tried to reach him for a while, but then you just gave up."

"That's not true!" she protested feeling her anger rising again. "You have no idea how I felt, Asmo! I thought that all we had was a lie. That it was just pretended, or I just imagined it. I couldn't find my place back in the human world, and I couldn't go back here. So I was waiting and hoping that maybe one day he'll reach out to me. He didn't. If not for Diavolo, I wouldn't even be here!" Asmo was patiently listening to her outburst, nodding.

"Now stop right here, and think real hard, Lhori. What were you doing? You were waiting for a sign! For some miracle to happen. For prince charming to come on a white horse to swipe you off your feet and trot happily into the sunset."

"That's not true!" she protested.

"Yes, it is. That's exactly what happened. And now you are so pissed because you know I'm right." He broke off, giving her a moment to consider his words. He reached out to her and took her hand, stroking it gently. "Lhori, life is not a fairytale, sweetheart. If you believe someone will come and make your life better for you, you're gravely mistaken. But you, my dear, are the most extraordinary human being I've ever met. During your time here you made a pact with the seven most powerful demons in Devildom. Do you really think you needed Lucifer to get back here?"

"I... I'm such an idiot," she said, and she felt like an utter fool. It never even crossed her mind that she could get back to Devildom on her own if only she put a little thought into it. She preferred to blame Lucifer for everything. For not being able to live life the way she wanted to.

"It's ok, love. We are all idiots from time to time. What you should have done was get back here on your own and kick Lucifer in the ass for not giving you a choice."

"When did you get so wise, Asmo?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh, come on! Love is what I live for! Of course, I'm an expert! Lhori, love. Please don't hold yourself back because you are afraid of what might or might not happen. Because you, my darling, can achieve anything, as long as you put your mind and your heart into it."

"Ok, now you are talking like some old monk," Lhori said with a giggle.

"Yeah, that was a bit much, wasn't it?" he laughed. "But I meant everything I said. I'm cheering for you guys. Plus, Lucifer was a real prick when you were not around, so please, I beg you, don't do this to us again! My beautiful skin can't stand all this stress!"

"Thank you, Asmo," she said and squeezed his hand. "You gave me a lot to think about."

"I'm always here for you, my kitten. So, getting back to last night. What exactly did you do? Did he..."

"Shut up, Asmo! I said I'm not telling you a thing!" she hissed, feeling her face gone red all over again.