Chapter Text
Lute arrived at Adam’s office at 6am on the dot, she rapped her knuckle against the large door and waited to hear him call her in. But no voice came from the other side.
She tried knocking again a couple of times, but by the time a few minutes had passed it was clear no one was going to answer. She gently bit the inside of her cheek while considering what she should do.
She definitely had the right office, based on the rectangular metal plate that was hung on the door. The name ‘ADAM’ engraved in curling, elegant letters.
With no other option, she simply waited…and waited.
After a while she checked her phone just as the digital clock on her home screen flicked to 6:14am.
More waiting.
Another check again at 6:22.
A short wander up and down the halls nearby proved futile, no other angels were present in this section of the building this early.
Another check of her phone, 6:34.
She made a mental note to herself to get his phone number ahead of any future incidents like this.
Where the hell was he? She was certain she had not misheard him. His office at 6am, training begins at 7am. Her sisters would be in the training hall soon and she did not want to also be late for that.
The door knob of his office door glistened invitingly. Surely it would be entirely rude and unprofessional to let herself in…and it would be locked anyway.
She reached for the door knob for the sake of it despite the certainty it would be pointless - she imagined Adam’s office must have all sorts of highly confidential documents lying about, there would be no way he’d leave his door unlo-…
The door knob twisted freely and the door clicked open. Lute gave the door a gentle push, allowing it to swing open slowly.
“Sir?” She called out.
But no one was there, his spacious office was devoid of any soul in sight. Seriously? He just leaves his office unlocked all the time?
Lute was suddenly jolted from behind, a large mass clipped her left shoulder and pushed past her into the office through the now open door.
“Sup Lutey” Adam chimed in an easy-going tone and moved straight towards his desk carrying a plate stacked precariously high with a wobbling tower of doughnuts.
Lute had to pause for a moment, gathering her composure. His sudden appearance, the rude shove, the tower of bread…the nickname.
All of those events one after the other had thrown her through quite the mental loop.
“Sir…Good morning”
Adam took a seat behind his desk after successfully setting his plate down without destroying the doughnut tower. He glanced up at her with questioning look.
“Well watchya waiting for? Come in!” He said, as if she hadn’t been waiting for him already for over 30 minutes.
Supressing the urge to question where he’d been, she closed the office door and moved forward to stand infront of his desk, arms held behind her back and posture straight and she awaited further instruction.
He was reclined back in his office chair, doing an incredibly impressive job of shoving an entire doughnut into his mouth in one go. The food phased through the mask screen in a manner that made Lute shudder.
She and her exorcist sisters had their own masks, similar to his, although theirs lacked the same divine magic that allowed Adam to shovel things into his mouth while still wearing it.
Adam’s eyes flicked up to Lute, he picked another doughnut off the tower.
“Sooooo you gonna sit down or what?” The man took a generous bite, crumbs catching on his mask cheeks.
She shifted a little and glanced down at the chair in front of her, situated on the opposite side of the desk to Adam. With a nod she pulled out the chair, taking a seat and folding her hands in her lap.
In the short span of time her eyes had left him he’d somehow finished the doughnut he’d just been working on and had made it onto the next.
“MMMph” He moaned, savouring the sweet treat.
“These fucking things are the only reason I agreed with Sera to start training sessions at the ass crack of dawn” His mouth was half full as he spoke.
Lute raised a singular eyebrow but said nothing. She did however make a mental note of the fact that food seemed to be a good motivator for her commander, that information might come in handy sometime in the future.
“You probs haven’t seen the food hall yet have ya? Lemme tell you sweet-tits, they got some seriously good stuff down there, swing by for lunch sometime and try the ribs – best . shit . ever”
Lute simply nodded in reply, consistently finding it hard to maintain eye contact as Adam had been waving one of the doughnuts around as he spoke, sending little crumbs flying left and right. She hated mess.
He took another smaller bite, one elbow propped up on the desk and the chin of his mask sitting in his free hand as he chewed, eyes now solidly trained on hers as if he was thinking about something.
“You don’t talk much, do ya babe?” He asked suddenly, in between mouthfuls.
“I talk…” Lute responded, unsure what more to say. She had never been all too fond of ‘small talk’, she’d rather get straight to the point with people…speaking of.
“So, shall we discuss what it was that you wanted to go over before training?” Lute attempted to drive the conversation in the right direction.
“Oh sure! Was just gonna give you this to do –“ He snapped his fingers, summoning a stack of golden papers and snatching them out of the air. He thumped them down on his desk in front of her.
She tentatively picked through a few of the golden sheets. It was just a bunch of old, incomplete incident reports that needing filling in. Trivial stuff and incredibly outdated too.
“I thought we were going over….’lieutenanty things’” She quoted his terminology from yesterday’s conversation
“Uhhh yea, and those -” Adam pointed to the golden stack
“Are for you to do, lieutenant” His finger snapped up to her, his masked expression stretched out into a grin.
“This is all you wanted me here early for…to give me some paperwork?”
“Yep” He replied nonchalantly and brushed a few crumbs from his robe.
She contained the frown that threatened to knit her eyebrows together and watched as he stood from his seat and stretched with a yawn. His head swivelled back down to her.
“But we’ve got training to get to, so you can save that for later”
Lute checked her phone again, seeing that training was in fact starting soon. She let out a controlled sigh through her nostrils and nodded before she also stood, following him wordlessly as he led the way to the training hall.
She wanted to question him on his reasoning for calling her here so early to give her nothing more than some petty paperwork – not to mention him being HALF an hour late. But she resisted, deciding that giving him the benefit of the doubt might work in her favour…at least for as long as she could stand to hold her sharp tongue.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The pair entered the training hall just as the last few exorcists were filtering in. The crowd was a mixture of faces, old and new to Lute. The intake of soldiers whom she graduated, and those soldiers who had already been a part of the army.
A spike of nerves hit Lute suddenly. She didn’t doubt herself, her talents, her deservingness of the title of lieutenant – but being here now face to face for the first time with exorcists who had more on-field experience than her, it was a little nerve wrecking.
Lute had yet to even take part in a singular extermination as a brand new graduate. Some of the women in front of her could have been a part of over 100 by now.
But every exorcist starts somewhere, she reminded herself, pushing the wave of nerves back down.
Sera chose her as lieutenant, that choice was not without good reason.
“Okay, ladies!” Adam’s voice boomed, easily filling the room and commanding the attention of the entire hall.
“Some of you already know, but for those that don’t, we’ve got a fresh-brand-shiny-new lieutenant!”
Adam patted Lute’s back unnecessarily hard jolting her forward a fraction, a white lock of hair fell into her face from the force of it.
Her narrowed yellow eyes flicked across to him and she blew the stray hairs back out of her face. Then, with a steadying breath she addressed the crowd.
“That’s right. I’d like to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself, my name is Lute”
It felt foreign, yet oddly right to say her new name out loud. Introducing herself for the first time using it instead of the old, soulless numbers that used to be her name.
“-and as the commander has already explained I am going to be your lieu-“
“Right! Now that’s out of the way, get paired up, practice some fighting or whatever and lets get this shit done and dusted so we can all get out of here!”
Lute's body went rigid, her eyebrows shooting up in shock and her shoulders subconsciously hunching. She was utterly dumbfounded by the complete disrespect from the commander.
Not just that he’d not even let her finish her sentence, but the way he was about to run this session…’practice some fighting or whatever’!? He couldn’t be serious, this couldn’t be how he usually ran these sessions…right?
The girls began to do as he’d asked, those who had graduated alongside Lute seeming also a little hesitant and surprised by the casualness of the order.
Those who Lute did not recognise however, the ones who had graduated before her intake…seemed unphased, clearly used to this kind of half assed session.
Lute turned to Adam, who had leaned against the nearest wall, his phone in hand, gazing at it with a look of vague boredom.
“Sir.”
He glanced up at her. She noticed his golden eyes shift left and right a little, taking in her face in a way he hadn’t before now.
His bored expression then morphed into a smug smirk.
“Lieutenant, what part of ‘get paired up’ flew over that pretty little head of yours hm?”
She bristled at that, her feathers fluffing out. She was supposed to be lieutenant, yet he was treating her like another regular soldier.
“This isn’t how I envisioned my first training session as lieutenant going. I barley even got to introduce myself. And what training plan are we supposedly following?”
There was so much more Lute wanted to say, but she was attempting to maintain a level of professionalism with the man, even if he hadn’t offered her the same in return so far.
“Whats the prob? You got to say your piece. And the plan is for you to train however I tell you to”
He pocketed his phone and took a couple steps closer to her, the smaller angel’s neck craning to maintain eye contact with the much taller man.
The commander placed his hands on Lute’s shoulders, his smirk widening before he suddenly spun her 180° now facing away from him and towards the other angels who were following his order to spar with each other.
The smaller angel shivered involuntarily as she felt the man lean down from behind her, his masked face now next to her ear as he spoke in a lower tone.
“So, be a good girl and go find someone willing to pair up with your ass and do some combat shit”
Adam gave her a gentle push in the general direction of the other soldiers.
The ‘practicing’ going on before her eyes was without guidance, without purpose, one look and Lute could see no one here would improve on their technique like this. They were just pointlessly sparring, and it caused a wave of anger to flash through her.
It wasn’t their fault, their subpar training was only because of the subpar instruction they’d been given.
She spun on her heel, snapping back to face Adam.
With crossed arms he raised an eyebrow in a way that wordlessly challenged her to talk back. A challenge she was eager to accept.
“Even as a recruit, I have never seen such a poorly planned training session” She remarked coldly, frustration simmering beneath her tone.
“There needs to be structure, planning, and direction. This is what a lieutenant is here to support with, what I am here to support with” She continued, her voice icily low.
Adam burst out into taunting laughter, throwing his head back as his shoulders shook. He clutched his stomach with one hand and wiped a mock tear that didn’t exist with the other.
Lute’s expression turned positively deadly, chin pointed downwards as she glared up at him through her eyelashes.
“O-ho babe! No no no…” He leant down a little, his hand suddenly grabbing her jaw and tilting her face up towards his.
The contact sent a shockwave of tingles shooting through her face and neck, originating at the point his gloved hand made contact with her delicate skin.
She didn’t let on to it though, defiantly holding his gaze with unblinking eyes.
“You’re here to do as your told”
His grip, somehow equally gentle as it was firm, turned her chin forcing her to look towards the other soldiers who were focused on each of their sparring partners.
“Just like them”
Her face felt hot, a golden blush no doubt growing in her cheeks as she felt a concoction of rage with a hint of flustered frustration.
Even after he removed his hand she still felt a ghost of tingles where his fingers had just been.
“You get me?” Adam asked.
Lute’s eyes narrowed. Oh, sure, she got him.
It was making increasingly more sense now. It seemed Adam’s own arrogance refused to let him acknowledge anyone as an authority figure by his side.
Lute had already gotten that vibe from how begrudgingly he communicated with the high seraphim Sera, not at all giving her the respect she most certainly commanded.
What Lute was yet to understand was the motive behind his childish attitude.
Was it purely an ego thing? Was it because he thought he was too good to need someone to assist him? Oh-so divine and untouchable that he didn’t even need to give his army proper training?
Maybe he had a problem with people telling him what to do, telling him that his way wasn’t always the right way.
She supposed being the first ever mortal soul must naturally come with some level of pre-packaged self importance…yet in her opinion, it was proving to be an un-deserved level self-importance.
Fingers clicked obnoxiously in her face, snapping her back to reality.
“Hey! I asked you a question” He scoffed.
She straightened, matching his intense eye contact and kept her voice low as she replied, her tone intense and purposeful.
“Yes, sir. I think I’m beginning to ‘get you’” She practically growled.
To her utter delight, he looked ever so slighty taken aback for a moment from her sudden intensity. The reaction slipping through the commander’s controlled, cocky demeanour.
It thrilled her to know that she could even slightly shake the larger man.
She wouldn’t roll over and play his little game. Nor would she throw in the towel and give up her title.
No. She was going to be lieutenant and she was going to do it properly.
Before he could do or say anything more, a chirpy voice cut through the thick tension hanging in the air between them.
“Lieutenant?”
Lute’s head turned instinctively, the title still new but the natural drive to respond was immediate.
The source of the interruption was a dark haired woman, her black locks slightly below shoulder length, and her smile warm and wide.
"Yes, soldier?" Lute responded, quietly appreciating the respect for her authority – which was a stark contrast to Adam’s disregard so far.
“I had some questions to ask you about our training, if you’d lend me a moment of your time…” She asked, nodding her head towards a far exit of the hall.
“Damn Chlow-Job, already kissing the new lieutenant’s ass! Though you’d at least give it, like, pssht, a DAY” The jeering came from Adam.
“Absolutely, shall we?” Lute disregarded Adam’s comment, without even sparing him a second glance she began walking towards the exit, happy to get a break from the commander.
“Hey! Training’s not over bitches, you don’t get to just bail whenever you feel like a gossip sesh”
Oh, so now he cared about training?
“This is a training related discussion” Lute called out over her shoulder dismissively, not looking back or allowing the commander to deter her. Thankfully the soldier in tow didn’t hesitate to follow Lute despite Adam’s complaint.
They entered the hallway and Lute continued on a few paces down the hall, eager to get as much physical space between herself and Adam as possible.
Once they’d walked far enough she stopped and turned to the soldier, and to her surprise noticed a hint of amusement playing on her features.
“He’s really giving you a hard time already ey?” She chuckled and held out her hand.
“I’m Chloe, thought I’d introduce myself properly”
Lute glanced down at her hand and then back to her face before reaching out and shaking it.
“Also noticed you looked like you were about to stick your sword through the commander's face...thought I’d give you an out. It can be intense getting to know him”
Intense...that’s one way to put it.
“Yes, well- Sera had warned me working with him as his lieutenant was going to be a challenge”
“Oh yeah! I remember Sera warning me too, I thought to myself ‘Ive known Adam for years! I can handle him’ but christ, he really was insufferable. Still is actually, it’s just an easier pill to swallow when you’re a soldier than it is when you’re supposed to be his lieutenant”
Lutes eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“You’ve been his lieutenant before?”
“The one just before you, actually” she confirmed, leaning up against the wall.
“For three weeks...that’s how long I lasted! The other girls had bets out and everything” She chuckled to herself, shaking her head.
“It was just that - I’d seen a few Lieutenants try and fail to work with him over the past couple years, thought to myself I might have a shot at it, yknow? Id be ‘different’! But nope, just the same as the rest...I gave up with the man too, he drove me borderline insane”
Lute frowned in thought.
“What’s his issue?” Lute asked. The other woman snorted.
“His issue is he doesn’t want a lieutenant, thinks he’s above needing one and all that jazz” She rolled her eyes.
“But Sera says he has to have one, and what Sera says goes. So every time he gets a lieutenant, he acts like an asshole with them, like – waaaay more than usual, and he doesn’t let them have any authority-
‘You’re here to do as you're told. Just like them’ the recent memory of Adam’s words echoed in her mind.
“-which is obviously not how a lieutenant should be treated! Sure, you’re still lower rank than the commander and he’s in charge or whatever…but you’re also supposed to be in charge to an extent, especially when it comes to training! But noooo”
She waves her hands mockingly, Lute could see that Chloe definitely felt strongly about the subject which was understandable given she was the most recent victim…before Lute at least.
“The man always has to have his way, and there’s only so much arguing one angel can do with Adam before going clinically insane. So most give up, realising its easier to just be a soldier…which is of course EXACTLY what he wants”
The woman reached out, placing a comforting hand on Lute’s shoulder.
“But don’t let all that get to you! If that death glare I just caught you giving him is anything to go by, you’re already off to a great start!” She winked playfully.
“I don’t know…I wouldn’t go as far as saying me and him off to a ‘great’ start today” Lute crossed her arms defensively over her chest, thinking over all the ways he’d already pissed her off this morning.
“Listen, some of the girls wouldn’t dream of even challenging him in the first place, so you got further than them” She offered a reassuring smile
“Anyway...I just thought it’d be nice for you to get a brief overview, I know you’ve just graduated and everything so you’re not as clued up as some of us on what to expect with Adam...he really is just a bit of a childish idiot sometimes!”
Chloe rolled her eyes, smirking.
“Literally caught him the other day trying to convince Sera to let him change the nameplate on his office door to ‘Dickmaster’ because, in his words, ‘that’s my fucking legacy babe! It should be on my door’…” Chloe mimicked Adam’s voice and inflection, making exaggerated gestures with her arms as she did so.
Lute raised an eyebrow, and amused smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.
“She had to explain why having anything related to his dick in the holy Seraphim Hall was unacceptable…”
Chloe laughed and Lute let out an amused snort.
“What’s the funny joke, ladies?” Adam’s tone cut their laughter swiftly short.
Lute quickly leaned to the side and peeked over Chloe’s shoulder to see the commander strolling down the hallway towards them.
“Oh, nothing interesting sir” Chloe replied smoothly while still smirking at Lute, not even turning to look back at the man. Lute liked the way that similar to herself, Chloe didn’t seem to be one to be shaken easily.
The commander reached the pair and immediately propped up an elbow on Lute’s shoulder and leant on her, using her once again like an arm rest.
Only this time he leant what felt like most of his weight onto her causing her to strain with a grunt while attempting to hold him and herself upright.
“C’mon Chlo-Chlo, spill, seemed pretty fucking hilarious. I think it might be the first time Lutey here has smiled in her entire life too” He grinned and pointed at his lieutenant’s face.
“You should smile more often babe, it’s a nice break from that usual glare you got going on” Lute responded by glaring up at him which seemed to only widen his shit-eating grin.
“We were just discussing how great of a commander you are” Chloe explained, her tone openly mocking but still light-hearted.
“Oh uh-huh, sure you were“ Adam scoffed.
“Anyways, while you ladies were slacking off I was telling everyone about tomorrow evening, Fifi is retiring and we’re getting fucked up, leaving drinks start at 6 at the HolyInn. Be there or be square bitches”
Chloe nodded and Adam leant down, lowering his face closer to Lute’s.
”You ever even been to a party babe? You don’t strike me as a party kind of girl…”
Well, for once she’d agree with him there, he had that assumption right.
“I get more of a ‘organises your sock draw for fun on the weekend’ vibe from you” Adam snickered earning a cold glare from Lute.
Before he could react Lute took a sudden step back, removing herself from under his arm. The unexpected shift left him without the support and he stumbled, crashing face-first onto the floor.
It was a satisfying parallel to how she’d been the one sprawled out on the floor yesterday.
Chloe burst out into laughter, doubled over in hysterics at the commander's expense which only made the scenario all the more satisfying.
A flash of surprise washed over Adam’s masked LED face before morphing into a chilling scowl directed at his lieutenant.
“You crazy bitch, what the fuck was that for?!” He exclaimed, still on the floor before her.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I didn’t do anything, looks like you need to work on your balance sir” She made no effort to hide the growing smirk on her lips.
“Oh come on, as if you ‘didn’t do anything’” He flapped his wrists and imitated a girly voice.
“You totally did that on purpose…– and wipe that fuckin’ smirk off your face!” He grumbled while picking himself up off the floor.
“Hm, funny, just a minute ago you told me to ‘smile more’. Thought you’d be pleased” Lute quipped, holding his gaze with her smirk still present. Adam’s scowl deepened and his eyes narrowed dangerously, though it did nothing to intimidate Lute.
Adam opened his mouth to rebuttal, but Lute cut him off before he could get a single syllable out.
“Anyway, I suppose we should get back to training, shouldn’t we sir?” Her tone held a hint of mischief, like she was testing the waters of how much indirect disrespect the commander would allow.
He didn’t bite though, seeming eager to dismiss the situation. On this occasion, at least.
“Yeah well – Not me, bitches. Sera needs me for other shit for some reason, she’s not usually on my ass this early in the morning” He grumbled and frowned to himself. His eyes met Lute’s again.
“So…Think you can handle the rest of the session on your own?” Adam asked challengingly.
Lute could tell he was begrudging about having to leave her in charge, she wondered if Sera had called him away on purpose to give her the opportunity to lead without the commander breathing down her neck…It didn’t seem entirely out of the realm of possibility.
“Of course, I am lieutenant after all” Lute spoke with a purposefully upbeat tone.
She didn’t miss the way Adam’s animated eyes narrow a fraction more, confirming his distaste for the situation he’d been put in. Too bad.
“Alright, well, your scissor sisters get back to in then” Adam naturally had to have the last word. The last word being an order.
He he didn’t wait for a response before turning away from the pair and leaving.
Chloe raised her eyebrows at Lute and mouthed an ‘Ooooo’ which made Lute smirk once more. Maybe Chloe was right, maybe Lute did have a pretty good shot at rivalling the commander’s attitude.
And maybe Adam was right, maybe Lute should smile more, she could certainly see that happening if it would continue to be at his expense.
Lute and Chloe headed back into the training hall, and with the absence of a certain overbearing presence, Lute was able to introduce herself properly this time and proceed to structure the session in a more effective manner.
She had the soldiers start without weapons and circle through different scenarios, both unarmed, then taking turns with one armed and the other not, progressing finally to both armed.
Lute could tell instantly that it had been a while since they did anything other than basic sparring with their weapons. Their unarmed combat was lacking in technique especially when handling an opponent that wielded a weapon.
Good, that meant she had a basic starting point for the sessions ahead.
The rest of this session went smoothly and it felt like no time had passed at all when the clock ticked over to 8.30am, marking the end of their session.
“Lower your weapons soldiers” Lute announced.
“That’ll be all, you’ve all made good progress today. But I want to continue seeing even more, expect more challenges than you’re used to while training under me”
To her delight the crowd was littered with pleased nods, she was glad that despite the amount of slacking Adam had clearly been allowing leeway for, the girls were excited to push themselves rather than continuing to take it easy.
“You’re all dismissed” Lute gave a curt nod and the girls began gathering their things before making their way to the changing rooms.
Chloe sauntered up to Lute, arms crossed, and gave her a gentle bump with her shoulder.
“That was great, a real breath of fresh air, looking forward to seeing what other directions you’ll take our training in” The angel praised and Lute gave her a small smile.
“Well, depending on how much you can get Adam to clear” Chloe added and Lute rolled her eyes, she’d nearly forgotten that this half of the session went so well thanks to his absence.
“I’ll make it work” Is all Lute said, despite not having a real plan of how she was going to do that.
But she’d figure it out…eventually.
