Lucifer and Alastor had grown up in the same small town, their lives intertwined like the ivy that clung to the walls of their childhood homes. They had been inseparable since they could remember, climbing trees, racing through fields, and sharing secrets under the starry sky. One evening, when they were both twelve, they made a promise that would haunt them as the years went on.

“Promise me,” Lucifer said, her voice a whisper in the breeze. “That no matter what happens, we’ll always be together. We’ll never let anything come between us.”

Alastor, always the more carefree of the two, nodded with a grin. “I promise,” he said, his hand sealing the vow with a firm shake.

But life, as it tends to do, had other plans.

As they grew older, the bond between them began to shift. Lucifer, with her fierce ambition and drive, moved away to pursue her dreams in the city. Alastor, on the other hand, remained in their hometown, working at his father’s old shop and living a quieter life. The distance between them grew, not just physically but emotionally as well. Lucifer’s world became filled with new faces, new challenges, while Alastor’s life remained anchored in the past.

One rainy afternoon, they found themselves standing across from each other at a café, the first time in years they had met face to face. The years of separation hung between them like an invisible wall.

Lucifer studied Alastor, her heart heavy with the weight of their promise. She remembered the days when their laughter had been the soundtrack of their lives, when everything had felt simple. But now, she wasn’t sure if keeping the promise was what she wanted anymore.

“Alastor,” she began, her voice trembling slightly, “do you ever think about what we promised?”

He looked down at his coffee cup, his fingers tracing the rim. “I think about it all the time,” he admitted, his voice low. “But I don’t know if I can keep it anymore. We’ve changed, Lucifer. We’re not the same people we were back then.”

Lucifer felt a pang in her chest, a mix of sadness and frustration. “But we promised,” she said, her voice firmer now. “We promised we’d always be there for each other, no matter what. Doesn’t that mean something?”

Alastor’s gaze met hers, and for a moment, the world around them seemed to fade. “I remember that night,” he said softly, his eyes filled with regret. “But sometimes promises are made when we don’t know who we’re going to become. And sometimes, holding on to them can hurt more than letting them go.”

Lucifer’s eyes welled with tears, but she blinked them back. She had fought so hard to make something of herself, to carve out a place where she could be proud of who she was. But in the process, she had lost something she couldn’t easily get back. “You think letting go is the answer?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Alastor reached across the table, his hand covering hers gently. “I think we need to let each other go. Not because we don’t care, but because sometimes love means knowing when to step back. Maybe our promise was meant to help us grow into who we’re supposed to be… even if that means apart.”

The silence between them was thick with the weight of their shared history, the echo of their childhood laughter and dreams. Lucifer wanted to scream, to hold on to what they once had, but deep down, she knew Alastor was right. They were no longer the children who had sworn to never be apart. They had become adults, with their own lives and their own paths.

“I don’t want to forget you,” Lucifer said, her voice breaking. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Alastor replied, his thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand. “But sometimes, losing each other is the only way we can truly find ourselves.”

As they sat there, their promise hanging in the air, they both realized that some promises weren’t meant to be kept forever. And that was okay. They had loved each other with the kind of innocence and devotion that only childhood friendships could know, and even if their paths had diverged, that love would always remain a part of them.

The rain had stopped, and outside, the world continued on, unchanged. But for Lucifer and Alastor, everything had shifted. And in that quiet moment, they finally understood: keeping the promise wasn’t about being together forever, but about allowing each other the freedom to grow, even if it meant parting ways.

With one last glance, they stood up, each taking a separate path, knowing that some promises were meant to be remembered, but not kept.