Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunlight poured through the open window, filtered through the leaves of the many trees surrounding the small cottage just outside of the village proper. Birds tittered and chirped loudly, signaling the beginning of a new day. You had been up that long? You were sure to get an earful from your mother if she caught wind of you not sleeping again. This time, you had good reason. It was eating at you. 

Out of you, your mother, and your sister, you were the most prone to visions, prophecies, and foretellings. One would think that was a gift from the gods, but one would be wrong. Knowing what hasn’t happened yet is a curse. They plagued you most nights, especially in times of change, and a lot of them involved people you were closest to. Your family was the main target of the visions, and there was no changing them when your unwilling eyes saw them. Your father was the first victim, having foretold his death mere days before it happened. You thought it was a fluke, and spoke nothing of it, passing it off as a nightmare. You were so young and naive, then. The dreams never ceased after the first one, and you’d honed in on the ability a little bit to be able to see it for others, and possibly less dire situations. For the most part, it seemed to work. You did tarot readings at festivals to much success, as later down the line, you would almost always be proven right, for better or for worse.

The vision given to you during the night was particularly distressing. Equipped with the knowledge that the visions weren’t just oddly coincidental dreams or nightmares, the fact that the one you had was so horrific made you vomit the moment you woke. It was like the gods were laughing at you.

The little village you lived near was nice and quaint, everyone knew everyone, the elders made sure the village ran smoothly and everyone usually had a good time. However, with the recent, fervent push from outside forces to convert to this newfangled ‘Christian’ faith, times have been hard. Your family was a family of healers, children born of Ragana the healing witch who protected all who followed her teachings. Your mother healed the physical, having gotten training in wound-tending and tending to the sick in the plague-ridden city she hailed from. Your elder sister healed the mind, taking on the woes of the villagers for a small fee– she was most effective during times of great sorrow, which you saw took a toll on her more than she let on. And you, you were a healer of the soul. With your tarot readings, you gave people hope . When that hope was realized and their lives improved, they’d call you a miracle worker. Miracle. That was one of those newfangled words. 

Men from all over the region came through to spread the gospel, the word of God, as they put it. You had taken one of the books they offered, figuring you’d read this ‘holy word’ to see if there was merit to it. It didn’t quite convince you, but the stories held within it were mesmerizing. You could understand how someone would become faithful to such tales, even if this ‘God’ seemed rather fickle and prone to violence. Not unlike other gods, you noted, but him being touted as the one God made you wary. Especially when you read the story of one of the great princes of the holy realm known as Heaven, Lucifer, the Morning Star. Your heart ached for him, reading about his dreams, his ideals being shot down as the rest of Heaven continued to create the world in the image they saw fit. For his one addition to the world, he gifted the newly created mankind the gift of free will, tempting the second wife of Adam with the fruit of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. It was viewed as a terrible act, wreaking havoc now that mankind had a right to their own thoughts and feelings. You would rather that than being a sheep among the masses, waiting for someone’s next move to follow. The fact that Lucifer was cast out with the first wife of Adam had you stewing the first time you read it, your mother and sister teasing you over reading the nonsense in the first place. You didn’t think it was real , but whoever wrote it didn’t like that a deity would want to give the people they just created a will of their own to grow and change with. You’re sure that if Lucifer were real, he wouldn’t like to see his gift spat in his face like this.

That thought brought you back to the thing that had you spiraling in the first place. The vision. It was horrendous, probably the worst one since your father’s death many years ago.

You, your sister, and your mother were all tied tightly to a large wooden pillar. One of the men of the Christian faith who was sent to ‘reform’ your village was proselytizing about the danger of dealing with the devil and unholy ways. People who you knew and trusted turned on you in an instant, watching as flames were lit under you and your family. Your sister screamed out about the injustice, yelling her heart out about how if their God was real, he wouldn't accept this. “How could you do this to us?” She cried. “We've been nothing but kind and helpful and this is how you repay us?” 

She wasn't wrong in asking. Your family had served the village for as long as the village had been up, and yet, here you are.

Your mother stayed stoic, though with how her jaw clenched and her eyes welled with tears. You knew she was trying to keep a strong face, even if imminent demise was underway.

Looking out at the crowd, all you could feel was the numbness in your legs as the circulation had been cut off at the ankle from the rope bonds. Your heart thundered in your ears, and you felt like you were going to pass out.

 The vision ends there,  but you can only imagine what comes after. 

Letting out a soft sigh, you go to start breakfast and tend to some of the herbal medicines your mother's been brewing, figuring since you're up you might as well be useful. 

***

“Don’t tell me you stayed up all night again,” your sister whispered as you finished up making breakfast.

You rolled your eyes. There was never getting anything past her. “And what difference does it make if I did?” you asked.

Your sister let out a deep sigh, a concerned expression painting her face. “This is the fourth time in the span of a fortnight, sister,” she said. “Are you… is it the visions again?”

“No,” you lied. “I think I just need to use one of Mother’s sleep remedies.” 

“I’ll have to start brewing one up after breakfast, then,” your mother chimed in as she made her way over to the table, setting the makings of tea onto it before coming over to help you set everything out.

“Thank you, Mother,” you said, a lopsided grin taking over your features. “I made your favorite this morning since I saw Miaphine bought everything for it at the market the other day.”

“You’re such a sweet girl, my darling,” your mother said, bringing you in for a side hug and pressing a kiss to your temple. She soon released you so that the three of you could go sit and dig in at the table.

A pounding knock on the hardwood door made you jump in your seat, your mother and sister looking at one another across the table. You'd been trying desperately to stay awake enough to be present in the conversation your family was having, but nearly failed until the knock sounded and perked you right back up. Your mother stood and shuffled to the door, unlatching the locks and turning the knob to reveal one of the men you'd seen in your vision. You swallowed, hairs on the back of your neck standing on attention as you could actively feel the warmth drain from your body. Usually, you had a few days before your foretellings became true, what was he doing here so early?

Your sister looked at you, almost as if she knew. “Sister,” she whispered, “a vision? What of?”

You pressed your lips into a tight line as you tore your eyes from the burly man trying to remain pleasant despite his disgust to look at your sister. Concern, a common expression for your sister, took over her features as it did earlier in the morning, only this time with a hint of fear. The fear was well-earned with what you were about to tell her.

Her eyes went wide once you'd explained it all. “Could you… could you be mistaken?” she asked, knowing it was useless to ask. You were never mistaken. 

“I wish I was,” you whispered, trying to keep the tears burning at the back of your eyes from pooling at your waterline.

“Can we do anything?”

The desperation in her voice nearly killed you right there. 

“No.”

They'd hunt you if you ran. They'd kill you on sight if you fought. There was no escaping this fate you'd foretold, dying at the hands of men who preached the word of their God with an iron fist and intolerance.

You heard a command to arrest the three of you. This was starting too soon. You didn't have enough time to prepare as you were manhandled and dragged out of the cottage with your wrists bound behind your back. You wanted to fight back so badly, you wanted to scream and shout, but there was nothing to be done. A moot point. Your mother's eyes found yours in the chaos, a silent question. Was this foretold? All you could do was look at her solemnly, earning a sad smile and nod from her.

She was never once mad at your ability. She called it a gift, although you felt it to be your fault that your father died. She always told you that it wasn't your fault that the gods and goddesses saw you fit to be entrusted with the knowledge of what would be. She was proud that they had bestowed her children with gifts like you and your sister's, meaning her family was blessed. Even now, you're sure she was trying to find a way to spin this. You'd be martyrs for all of the ‘witches’, as they called you, that came after you. You're probably not the first set of women they've done this to, and you certainly would not be the last.

The three of you were being led to your deaths, and all you could do was ruminate on the fact that you didn't understand: why you ? Was it because you never showed up to the Sunday masses that they held? Was it because other people in the city told them you were healers? That you did readings for people and had inherent knowledge they didn't? There was no trial, there was no explaining yourself. Just immediate punishment for merely existing. 

The time between being arrested and being bound and hoisted upon a large, log pillar was a blur to you. The steps you stood upon were moved from under you, leaving your feet to dangle as they began to add kindling beneath you. This was it. It was coming to fruition.

“Before you are three wretches who turn their backs on God, our Father in Heaven, for sin,” here starts the proselytizing. “They cure ailments that have never been cured before, they claim to see the future, to read people's hearts. All blasphemy.”

You stare off blankly as your mind goes numb. What do you do here? Your fate has been written and sealed, how could you defy that? The man was spitting out nonsense that the people you'd known for so long were willing to let be because they bought into this man's lies and trickery disguised as faith. They were making an example out of you. Believe in us, or end up just like these witches . That was no way to instill faith, faith had to be earned by devotion, not fear. 

“Do not heed this man's words!” Your sister screamed. “We've done nothing wrong! We see to it that his village is safe and protected and this is how you repay us?” 

She was crying. She had been this whole time. Tears and snot streamed down her face, face red and splotchy. 

“We've been nothing but kind and helpful! Please, see reason and see that this is just utter nonsense–”

You stopped listening as you watched them light the kindling underneath you. This was it. You were doomed to be roasted alive. The heat licking at your heels only became more intense as the fire started to roar to life, stinging at your exposed skin. You looked to your right to see your mother trying to hold a straight face, just as in your vision. You saw tear tracks lining the skin of her cheeks, her jaw set in determination to keep it together. She always tried to be strong for you and your sister, but in this instance, she should have allowed herself to grieve. Dying with dignity was underrated. 

What seemed like hours of agony dragged on, the pain being almost too much to bear, but you held on tightly to life. A thought crossed your mind, deciding to do something you thought might be pointless, but it was worth it to see if someone would hear you. You began to pray, your head hanging in respect to any deity who would listen.

“Hear my plea, gods and goddesses, deities across the world over. Help us. We are undeserving of this punishment for not serving a god that is not our own. I pray unto thee, I beseech you, lend your ears to my prayer, lend your hands to our salvation. Make not us martyrs, but survivors of a terrible fate that has been cast upon us.”

You repeat this over and over again in your head, mumbling it to yourself as you start to intake the smoke surrounding you. Your lungs burned. Everything burned . There was no escaping the fire’s wrath. You were going to keep praying until your soul was ripped from your body. It could not end this way.

***

Lucifer was a prideful man. Cast down to a realm of his own creation after gifting the world free will, he decided meddling in the affairs of the living wasn't his thing anymore. He focused on his wife, Lilith’s, dreams of making a utopia for those who did not meet the requirements to see Heaven’s light. He tinkered, he built, he created, all for her. Hell was becoming a bustling place, as sinners came down in batches, or trickled down. It depended on what was happening up top. There were a lot of souls down here already, but he tried not to think about it. He tried not to think about the fact that the free will he bestowed onto them was being used for deeds he didn't even care to repeat.

He guessed unintended consequences were bound to happen, but he was still bitter about it. He tried not to be, especially in front of Lilith. He just couldn't help but feel scorned. 

Toiling away in his workshop at a project he and Lilith had collaborated on, something to improve the quality of life for sinners, he almost didn't hear the faint voice filtering through the sounds of his tools clambering and making a ruckus. He stopped when he felt a faint whispering. 

“ ...I beseech you… lend your hands to our salvation… make us not martyrs, but survivors… ”

That brought pause to the King of Hell. Were they reaching out to him ? That couldn't have been right. He listened in again, hearing the full prayer in its entirety. The voice seemed hoarse, raw like whoever was screaming into the void had been doing so far past their limits. They were calling out to everyone. Anyone . No one had heard them? Had no one even thought to assist them? Of course not, Heaven only thought of themselves. He couldn't speak to other deities, having never encountered them, but he knew one thing for sure: Heaven was perfectly fine martyring a soul for their gain. 

“Lilith!” Lucifer called as he abruptly stood from his chair, grabbing his coat from the back of it to hastily pull it on. “I'm heading out on an errand, I’ll be back in a bit.”

Lilith appeared in the doorway in all of her glory, an eyebrow arched. “What errand do you need to attend to so badly that it's got you in such a tizzy?” She asked softly.

He debated on telling her the whole truth, knowing she'd probably try to stop him, but he was running out of time, he could feel it.

“A soul on Earth is calling out,” he admitted. “If it's reaching all the way down here, that means Heaven’s ignoring it. I might be bitter at humans, but not enough to let a soul calling out die without getting a chance to live.”

Lilith's expression softened. Seeing her husband so impassioned by this made her reluctance die on her lips. “Go, I'm sure whoever it is may not have much time. Just know, if you help them, they're doomed to become a sinner.”

Lucifer wavered a second. He didn't exactly want that, but… Heaven wasn't helping. He could hear that. The desperation in the voice got worse in his head. “That will have to do,” he said, looking up at his wife. He brought her down to his level for a kiss, keeping it chaste and quick before opening a portal. “I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll be back,” he said softly. 

“I know, dear. Now go,” she said, ushering him through the portal.

Lucifer didn't even know where he was going, using the intensity of the voice inside his head as a guide, pulling it like a string to keep him tethered to the source. Eventually, he portaled straight into the scene. It was gruesome, to say the least. Two of the bodies were limp, lifeless. They were most likely dead, considering their souls were missing. The third, the third was in bad shape, but holding on by a thread. He came down in a mess of wings, taking the form he took when he first crashed down into Hell. The crowd that was still there cowered, and the man who seemed to be the leader in all of this looked absolutely petrified with fear. Good. 

“What is that thing??”

“What is it doing here?”

“Is it a demon?”

The leader shook in his boots as he took in the sight of the new figure, taking steps back only to stumble and fall on his rear. He continued to scoot back a far ways. He stuttered and stumbled over what he was trying to pry out of his own trembling lips, finally able to get a clear–

“Lucifer!”

The crowd began to panic as Lucifer began to act, using his wings to put out the fire. It didn't necessarily hurt him but he knew if he didn't, the human he was saving would be fork-tender after too long. Making quick work of the bonds, he was able to lift them up into his arms, turning to the scrambling crowd.

“ Let this be a lesson to those who think that Heaven will ever accept the likes of you: all of you will die sinners. The pearly gates will not accept those who forsake the lives of Innocents, no matter in what name. ”

Lucifer’s voice came out booming, shaking the very ground he stood on. He rarely ever used that intonation, but it needed to be said. They would not be getting into Heaven, least of all the man who called for this sort of thing. Flying high, he opened a portal back into his manor and quickly passed through it, immediately getting to work on reforming the charred but alive body in his arms. He didn't make life much anymore, but he could at least fix it as best as possible.

Not caring about the sheets of his bed, he laid them down and began ripping what was left of their clothing off to get to the burns. “Lilith!” He called again. “Lilith I'm going to need your help with this one.” He felt like retching. He'd seen his fair share of shit, but this was insane. Were they barbaric? Burning people in the name of his Father?

Lilith hurried in, Lucifer looking back at her with wide, distraught eyes. Her eyes darted from his to the body on the bed and swallowed. Nodding, the two of them got to work on healing where they could. The extent of the damage was greater than they'd seen in a while, and had Lucifer gotten there a moment too late they would have surely joined the other two bodies wherever they ended up. 

The body's back suddenly arched as it took in a gasping breath, their eyes shot wide open as it sucked in as much air as possible in the middle of the healing process. Terrified, pained whines and cries escaped them as they tried to move, but as soon as they did, Lucifer summoned restraints to keep them tethered to the bed. 

“Heyheyhey hey it's okay, it's okay,” soothed Lucifer, smoothing some of the caked-on hair out of their face as Lilith administered a sedative. “You're doing great, deep breath for me,” he cooed, taking one with the human to steel himself as well. The sedative slowly worked its way through their system so they could continue to heal where they could, the human’s breathing now leveled out.

Lucifer let out a sigh of relief once they were mostly finished, Lilith wrapping the last bits they couldn't quite heal all the way in bandages after a thorough cleansing. The couple looked at one another, both of them horrified at the implications of what happened to this poor soul.

“Get them to a guest bed while I fetch some clothing for them,” Lilith said softly, getting up to do her part. Lucifer nodded and gently picked them up to transport them to the guest wing. 

Lilith appeared not too long afterward with clothing and some water for them to drink when they finally came to. She did the honors of dressing the poor soul and tucking them into the bed, stepping back to stand with her husband as they watched the little human sleep. 

“I can see why you went, this is horrendous,” she said after a moment.

“There were two others with them, but they were long dead before I got there,” Lucifer said. “I should have heard sooner, maybe I could have saved one more or–”

A soothing hand settled on his shoulder and he looked up at his beautiful wife, who was giving him a sad smile.

“Please don't beat yourself up over this, my love,” she said. “You saved one, and that's better than none. They'll be grateful to be alive either way. Now, come, let them get some rest. We've got a mess to clean up.”

Lucifer nodded slowly, turning to watch the figure on the bed for a moment before following his beloved out of the room. They cleaned up the mess, the charred bits of flesh and newly created blood were swept away, the sheets were changed, and baths were had. Lucifer couldn’t help but think about the human in the guest wing. How had they gotten into that situation, how did they know to call out like they did? It was obviously a last resort, which meant they’d probably thought of everything they could before they even thought to ask for a higher power’s help.

He laid in bed, awake, not being able to take his mind off of this whole debacle. Why did it matter to him so much? Was it because he was also thought of? He wouldn’t have heard it if they hadn’t thought of him directly. Why him? Too many questions swirled around in his head. He needed to check up on them.

As gently and quietly as possible, he slipped from his shared bed with his wife and threw something on to make the trek over to the guest wing. He eventually opened up a portal to not wake the poor thing with the door. He didn’t need them scaring like they did earlier with the whole healing thing. He saw them in the same position they were left in, only their head had lolled to the side and they had an arm draped over their eyes. His worried expression softened at the site before him, smiling softly. The King of Hell pulled up a chair beside the bed, watching the little thing as their chest rose and fell at a slow, steady rate. He’d never really dealt with living souls, mainly because humans tended to freak out when an otherworldly presence popped in to give some words of wisdom, but also, he just couldn’t be bothered with them. He had his own people to deal with, and he barely wanted to do that.

But this one, out of all the humans on the planet Earth, had been the first one to call out for him specifically. Even if it was a last-ditch effort to not die, it was still something Lucifer didn’t think anyone would expect, least of all him. He was ‘the most hated man in creation’, after all. 

He just hoped this one didn’t hate him like everyone else did.

Chapter Text

Pain. Searing pain. The burning was never going away. Everything hurt. By gods, everything hurt . If you weren’t sure you were already dead, you would want to die, because this feeling was something that could only be described as agony piled on top of suffering, with a little hint of anguish and misery for good measure. Your lungs filled with air as your eyes blew open, though you could see nothing in your clouded vision other than several shades of red. The ringing in your ears cut out when you heard someone speaking softly. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the cool sensation you felt on your forehead almost calmed the raging fire across your skin. It felt so nice that you overlooked the concoction injected into your bloodstream to chase that feeling.

However, as quickly as consciousness found you, it evaded you again, bringing you back into the clutches of the void. You didn't wake again for what seemed like an eternity. Forcing your eyes open, you squinted to get used to the new environment, a sharp intake of breath following as you shifted slightly on the bed–

On the bed? A bed. You were on a bed. Your eyes flew open at the thought, sitting up to survey your surroundings. A wave of nausea you tried to fight back hit you, and the ache in your body told you a lot of things. You had been saved, but by who? The color scheme of the room you were in was very… red. It had hints of gold, black, and white in places, but the main color palette was rather rubicund.

A stirring next to you made you jump slightly, your gaze snapping over to the source to see a man hunched over the side of the bed. His head rested on his arms as he was presumably sleeping, meaning he'd been at your side for a while. He looked rather peculiar, but at the same time, irresistibly handsome, which confounded you in many ways. He sported platinum blond hair that was tousled with sleep, a face whiter than the clouds on a sunny summer day with a rouge dot spotting the corner of his mouth (you assumed the other side had it as well, but it was pressed against his arms), and his arms, what you could see of them, were a stark black color to contrast with the skin of his face. Taking everything in, you had to wonder if you were saved by some odd little jester. Not that you were going to complain, you were, presumably, alive. Looking a gift horse in the mouth probably wasn't the best idea.

Letting the man sleep, you turn your attention to your aching body to see that you were relatively patched up which surprised you considering you saw your body smolder several times throughout the whole ordeal. They must have really good healers. Your hands were bandaged up, and there was some bruising around your arms from where the rope was tied tightly. You felt the same bandages on your feet from under the covers, though they seemed a bit more extensive, which made sense. That's where the fire was started. Bits and pieces from the day came back to you, and a sickening feeling clawed at the back of your mind as a horrifying thought bloomed in your mind: you were most likely the sole survivor.

A lump rose in your throat, but it didn't stay there long when the man, who you assumed saved you, stirred again. This time he stretched, letting out a soft groan before sitting up, eyes blinking one at a time before they found their way to you. His eyes… the scleras were golden yellow, and his pupils a flaming shade of vermillion. This man was distinctly not human. 

It took him a second to process something before his eyes widened. “You're awake! Oh, thank goodness, you're awake,” he said, a hand resting on his chest in relief. “How are you feeling, dear? Any aches, pains, sudden bouts of nausea? That can happen to mortals who end up here without dying first.”

His questions came with a sudden examination of your form that you were too shocked to be annoyed by, your arm being lifted up and head turned side to side. And did he say without dying first? What did that mean, where in the world were you?

“I– I, um, what?” You asked, voice crackling from disuse as well as the fact that you did, in fact, inhale an unfortunate amount of smoke. 

“Oop– I am so sorry, that was a lot of questions at once. You just scared me for a minute there, you were out for a good three days!” The man announced.

You blinked, massaging your face where his hands had been. “Be… before I answer any questions, can you answer a few of mine?” You asked, looking at him expectantly. He nods, imploring you to continue. “Where am I? And who are you?”

The man paused for a second. Oh yeah. He had forgotten to introduce himself. “Oh good golly, how rude of me!” He said, smoothing a hand through his blond locks. “Well, darling, not to scare you or anything but you are in Hell, and I,” he puts his hand on his chest in a prideful manner, “am it's King. Lucifer Morningstar.”

Lucifer.

Lucifer Morningstar.

God's favorite son, cast from the Heavens. 

That Lucifer.

Wait, so, all of that shit was real ?

Your head was starting to hurt. Did you really die and go to Hell? Why were you with the King of Hell if you did? You were not so special as to be handed to him on a silver platter.

As if reading your mind, he chuckled softly. “If you're wondering if you're dead, no, you are very much alive,” he said. “I had to get you somewhere safe quickly before you actually did die, that would have been quite the dilemma if the first person to ever call on me for aid that wasn’t taking-over-the-world related died before I could do anything.”

That's right. You forgot you'd begged for your life to whatever deity you could think of. You guessed the last thing you could think of was the fallen angel right next to you.

“Thank you… for doing that, by the way,” you said, your voice finally leveling out a bit. Your throat still ached, but that was a problem for later. 

“Of course! Of course, it was no problem at all, seriously,” Lucifer said. “Now, who do I owe the pleasure of saving from certain doom?” You tentatively give him your name and he smiles softly. “A beautiful name! Very beautiful meaning.”

You nodded, a fond smile just barely curling at your lips. “My mother wanted to give us names of beautiful things so that we grew to be beautiful inside and out,” you said. The thought of your mother tugged a bit at your heartstrings. A sudden feeling of sorrow washed over you as you remembered what brought you to this point. “They didn't make it, did they?”

Lucifer's smile faltered, his eyes now holding an immense amount of guilt. You took that as a sign and nodded, no words needing to be exchanged. “My sister fought with all she could until the end,” you said. “Her voice was barely above a whisper the last time I tuned in. My mother resigned herself to her fate early on, I think. I couldn't quite see her as well as I would have liked.”

Lucifer listened and he felt his stomach dropping with every word. Just thinking that humans were doing that to their own kind up top made his skin crawl. “If you don't mind me asking,” he started, his reassuring hand resting on yours, “why were you being burned alive like that? It was almost… ritualistic.”

You took in a breath to prepare yourself to explain. It seemed he didn't quite know the ins and outs of the religion surrounding his father and the human son he bore. That was all real, apparently. That still boggled your mind, honestly. 

“We are… were , we were healers for the village. My whole family was. However, the new religious zealot that landed in town seemed to have it out for us because we were ‘ungodly’,” you explained. “My mother knew apothecary medicine, my sister and I had gifts of empathy and foresight respectively, and we did not know God as he wanted us to. He called us witches, heathens. When we did not bend to his whim, he decided to make an example of us.”

Lucifer took in your words, letting them sink in to fully grasp the gravity of your words. “So… what made you call out to… me ?”

You gave him a sad smile. “I've read the word of God written by man. Your story,” you said. He stiffened a bit at that thought. “I resonated with it a bit. You seem like a misunderstood figure, only wanting to help and not hinder. That, and, I ran out of other options.” You weren't going to lie. You'd tried every name you knew, every deity, every God, every spirit. Nothing but silence from them. Until you got to Lucifer.

His head nodded solemnly, elbows resting on the bed as he rested his laced fingers against his upper lip. This was bad. Maybe he should have just personally guided your soul to Hell instead of keeping you alive. Who knew what would happen to you if he let you go back to Earth after you recovered? And you were completely on your own now, which from what he could glean from the times and how his people tended to act these days, wasn't necessarily a good thing for someone like you. A long sigh left his nose. Or, what you presumed was his nose. He didn't seem to have a physical one. A tad uncanny, but not a dealbreaker. His red gaze met your own and you could practically see the cogs turning in his head.

“Due to my… interference, your soul is doomed to come down here once you've reached your end up top. Once Heaven sees that I've helped you, they won't let you past the pearly gates,” he says. “But, seeing the predicament this has come to be, I think it's only fair that your soul be under the protection of the Morningstar family from this day forth. Any need you have, any whim or flight of fancy will be awarded, in exchange for… favors here and there.” Your eyebrows rose at what he was proposing. Was he– was he making a deal with you? “I know what you're thinking, ‘Is he asking me to make a deal with the devil’? Yes and no. I want you to have a true shot at life, but I know that's going to be tough on your own. I figure if I have someone up top that I can fall on, making sure they're taken care of is the least I could do.”

His offer was rather generous. He seemed to feel guilty for the fact that he was the one that saved you, and that unfortunately damned your soul for all eternity. It could have been worse. Your soul could have been damned for eternity anyway and you'd end up in Hell with no protection, and while you hadn't personally seen it, you didn't really want to at this point. You were quiet as you thought carefully about the deal proposed. “You'll make sure I'm safe? Make sure something like that won't ever happen again?” You asked.

Lucifer nodded, taking the hand he'd rested his on gently and squeezing it. “I promise, for as long as you live, you will be protected from anyone or anything who tries to harm you,” he said.

You searched his eyes to see if there was any deception in them, any tricks or lies, and you found nothing but sincerity. “Deal,” you said with a nod.

The demon king seemed to visibly relax in relief, letting your hand go in favor of holding out his other one. Golden light came from it, surrounding the two of you. You swallowed. You were about to trade your very soul, but you didn't have much choice anyway. If you went back to Earth and ended up dying so soon anyway, you're sure you wouldn't last a day in Hell on your own. With a deep breath in, you took his hand and shook it. The feeling was warm, and inviting, washing over all of you like the sun on a breezy summer day or a nice blanket during the winter. You felt safe.

“I'll set you up with everything you need for a while, I figure you'd want to keep away from people for a bit, especially after everything that's happened,” he said softly once the deal was sealed and complete. Your hands slipped from one another. “When I call upon you, it won't be for anything malicious, I won't make you kill anyone or anything. But it is compulsory, your soul might be in more trouble if you refuse any of my asks.”

You nodded along as he explained everything. Now that it settled in that you would basically be working for the devil on a part-time basis, your head was starting to spin a bit. This was going to take some adjusting.

“Ah, um, I really want to thank you again, for all of this. I'm just one little human, I'm sure you've got better things to be doing than taking care of me,” you said softly.

Lucifer gives you a warm smile, reaching up to pat your head gently. “No need to thank me, really. I promise you that you won't be taking up too much of my time. Now, I'm going to grab you some food and drink since you're awake. You're going to need to get your strength up before I let you go all willy-nilly.”

With that, he stood and made his way out, giving you a short glance that told you he'd be right back before he disappeared out the door of the room you were staying in. 

Now that you were alone, it gave you some time to think about what you had just agreed to. What you'd signed up for. All of your needs met by the King of Hell sounded good on parchment, however, if you were on Earth and he was in Hell, how was that going to work? You guessed, with his connection to your soul, that he could just pop in and out at will. That was your assumption, at least. You didn't really want to ask, figuring you'd just see for yourself when you got to that point. 

***

True to his word, Lucifer had provided. Once you were in good enough shape, it was time to return to the land of the living. Handing you a key and a sigil to use if you were to ever need anything from him, he pushed you through a portal with a wave. You turn to look at the cottage that seemed to miraculously appear, complete with everything you'd need to be self-sufficient. It was stone on the outside and the roof was shingled rather than thatched with a chimney reaching to the canopy in the somewhat secluded wooded area you were in. There was a small coop for whatever fowl you decided to be your main source of protein, a plot for a garden, already started for you with markers for each would-be produce. Turning back, the portal had already closed before you could say your thanks for what would have been the billionth time.

 Suddenly alone, you stare back at your new abode. Might as well get started on rebuilding your life. Trekking up the small hill your cottage sat on, you crossed through the threshold of the front entrance and felt an immediate air of safety. The hearth on the far west wall roared to life as soon as you entered, startling you a bit. The decor was reminiscent of your old home, which struck you with a bittersweet feeling. The kitchen area near the hearth was littered with essentials. Herbs and spices lined the shelves in individually labeled jars and vessels. Nestled underneath the hearth was a cauldron, but upon further inspection you noticed something similar about it.

You stepped closer, kneeling down to look at it with a more scrutinizing gaze. Your eyes widened, an involuntary sensation of stinging behind your eyes. This was your mother's cauldron. You could tell by the distinct scratches you and your sister left when you were younger, your initials etched into it and baked on with the love the cauldron had received over the years. Lucifer had somehow managed to bring it here. Which means he also probably brought along other personal effects of yours. The thought of that alone made the tears threatening to spill over the crest of your cheeks pour over like a bursting dam, leaving hot tracks across your now-too-warm skin. You pressed the heel of your hand upwards on your cheek to wipe away your momentary emotional outburst. You hadn't allowed yourself to cry throughout the whole endeavor, and you were remiss to let yourself do it now. You had more important things to do. Your sister would have told you to cry out your feelings of grief, and while normally you'd be inclined to agree, you were given a second chance at life. You weren't going to spend it wallowing.

Standing to your full height, you took in a shaky breath and let it out as steadily as you could. For them. Everything you were going to become was for them. You promised to their souls that you were going to make them proud, wherever they ended up. If they were looking down or up at you– or were with you in spirit– you were going to make sure they knew you lived despite the circumstances and you lived a long, healthy life. 

And you had the devil himself to thank for it. 

Chapter Text

“You're not… aging at all?” Lucifer asked. The two of you were sitting at your breakfast table, tea steeping between the two of you. You called upon him to discuss a matter that came to your attention much later than it should have. You could only thank your mother’s good bones for so long.

You shook your head. “People are starting to notice. I've looked like a maiden for the last 20 years, I'm well over 40 now,” you said. 

The devil hummed softly in thought, his forefinger and thumb resting along his upper lip and chin. He looked at you, his eyes narrowed a bit before he came to a realization. Shit. He knew he was forgetting something in that deal. 

He let out a nervous chuckle as he straightened up a bit. “I, um, it may be the wording of our deal,” he admitted.

“What about the wording of our deal?”

“Well, it's… vague,” he squeaked out. You raised an eyebrow at him and he let out a sigh, trying to figure out how to explain it. “If I remember correctly, I said, ‘ For as long as you live, you will be protected from anyone or anything that tries to harm you’ . I didn't specify what constitutes ‘harm’. Apparently, we're operating under Djinn rules here where until we rework the terms of the deal, you may just live forever because nothing can harm you, not even the aging process.”

Both eyebrows shot up in surprise at that, and then they furrowed back down in confusion. “Lucifer… you're the King of Hell. Aren't you supposed to know how deals work?”

“Listen…” he trailed off, your expectant expression burning into him. “I haven't made a deal with anyone in a solid couple… five thousand years.”

“And you forgot to get specific with the details of the deal?” You asked.

“... Yeah. That, and you're a human. Deals between sinners and other denizens of Hell are different. They don't have to be specific because, well, they're already dead,” he said with a sheepish shrug. “Whatsa few thousand years of years of service when you've got a whole eternity to suffer, right?”

You nodded along. That made a lot of sense, sort of. You're still not too sure how you feel about the fact that you were essentially immortal because the shrimp king of Hell forgot to make a few specifications in your deal. You're sure he didn't make a habit of making deals with humans, but you were a special case.

“Would you like to rework the deal?” Lucifer asked in the wake of you not saying anything after a bit. 

You hummed, taking a sip of your tea. Did you? Sure, the not aging thing could have posed a difficulty, but it was an excuse to move around and see more of the world. You could tell the demon in front of you was nervous. You were making a king of demons nervous. Who'd have thought?

“No,” you said simply. “However, I may need some help relocating. This time make it a bit more secluded.”

Lucifer blinked. He blinked again. “Wait– you… want to live forever?”

“Gods, no,” you chuckled. “But, I might as well see what all life has to offer for a little while longer than I expected to, right?” 

“How much longer are we talkin’?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That's for me to know and us to hash out later,” you said with a shrug. 

Lucifer let out a breathy chuckle. “You're an odd duckling, I hope you know that.”

“Look, any human would bite at the chance to live longer. We're all afraid of dying with regrets of things we never got to do,” you said. “Why wouldn't I take this as a blessing and run with it?”

The blond man across from you let out a proper laugh. “ Blessing? My goodness, you sure do know how to choose your words.” He seemed genuinely amused with you. You didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. “Alright. This is your life, I'm just here to make things happen. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll be in a whole new area. It'll be a little surprise.”

You grinned at him. “Thank you, Lucifer. You've always been very helpful.”

“As have you, duckling,” he smiled. “I guess I should get going, I've got an appointment with one of the Sins and I’ll never hear the end of it if I'm late. I'll probably call on you sometime soon, Lilith and I have something coming up and I'll need some assistance with it eventually.”

“Alright, just give me some forewarning before you do. See you, Lucifer.”

***

That was approximately 500 years ago, give or take a decade or so. 

Every half a century, Lucifer offered to rework the deal for you, but you always declined. You had more things to do, people to meet, and places to see. Having a never-ending lifespan meant you were able to accrue mass amounts of knowledge no human had ever even dreamed of. You were experiencing scientific breakthroughs, shifts in culture, and the unfortunate effects of war as they happened in real-time. It all fascinated you to no end.

 Humans were a hopeless species. That was one thing you and Lucifer agreed on but for different reasons. You thought humans were beautiful creatures. Of course, you would. You were biased. As old as you were, however,  you had seen the worst in people. The downright evil that seeped through some people's veins was terrifying. The thing that kicked this whole not-dying-for-eternity experience off was a gross act of zealotry that went far beyond what one would call piety. Yet, despite all the horrors, you had seen the wonders they could achieve. You were given the honor of meeting some truly pure souls in your time, some of which were purer than the purest of angels, and you were assured that not all of humanity needed to burn in a fiery blaze. 

Lucifer just saw them as lost causes altogether. He'd complained to you on many an occasion about his take on humans and what they did with the gift he so graciously gave him, but he didn't really look at it from a human’s perspective. The more you lived, the more you saw that people use their free will to survive, more often than not. Much like in Hell, Earth had hierarchies. Humans didn't agree upon who was the One to Rule Them All, of course, but there were government entities in place, figureheads, and people who were really in charge– like corporations, and people who had money and influence. It started with monarchies and while those still existed, the newer version of that was slowly but surely turning into a capitalist nightmare. Humans using their free will to alleviate stress, be it drugs or murder, was almost an inevitable side effect of the world you were given to play in. You, for example, if you died when you were supposed to, would have gone to Heaven. You never did anything wrong outside of the normal sins for humans and were even an attempted martyr. If you died now, sans the whole deal with the devil, you would immediately end up down in Hell for the simple fact that the choices you’d made to get this far were maybe not the most morally correct, but it was to keep yourself safe, to adapt to the ebb and flow of time and how with each passing decade there was always something new to bob and weave while trying to maintain your sanity.

Living as long as you had, you'd worn many different hats to keep yourself afloat in the world and not be a weird hermit the whole time. You worked in inns, taverns, and bakeries before you hopped across the ocean, then you worked your way to play secretary for important people and even a personal assistant to some old coot who left you the money instead of his family when he died. The one hat you constantly wore, though, was the babysitter for the Princess of Hell. Charlotte, or Charlie as she preferred to be called, was an absolute sweetheart. Probably the sweetest thing to come out of Hell. When Lucifer told you he and Lilith were expecting, you were thrilled for them. The fact that it was Lucifer delivering was a bit… unexpected, however, you figured former divine beings just worked like seahorses.

***

Charlotte Morningstar had to have been the most adorable thing your eyes had ever seen.  She was so cute in the most unconventional way possible. She resembled her father almost exactly, down to the cute little rosy cheek dots. The one thing she had that resembled her mother was a small black smudge of a nose, but outside of that, she was the spitting image of her father.

The two of you were sat at a small tea table. It was decorated extravagantly, well, as extravagantly as you could have gotten it. Stocked with sweets of all kinds from the kitchen, as well as a real tea set with real tea, you had to admit that you’d really outdone yourself. Her pets, the origins of which you didn’t really know other than they were very goatlike, sat at the other spots at the table that were vacant of you and Charlotte. Razzle and Dazzle were well-behaved, surprisingly, so you weren’t going to be so quick to shoo them off.

“Would you like some more tea, Miss Charlotte?” You asked, noting she had cartoonishly sipped all of hers up.

“Charlie!” She corrected you immediately. “Sorry, didn't mean to yell–” you chuckle at her backtracking.

“It's okay. Here, let me try again.” You smile reassuringly at the small demon girl. “Would you like some more tea, Miss Charlie?”

The princess of hell smiled widely at you, her little canines gleaming in the light of the mini-chandelier in her room. “Yes, please!”

Taking the very ornate teapot that surely cost more than your very life, you poured some more tea into the almost equally ornate teacup. “Cream and sugar?” You asked.

“Mmhm!”

As requested, cream and sugar were added. You poured yourself another cup, figuring you could go for one more before it was time to start winding Charlie down for bed. Her parents wouldn’t be home for another couple hours, apparently either having a date, a meeting, or both. It was actually quite unclear as to what they were doing, but it was really none of your business. Your main concern was Charlie, and that was about it.

“Miss Duckie?” Charlie looked at you with those curious red eyes of hers. Duckie was something she'd taken to calling you ever since she heard Lucifer call you ‘duckling’, and it stuck. You weren't about to argue with a demon toddler.

“Yes, Charlie?”

“How come you're a human?” She asked, syntax not being her strongest suit yet. “You're in Hell with me, Mama, and Daddy, but you don't look like a demon or a sinner?”

You hummed softly in thought. How did you explain your situation to a child? Even if she was a demon, she was still very young. “Your Daddy and I have an agreement with one another,” you said, setting the last cookie on her little plate so that Dazzle didn't get at it like they wanted to. “He keeps me out of trouble on Earth, and I help him out with things every now and then. Like, right now, I'm helping him by looking after you.” 

You saw her connecting the dots in her mind as she gnawed at the cookie you'd given her. “So you come to play with me because Daddy asks you to?”

You nodded. “Mmhm, but, I would do it even if he didn't ask,” you said with a wink.

If her wide eyes could have gotten any wider, they probably did in that moment. “Really?! You mean that Duckie?!”

You laughed as you were attacked with a bone-crushing hug that you returned in kind. You squeezed her close, nuzzling your cheeks together. “Of course, Charlie! You're my favorite person in the whole wide universe!” 

The giggles that came out of that girl were heavenly. Despite her hellish nature, she was probably the purest being you'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. A familiar chuckle sounded from the threshold of the princess's room, causing both of you to look over and see Lucifer standing in the doorway. 

“Daddy!” The little girl called, squirming her way out of your arms to run at her father's legs, climbing up his body as if she were a cat. You smiled at the scene, standing up to greet the king properly.

“I see you two were having fun,” he mused, looking down at Charlie in his arms.

“Mmhm! Duckie and I were having teatime with Razzle n’ Dazzle!”

“Really now? That does sound like fun,” he grinned, the sharpness of his teeth glinting in the light as his gaze wandered over to you. “I'm assuming she's been good for you, then?”

You nodded. “As she always is,” you confirm with a warm smile. “She's always the highlight of my week– you and Lilith are home a little early though, no?”

The happy look on Lucifer’s face faltered for a second. Oh. Something happened again, didn't it? “Ah, yeah, Lilith had a… thing with work pop up, so I decided to come back and see my little Apple Pie off to bed,” he said, punctuating his sentence with a raspberry to Charlie's pudgy little cheeks. The shrill shriek of pure joy was music to your ears. 

“Fair enough. In that case, let me get all of this cleaned up–”

“Ohh, don't worry about that, I'll get it,” Lucifer waved you off before handing Charlie off to you. “You can get Charlie's bath ready, though. I'll set out her little PJs. Once she's in bed, I'll send you back home.”

You nodded, looking down at Charlie with a grin. “Alright, princess, let’s get you in the bath! I promise it won’t take too long, and you’ll be in comfy pajamas in no time,” you cooed as you carried her into the bathroom. 

The little demon was washed, dried, and pajama’d in a little under an hour. She was already falling asleep by the time you got her out of the tub, but she was really fighting to stay awake once you and Lucifer had her tucked into bed.

“Goodnight, Charlie,” you said, perched at the edge of her bed. You leaned down and kissed her forehead, sitting back up. “I’ll see you later, okay? Be a good girl for Daddy and Mama.”

“Mmkay, nigh-nigh, Duckie,” she spoke softly, eyes threatening to close for the night. You stood and let Lucifer say his goodnights. By the time you two were done, she was fast asleep. Her chest rose and fell in an even, slow rhythm, something you wanted to be doing at the moment as well.

Lucifer looked at you with a grateful smile after guiding you out of the room. “I cannot thank you enough for how well you handle Charlie,” he said. “We tried a few different Hell-based nannies and babysitters, but they’ve all been too afraid to even touch her.”

You shrugged. “I figure you trust me enough with her, I’ll do everything I can to make her feel comforted and cared for while I’m here.”

“I knew I had a good feeling about you when we first met,” he chuckled softly. His face fell a bit when he remembered what brought him home so early. “Are you still good up top? You haven’t had to move in a couple of decades.”

“I’ve been fine where I’m at. Right now I’ve been touted as a forest witch that eats children, but they seem to have stopped actively trying to kill me, so I am fine with that assumption,” you said, a cheeky grin tugging at your lips.

Lucifer snorted. “Fair enough. Good to know you’re still doing alright. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else, though,” he said with a small smile, opening a portal that led straight into your living room.

“Of course. Take care, Lucifer,” you said, stepping through it, knowing it’d close immediately behind you, as it always did.

***

Having Lucifer sat in your living room several hundred years later, fiddling with his overcoat in a nervous manner wasn’t a typical sight for you, but, it was one cloaked in an air of uncomfortablility for the both of you. Seeing Lucifer like this wasn’t… normal. You’d seen him in some unexpectedly vulnerable moments, but he was actively trying to make it seem like everything was fine. It was not fine.

“I um… this is kind of hard for me,” he said softly, his elbows leaning on his knees.

“It’s okay, Luci, take all the time you need,” you said, taking a sip of your drink, and watching him carefully. You really wanted him to just go on and say it instead of filling you with the same anxiety he was apparently going through.

He nodded and took a deep breath, trying to rip the bandage off. “I… will no longer be calling on you for favors. It’s nothing you did, it’s just… things are getting hairy down there and I um, don’t want you to have to deal with all of… that.”

You blinked, letting his words settle in. You weren’t… he wasn’t going to ask you for favors anymore? “What does that mean for me?”

“I’ll still uphold my side of the deal,” he answered quickly. “I just… wouldn’t call me unless it’s a dire emergency.”

The fact that he was being so skittish about this meant that he really, really didn’t want to have to do this. This was something he’d been fending off for a while. The fact that he was even here was a surprise considering he hadn’t called on you in a few decades. You guessed he’d just been trying to find the courage to tell you in person. Charlie was all grown up now, so, the constant babysitting did come to an end. After that, it was mainly check-ins and small tasks like getting him Earth materials for projects that he couldn’t quite replicate himself. 

Your head nodded slowly. You still got to do as you pleased, it just had a little less purpose to it. You were gonna miss having a little task interrupt your day, even if you grumbled about it a lot. “Alright. Well um, thank you for at least telling me. It’s been a pleasure being your little errand dog,” you joked a bit, wanting to lighten the mood.

The look in his eyes was sad. As if almost to say, ‘You were more than an errand dog’, which made your chest tighten a bit. The smile he plastered on, the fake chuckle at your bad joke, all of it made this so much worse than it needed to be. 

“I’m sure it has. Let me know when you’re ready to stop wandering aimlessly on this rock, alright? We’ll get that deal situated.”

With that last statement, the King of Hell stood and opened a portal. Your gazes matched and you gave him a sad smile.

“Goodbye, Lucifer.”

Chapter Text

Seven years wasn’t all that long in the grand scheme of your never-ending life. By the way Lucifer talked the last time you saw him, you were pretty sure that you wouldn’t be seeing him within the next century, let alone the same decade. You’d made peace with that. It even forced you to exit your regularly scheduled hermit period early, mainly because Lucifer checking in on you was the only social interaction you got every few years. How rude of him.

It was late in the evening. The lights of the various bars, restaurants, and shops lit up the night along with the streetlamps that lined the road you lived on. You’d gotten a little bolder over the years, choosing to live in cities instead of outside city limits and in cottages way away from civilization. You’re sure once you had your fun here in the city, you’d go back to your isolation in the forest like the true witch you were, but, for the time being, it was time to party it up.

Seeing as it was a Saturday night and you looked young and hot, you had been doing plenty of partying and were currently thoroughly sauced, pissed, absolutely hammered . It took you dropping your keys three times for you to finally slot it into the keyhole of your door, and it took another couple of minutes just to finagle it to where it unlocked because you forgot which way it went momentarily. You eventually found success, a triumphant snicker leaving you as you closed and locked the door behind you. The heels you’d been wearing were tossed aside immediately, and you were attempting to make quick work of your skimpy little top. You hadn’t planned on getting as wasted as you were, so a strappy little top did not a good escape make.

Whilst amid your attempted escape from your top, you stopped in your tracks when you heard a surprised sputtering from your couch. Snapping your head toward the sound, your eyes widened in surprise and then embarrassment as you realized who it was. You immediately tried putting yourself back into your top, now very aware of how stupid and dumb you looked trying to drunkenly slip out of your clothes. Sitting on your couch, eating your ice cream, was none other than the big boss of Hell himself, Lucifer Morningstar. And you are pretty sure you just flashed him a titty.  You felt your already flushed cheeks heat up exponentially. Shit. Shit and fuck.

 “What in the fuck are you doing here?” you asked, trying to keep your words from slurring too terribly. Unfortunately for you, your being drunk off your ass was very apparent. “And why the fuck are you eating my ice cream?! That was expensive!”

“Oh, duckling… is that what you’re worried about? Not the fact that a strange man is in your home when you clearly weren’t expecting him?” Lucifer asked, a teasing tone dripping from his words.

“The strange man in my home is the devil from the bible , who has been in my home several times before. What I am worried about is why he’s here in the first place!” you countered, hands settling on your hips. It was mainly to keep you grounded, as you very much were not steady on your feet. “Didn’t you say you weren’t gonna call on me again? And I don’t recall usin’ the sigil, so start elbaloratin’... elabradading…”

“Elaborating?”

“Shut up. That. Yes.”

Lucifer let out a long sigh. He forgot how fun you were drunk. However, he couldn’t ask much of you while you were in this state, no matter if it would make it easy for you to agree. “Let’s get you less drunk, I'm here for something important and as much as I would like to let you sleep this off, I've also got things to do, so c’mon,” he said, standing from his spot on the couch. Setting the ice cream down on the coffee table, he ushered you into your kitchen to start some coffee.

You let out a petulant wine, leaning against the counter as he rooted his way through your cabinets for your coffee. “Left cabinet, in the purple organizer,” you said, deciding to start the sobering train by turning on the tap and taking a long drink straight from it. Lucifer was unfortunately in the way of the cup cabinet, which justified your laziness in your head. That, and he was too preoccupied with trying to figure out the coffee maker to see you drink out of the tap like the heathen you were. Once you had your fill, you wiped your mouth as you watched the King of Hell finagle with the appliance. “Y’want some help, Luci?” you asked, walking up behind him.

“Nnno… I think I've got it?” He said.

“The confidence in your voice is unwavering,” you said with sarcasm flowing from your words. You scooted him over with your hip so you could efficiently work the coffee machine. Your actions were practiced, even if you were inebriated. “Soooo, you still haven't told me why you're here even after you told me you wouldn't call on me anymore. Did you miss me that much?”

Lucifer rolled his eyes at your teasing, though he did miss you terribly. It was unfortunate how much he missed you. Not like he'd tell you that, though. “Well, it's… a long story,” he said, running a hand through his hair. He'd forgone his hat and overcoat, deciding dressing up wasn't necessary for this one. 

“We've got all night, especially with this coffee brewing,” you said, folding your arms against your chest.

“I guess…” Lucifer said. “I should probably give you some preamble before I come out with what I'm actually here for. It's been a while since I've given you an actual update on everything going on in Hell.”

You grabbed down two mugs as the coffee dripped into the pot, letting him find his words. You've always found him to be a very pretty man. Ethereal, in a way. It makes sense, seeing as he was a former angel. Before he caught you staring, you looked at the progress of the small coffee pot as he began to speak. 

“Lilith left me,” he finally said. You were glad this coffee wasn't done yet or you would have choked on it and spat everywhere. Your eyes bugged, blinking rapidly.

“She left you? Oh, Lucifer, I am so sorry–”

“Nnnooope, no no, don't do that, I don't need your sympathy or pity,” he waved you off. “I'm… managing. It's been tough, mainly because not only did she leave me, but she's also stopped talking to Charlie altogether. That's what I've been worried about the most, honestly.”

Hearing that Lilith not only left her loving, doting husband behind but also her daughter spiked your blood pressure a bit.  Charlie might have been an adult now, but that didn't mean Lilith could just up and disappear from her life like that. You bit your tongue on how you felt about that piece of information. “When did she leave you?” You asked.

“...Not too long after I told you I was letting you off the hook,” he admitted, the magnets on your fridge suddenly being incredibly interesting to him. 

The only sound between the two of you was the coffee machine sputtering the last remnants of its brew. “So, basically the whole time you've been no contact with me?” you asked.

He grimaced and nodded. “In my defense, I didn't know she was gonna do that immediately after. She's the whole reason I decided to stop asking you for favors in the first place.” 

This admission had your head tilting to the side out of confusion. Lilith had always been rather cordial with you from what you remembered, but you also didn’t talk with her all that much either. She tended to stay in the wings when it came to matters concerning you, not that you minded. Lilith had an intimidation factor about her that you very much did not like to get caught in the crosshairs of. 

“Over the years, she’d kinda become hostile with me about you,” he admitted. “To her, you were like my ‘little pet’– her words not mine– and she didn’t like that you seemed to be taking my attention away from Hell. Which, on the one hand, I got, but on the other hand, she really shouldn’t have been as jealous of you as she was…”

You blinked a few times as he continued to ramble on. Lilith was jealous of you? A silly little human. A seemingly immortal human, but a human nonetheless. Lilith was ethereally beautiful, how could you ever compare to that?

“You stopped asking me for favors because your wife was jealous of me, but she left you anyway, so you came back to ask me for another favor,” you said, piecing everything together in your head as the wherewithal came back to you to pour coffee into the mugs you’d brought down. “Damn, that has gotta be the worst possible timing imaginable.”

Lucifer sighed in agreement, going into your fridge for the creamer he knew you had. Mainly because he’d rummaged through the fridge while he was waiting for you to come back home. He hadn’t expected you to be out so long, but then again, he never knew what to expect out of you.

“So, what does Lilith leaving you have to do with why you’re here right now?” you asked, handing him a spoon to stir his coffee with whilst grabbing your own.

“I’m here to cash in one last favor, but um, it’s a huge one,” he said.

You paused, turning to face him again, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean by ‘it’s a huge one’?”

Lucifer swallowed. “You remember my daughter, Charlie?”

“Of course, it’s only been seven years, Luci.”

“Right, yeah– anyway, um, so she started this hotel down in Hell that’s supposed to be a sort of rehab for sinners, putting them on the path to redemption into Heaven to solve a problem I kind of created like, give or take 10,000 years ago,” he explained.

Your eyebrows furrowed a bit, not quite following but urging him to continue. He got the hint and started up again. “The problem is a yearly event we call ‘extermination’. Angels come down and kill hundreds of thousands of sinners to keep the population in Hell down, so we can't ‘grow numbers and uprise’,” he used a comically sarcastic tone for the last bit, meaning he definitely had some particular feelings on the matter. “So, Charlie's looking for an alternate route to culling the population of Hell by trying to redeem them instead–”

You were still too drunk for this. Taking a hefty sip of your coffee, you processed all of the information he was feeding you. What did this all have to do with you? You were just a half-a-millennium-old human with no powers to fight God and the angels and were intrinsically tied to Hell through Lucifer. You did wonder if Heaven had some interest in your soul, it was probably so fucked up from all the shit you've been through that they'd want to dissect it. That was not the matter at hand, though, as Lucifer was looking at you expectantly.

“You weren't listening to me in the last half, were you?” He asked.

“Not a word, Lu.”

“You picked a wonderful night to get hammered.”

“And you picked a horrible night to lore dump Hell on me, so,”

Lucifer's expression was entirely unamused with your shenanigans. But he relented with a shrug. “You got me there. You've always been very good at countering me and it's always been infuriatingly endearing.”

You shot him an award-winning, shit-eating grin, which received an eye-roll in response. You snorted, shaking your head as you took another hefty sip of your coffee. After savoring it, you looked back at him. “So, since I didn't hear that last bit, what does all of this Hell business have to do with me?”

“I’m getting to that. Lemme repeat some stuff and then we'll circle back,” he said, sounding a bit annoyed. Good. He goes back in and explains that Charlie's idea was not popular in the slightest. Made sense. Hell was very slow to change, but you had no reference for Heaven other than Lucifer and he never really talked about it all that much. You assumed they didn't like change either. Lucifer also explained that they had a very serious battle in which the First Man of All Time: Adam was stabbed to death via an angelic dagger given to a very small, one-eyed demon named Niffty.

“Wait, like, Lilith's ex-husband Adam?” You asked.

“And Eve's ex-husband Adam, yes.”

“Wait how do you know they divor–” 

The look on Lucifer's face was one of pure smuggery. The smuggest look you'd ever seen on his face. “You sly bastard. Amazing. Honestly, props to you. Two for two.”

“Ohh, I don't like to brag, but yeah, I did that.” 

“Don't like to brag my ass , you're literally the sin of Pride, I do not wanna hear it– anyway ,” you said, pouring yourself another cup of coffee. It was going to be a long night. “So, Adam's dead, now what?”

“Well, we only had two major casualties, we rebuilt the hotel, and this is where you come in,” he said. “I am cashing in my last favor from you. I want you to come help out and be staff at the hotel. It's s lot bigger than it was, and I have a distinct feeling we'll be having a bit more traffic. That little war kinda became a whole publicity stunt, so, we’re gonna need to beef up in some areas.”

You nodded along, your brain becoming less of a soup and more of a solid mass now that the alcohol was working through you. Okay. That seemed easy enough—one problem.

“But I'm still human, technically,” you said, looking at him with pursed lips.

Lucifer mirrored your look, the two of you seemed to be on the same page about what was going on here. “Eeeeeeyeah, unfortunately, you are going to have to die in order for this to happen,” he said.

You let out an involuntary laugh. You had gotten so used to not being able to die. In your lower moments, you jumped off bridges for fun. No matter how many times you tried to die you always woke up in various pools of your own blood and/or vomit. But then you remembered, Lucifer had been meaning to rework the deal with you for a while. You'd been putting it off, and then when it came time that you'd even thought about doing it, he called it quits on favors and you didn't really want to bother him.

“So, how are we going to achieve said death?” I asked. “Are we gonna rework the deal and then you kill me or…?”

It was Lucifer's turn to laugh. He was laughing so hard that his eyes were doing that thing they did where they went a little too far apart. Once his laughing fit was over, he held his middle with one arm, his other hand wiping a tear away from his eye. “Duckling, you have been my favorite source of entertainment for the last half a millennium,” he said with a sigh that officially ended his fit of giggles. “No. I won't be doing that. Though it would be interesting to see what form your soul would take if we went that route…”

“Wait, what–”

“We do not have time to go into sinner anatomy right now, that's a whole 8-hour lecture that I will not be going into,” Lucifer interrupted your question. “What I am going to do is separate your soul from your body, essentially killing you as a human on the spot. It's less painful that way, and your sinner form is gonna look a little less freakish.”

This was all getting to be a bit much, however, you had no real choice in the matter because your soul was bound to do whatever Lucifer demanded of you for one last time.  It was kind of surreal. You were getting to die, finally, but you were basically being transplanted from one realm to another. It sounded like a complete rip-off now that you thought about it, but if you were honest with yourself, you wouldn't last a day in Heaven. Eternal peace sounded boring after the first hundred years or so. You'd lived too long to even really want all that anyway. 

“Are we going this now?” You asked, taking one last sip of your coffee before setting it in the sink.

“Might as well get it over with,” Lucifer said, shrugging at you.

You pretended to think about that before nodding. “Yeah, alright.” 

“Stuuuupendous! The most efficient way to do this is in Hell, so I'll yoink your little soul outta here,” he booped your nose, getting a little too close for comfort, “and then plop the body back in the apartment. Wap, bam, boom, make it look like a suicide, and call in a wellness check in a week. No loose ends, everyone wins!”

His sudden change in demeanor was interesting. He was prone to fits of manic whimsy, so you were pretty used to it, but he normally started that way. Seeing the switch in real time was a fascinating display of… something. You were still slightly intoxicated, words were escaping your internal monologue. 

Said internal monologue was interrupted by an all too familiar portal of Hell opening up in your kitchen. You stood in front of it and confronted your own mortality for the first time since you were cursed with infinite life. This was it. You died here. Okay, you were done thinking about it.

You stepped through the portal, something you hadn't done in a long while, and felt the familiar odd warmth of Hell envelope you. It wasn't bad per se, but it was the teensiest bit uncomfortable. Not so uncomfortable that it was really a bother, but noticeable enough that it could easily bother you if you allowed your thoughts to fester on it. 

Lucifer followed you through, leading you into a rather large room with a pentagram in the middle.  The room itself was rather barren, only lit with the sconces on the wall and the candles laid out at each point of the pentagram. The pentagram itself was rather ornate, with sigils and glyphs lining the outer rims and in between spaces. He had already thought through all of this very thoroughly. That somehow made you feel much better about the whole ordeal. If there was one person you could trust in this universe, it was Lucifer. 

It was odd how that worked out.

“Alright, Duckie dear, I'm gonna need you to lie down in that pentagram right over there, I'm gonna say a bit of mumbo jumbo, and we'll see how well this is actually gonna work. Never actually done this before,” he admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

You rescinded your earlier thoughts of feeling better, the fact that he never had to do this in his life spanning from creation itself was troublesome at best and downright terrifying at worst. However, you were out of options, so you did as you were told and got down onto the ground, laying down in the most comfortable position you could be in on the cold, stone floor. 

With you in position, Lucifer stepped close to the circle and took in a deep breath. He let it out as he cracked his knuckles, hands quickly jutting out in front of him as he began the process. The King of Hell began changing in a language you couldn't understand, something so foreign and beyond comprehension you weren't sure you were hearing words at all. It wasn't Latin or any other similar-sounding language you'd heard, so your only thought was possibly the language of the angels. It seemed to fit, considering he was one at some point. 

The pentagram began to glow a blinding reddish-gold color that matched the rim around the portals Lucifer often manifested to travel through. As the encantation continued, your head began to spin and you were no longer at liberty to move your limbs. Your body was practically glued to the floor, with nothing for you to do other than watch your rather long life flash before your eyes. The sensation started leaving your body from your extremities and slowly but surely worked its way through to the core of your body, like your soul was being drained inward, but also peeled out of you like a stubborn label. If you weren’t already numb, you were sure this process would have been absolutely agonizing. It already was, to some extent, but the pain was in how long it was taking. Eventually, your hearing and sight began to go in and out, Lucifer’s voice muffled as a whining pitch in your ear started to sound off. Your vision blurred, black dots spotting it starting from the edges. All of your functions were shutting down.

And then it all cut to black.

***

It was a while before you finally came back to the land of the… dead? Dead. You were no longer living. You sat up abruptly, your head throbbing as you blearily looked out to get your bearings again. A muffled voice calling your name soon became clear as your cognizance came back to you. Knelt in front of you was Lucifer, a positively worried look coating his features. It brought you back to the first day you’d met him as he fretted over your well-being. You’ve come full circle, only this time you were in Hell for good.

“—are you with me? Can you hear me?” was the question he was on when you finally tuned in. “Did I scramble your new brain? That would be my luck.”

You blinked lazily at him for a moment, your eyelids feeling like they would glue shut any time they closed. You felt extremely sluggish, but, you were breathing and functioning, so that’s all you could ask for.  “M’fine, Luci, shut up,” you managed to say, one of your arms lifting to give him a thumbs up.

It was then you noticed your skin was a nice shade of… not what it used to be. That had you nearly falling back onto the stone beneath you, but Lucifer caught you before you could. He held you gently as if you’d break if he so much as jostled you wrong. “Whoa there, duckling, don't go passing out on me again,” Lucifer said, his tone a bit softer than it had been previously.

You let out a whine, your head lolling back. That seemed a bit of a mistake, as you were met with your human body's limp form. You'd been through some shit, and seen plenty more, but this had to be the icing on the weirdly cobbled-together cake that was your existence. Lucifer seemed to catch on and looked over at it as well, letting out a soft hum.

“Well, at least you left a pretty corpse,” he joked.

You lifted your head back up to glare half-heartedly at him before giving up and relaxing against him. A chuckle rumbled from his chest as he looked back down at you. “You don't look half bad in this form either, honestly. Not what I was expecting, but, you'll fit in just fine.”

“That's a… good thing, right?”

“It sure is, duckling. Now, let's get you off the floor and into a bed. You're gonna feel like jelly for a little bit while you get used to the new body,” Lucifer said, lifting you into his arms. This was his full-circle moment. The last time he carried you like this was when he was bringing your charred form back to the manor to save you from dying. Now that very body lay lifeless on the floor, the new one in his arms forged in hellfire. 

A wry smile tugged at his lips. Despite how far you'd come, you ended up in the same place you started.

Chapter Text

“You ready, duckling?” Lucifer asked, looking over at you as you sat next to him in the back of the limo he apparently had. 

“As ready as I can be, I guess,” you said, fidgeting with your outfit a bit. 

Lucifer spent a couple of weeks getting you prepared for everything you were about to experience. Most people didn't get a rundown of Hell before they got thrown to the hellhounds, so you were eternally grateful for the lessons. You didn't realize how complicated everything was down here, as apparently there was a whole hierarchy going on that you somehow fit into now that you were a sinner. There was even a hierarchy among sinners, the ones at the top being called Overlords. There were a good handful in Pentagram City, one of them being part of the Hazbin Hotel staff. That was a bit surprising, but you really had no frame of reference for these things. Lucifer made it a point to keep you out of the affairs of Hell outside of his family when you were still human.

Lucifer exited the limo and before you could even think about opening the door for yourself, he was at your side opening it for you. You smiled softly up at him before getting up and out of the car. You didn't know why you felt so nervous, especially because you knew at least one person in the group of people you were about to be forced to meet. Lucifer decided to keep you being in Hell a secret from Charlie as a surprise for her, remembering how close the two of you were when the demon princess was younger.

“Charlie might actually attack you with love once she realizes it's you, so, beware of that. The rest of them are… well I won't say harmless, but they won't tackle you to the ground like she will,” Lucifer warned with a soft chuckle, moving to open the door for you. Always so gentlemanly.

Stepping in, your eyes widened a bit just as the grandeur of the hotel. The interior was still the signature Morningstar Red, with gold accents. There was a statue in the middle of the lobby commemorating Dazzle, of whom you learned was one of the casualties in the war between the hotel and the exorcists, as well as a large painting of Sir Pentious for the same reasons. You may not have known him, but, you knew that he made a great sacrifice for everyone here and you respected that greatly. The bar across the lobby had a green hue around it, and it was being attended by a cat demon with wings that looked like a casino dealer barfed his deck all over him. Oh, that's what Lucifer meant about sinner forms being a little… interesting. 

The parlor not too far from the bar had a few people settled at it, all of whom had their attention directed toward you, immediately causing you to freeze up. Lucifer rested a hand on the small of your back to keep you going forward. “You're okay, duckling, they don't bite– well, they won't bite out here, that's not allowed.”

Oh, good. Biting wasn't allowed in the parlor, but was allowed in other places? This place got better by the second.

As you approached the group, all of them peered at you curiously. Or at least, you thought they were curious. There was a girl with long, white hair and grayish purple skin with a big red X over one eye, and another interesting-looking sinner who seemed rather fluffy and sporting a pastel pink aesthetic. The girl with the X over her eye looked at you with a more scrutinizing gaze than the other guy, but your focus wasn't really on them, it was on the familiar face of Charlie, who seemed a bit confused.

“Hey, Dad! I didn't know you were visiting today!” She said, getting up to meet you two halfway. You could practically see the hamster wheel turning in her brain as she tried to connect dots, her eyes darting between you and Lucifer.

Lucifer grinned at his daughter, all the love and happiness that he usually had in his eyes when he saw her very much present. “I didn't wanna ruin the surprise, Apple Pie,” he said, bringing her in for a bone-crushing hug that she easily reciprocated. Ah, so she got that from him.

“Surprise?” 

Lucifer nodded his head toward your direction and it seemed like something clicked in her brain now that you were right in front of her.

“...Duckie? Is that you?”

You smiled warmly. “Sure is, Charlie. Nice to see you aga– oof!”

You were scooped up into a hug similar to what the father-daughter pair had shared moments before. “HolyshititsbeensolongsinceI’veseenyouuuu!” She said way too fast for you to process immediately. That, and your air supply was dwindling. Thankfully the hug didn't last too long as you were finally let down. She looked down at you, blinking a bit before gasping. “Wait– if you're here, what happened? Weren't you… human the last time I saw you?”

“Ah, don't worry, Char, it was virtually painless,” Lucifer butted in, though he side-glanced you to confirm that it was and you nodded. Virtually. You were numb for most of it. “I figured the hotel could use some more help, so I cashed in a favor to get someone I could trust to do the job right down here.”

Charlie blinked before giving her dad a pointed look. “Dad, you didn't have to do that. What about Duckie's life on Earth?”

“It was entirely too long, so don't feel too bad about it,” you reassured her. “I'm always happy to help you out, you know that, Charlie.”

Charlie looked like she was about to burst into tears of happiness. She hadn't changed a bit since she was a young demon. The girl who seemed to distrust you immediately came forward to stand with Charlie, looking up at her before looking straight into your soul. 

“Who is this?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh! Vaggie! This is Duckie, she was my old babysitter for like, ever!” Charlie explained. “Duckie, this is my girlfriend, Vaggie!”

“Nice to meet you, Vaggie,” you said with a small smile, offering up a hand to shake. Vaggie took it with an ironclad grip that threatened to break your hand. A proper handshake.

“Likewise… Duckie,” she said. “That's not like, on your death certificate, is it?”

“Oh, gods no, that's just what Charlie called me when she was little. Do feel free to use it, I really don't mind.” You did mention your actual name, for posterity.

Charlie blinked. “Wait, that's not your name?! Why didn't you correct me?”

“How could I have? You were too cute to correct! Seriously, I don't mind the nickname,” you chuckled, waving it off.

“Oi! Charlie, when are you gonna introduce Duckie to the rests of us?” The pink, fluffy demon called from the parlor proper.

“Ohmygosh, I’m soooo sorry! Hold on!” Without so much as a warning, you were being dragged over to the rest of the group. You could hear Lucifer chuckle from afar, not even making a move to save you. Ah, well.

“Duckie, this is our first resident of the hotel, Angel Dust!” 

“You can just call me Angel, toots. Put ‘er there,” he offered one of his many hands, and I took it to shake. Now that I thought about it, he looked kinda like a weird spider, bug, thing. Spider seemed to fit him better.

“Pleasure to meet you, Angel.”

“You bet your sweet ass it is,” he grinned at you, his one gold tooth glinting in the light. You snorted, you liked this one.

Charlie carted you off with a nervous chuckle. “Welcoming as always, Angel!” She said over her shoulder as she scooted you toward the bar. “Anyway! This is our bartender Husk! He's a little bit of a grump, but you'll get used to it.”

“I’m sure he and I will be fast friends, I am a bit of an alcoholic and love me a good bartender who's got attitude problems,” you mused. The cat demon gave you a dead-eyed look before snorting and going back to cleaning the glass in his hand.

“Oh you may be right, he usually doesn't do that on first meeting,” Charlie said, a bit surprised. She looked around a bit, letting out a hum. “Husk, you wouldn't know where Alastor and Niffty ran off to, would you?”

He just gave her a shrug and a headshake. “Beats me.”

“Fiddlesticks,” she pouted. “Thanks anyway! We'll have to catch them on the tour– if you're up for one, that is?”

You gave her a nod and were immediately whisked away on a tour of the whole establishment. Lucifer had decided to disappear somewhere, leaving you alone with Charlie and Vaggie. She was tagging along, as Angel had started flirting with Husk and that's not anything anyone wanted to see. 

“It really is nice to see you again, Duckie. I’m kinda surprised you took so long to get down here, you were my babysitter like, centuries ago,” Charlie said as the three of you meandered the halls. You got a good look at all of the decor and the overall vibe of the place, the apple motifs a very Lucifer signature. If there was one thing the Morningstars had, it was a good sense of theming. 

“Well, I didn't mean to let the deal go on so long, but your dad always caught me in the middle of something so I always told him no when he would do his bi-centennial deal-speil,” you said, shrugging. “I probably could have gone for another couple centuries if he didn't cash in his last favor.”

Vaggie seemed a little out of the loop here, her eyebrow furrowing. “Wait, you had a deal with Lucifer?”

“Mmhm. It's a long story, but the deal was that I was protected for life in exchange for favors. It didn't occur to either of us that because I was human, the vagueness of the deal basically made me immortal,” you explained. “So I've just been a little errand dog for the past five centuries, hence me being Charlie's babysitter when she was little.”

Vaggie blinked, looking over at Charlie. “Wow. Man, your dad is really bad at making deals, isn't he?”

Charlie let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah. He's still beat-up over the golden fiddle incident. The guy was really good.”

“Wait– are you talking about… The Devil Went Down to Georgia? Am I hearing that right?” you asked.

“Oh, no, just this one time Dad got a little too cocky with his fiddle playing and made a deal with a guy on Earth to see who was better and–”

“That was real? Of all the songs about the Devil that we humans made up, that one is real?” You let out an incredulous laugh. “I'm kind of impressed, not gonna lie.”

Charlie's eyes widened. “They made a song about it? Oh. My gosh. Dad would be crushed if he knew– or does he already know? Did he ever pay attention to human music when he went up there to see you?”

Your laughter continued, only this time it was good-natured. “Oh, Charlie, dear. Never change,” you said at the end of your laughing fit. “I'm sure he's heard it, stewed over it, and gets pissy when someone plays it in a bar. You really don't need to worry about it,” you said, patting her shoulder.

Hell's Princess took a much-needed breath and nodded. The Morningstars were rather silly, you've noted. Very neurotic. You understood Lucifer, to an extent, but seeing it in his daughter made you feel… what were the words you wanted to use? Protective of her? Something like that. “Let's continue with the tour, yeah? I think you've only shown me like, third of what's here.”

Charlie brightened a bit at that prospect, mainly to get the conversation onto something else. The grand scale of the hotel was something you hadn't been expecting, and it would take some getting used to, but you liked the idea of a change in pace. You tried to keep yourself occupied in your longevity, picked up hobbies, learned new skills, but you always ended up in a rut somewhere. This was new and exciting, and you had a feeling a dull moment never passed in the hotel. 

“So, Charlie,” you started once you ended up back in the lobby, “your dad mentioned having extra help around here would be good. You're the brains of the operation, from what I've seen, where do you need me? I'm a jack of all trades, so I can do pretty much any task you give me.”

Charlie thought for a moment, humming a bit as she tapped her chin with her fingers. “I thiiink we could use another manager? Alastor is the host, but he also gets busy doing… whatever he does on his walks, so it'd be nice to have another hand on deck,” she said. Lucifer had said something about that, but he didn't say it in the most charitable way. He really did not like that guy. You hadn't even met him yet.

The sudden sound of radio static filled your ears as something appeared behind you, the air dripping several degrees very rapidly causing a shiver to run up your spine. “Why, Charlie, dear! I think that's a swell idea, seeing as we've acquired a few new guests since our little tiff with the angels. Having another hand around here would surely be a big help,” a filtered voice sounded.

You jumped, a yelp escaping you as you looked back to see a very red demon with the biggest, yellowest grin you've ever seen on someone standing way too close for comfort. He looked at you with a scrutinizing gaze, much like Vaggie had, but it was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking with the ever-present smile that lined his cheeks. It almost looked like it hurt. 

“There you are, Alastor! I was wondering where you'd run off too,” Charlie said, smiling at the taller demon. “This is Duckie! She used to be my babysitter but Dad called in a favor, so now she's down here to help with the hotel! Isn't that amazing?!”

Alastor's eyebrows rose a bit with the new information presented to him. “A friend of Lucifer's? Interesting, didn't know he had those,” he mused. “Also interesting to see such an old soul so new to Hell. My, my, you're quite the little mystery, aren't you?”

A nervous laugh leapt from your throat. This guy was scary . The tone in his voice was deceptively amicable, but you just knew he was sizing you up to see if you were a threat or if he needn't bother with an insect such as yourself. Either way, the feeling of self-preservation you'd long since thought was lost to time came back the instant his smile twitched to somehow widen across his face and his eyes narrowed along with it.

“It's a… long story, definitely not one for introductions,” you said, hoping that'd give him some cause to drop the subject. He seemed to relent, and you felt your shoulders relax a bit. Had they been that tense the whole time? “It's um, a pleasure to be working with you, though, Alastor. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time in the future to discuss… origins.”

Alastor let out a cackle at your words, shaking his head. “Oh, dear Duck, you are a hoot , “ he said between laughs. “You Morningstars sure know how to pick ‘em, Charlie! I'm sure this one will do just fine here in our establishment.”

Charlie practically beamed, happy to know everyone seemed rather welcoming of the newcomer to the hotel. “Ohh this is gonna be so fun! I'm super excited for you to get settled in and everything. I'm sure Dad's already making up your room as we speak, so let's go over everything and make it all official! I promise it won't take too long!”

***

Hours. It took many, many hours. Not that you minded, of course. Catching up with Charlie while doing all the official paperwork was actually kind of nice. Hearing about the exploits of the hotel from her perspective was riveting, seeing as she had s first hand in most of it. The whole situation sounded absolutely bonkers, to say the least. You didn't even really realize what time it was until Vaggie came over to tell Charlie she was heading to bed. By then, you'd already gotten everything signed, it was a matter of filing it away and beginning your training. That could come later. 

You were shepherded to your room, Charlie chiming in that she was a few doors down if you needed anything. The key was taped to the door with a note from Lucifer.

“Here's your room, Duck! I tried my best to make it like a modern version of your old cottage. I know you said you missed it one of the last times I was at your apartment, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Let me know if I need to change anything! 

-Lucifer”

You smiled softly at the note before taking the key. You slotted it into the lock and opened the door, being met with exactly what he had described. It was updated with a few more modern amenities, but what looked like a little shrine near the kitchenette caught your eye. A spice rack filled with herbs, an altar that matched your old set-up to a tee, and your mother's cauldron right underneath, still in as pristine condition as you left it. Your smile turned sad seeing that. Lucifer's attention to detail was annoyingly sweet sometimes. He probably kept everything from the cottage when you moved into a city apartment, which had you wondering why he would go through all of that trouble just for you.

“I hope it's okay, I'm still getting used to having a space limit when I create things. Charlie said I needed to stop making rooms bigger than they appear so guests don't get lost in them,” Lucifer sounded from behind you.

Turning, you looked to see that he was leaning against the doorway of your room, a reverent smile on his face. “Oh, hush, it's perfect,” you said, waving him off. “You were right, I did kind of miss the cottage.”

Lucifer chuckled, taking a few steps in. “I figured as much, you've always been a creature of habit. I was a little surprised when you even wanted to move to the city, but I guess experiencing everything once is kind of your thing,” he said.

“That is true, I think I've experienced just about every human experience there is to have, so I guess I get to work on experiences in Hell,” you said.

“That is true. Just, um, steer clear of getting your body ripped apart. You'll come back together eventually but it's just a lot of mess and hassle– and pain, by golly so… so much pain,” Lucifer chuckled awkwardly. “Anyway– so um, thank you, for going along with all of this. I just… I want Charlie to succeed, especially after everything that's happened.”

You nodded as he spoke, sitting on the nice plush bed that was provided. “I do too. What she's doing here is brave. As someone from the outside of all the Hell politics nonsense, I think trying to find a way for people who ended up here for poor choices instead of truly evil deeds to find a way out is important. You might not have been there for all of it, but you raised a good kid, Luci.”

The King of Hell smiled warmly at you. “If I remember correctly, you had a hefty hand in it too, duckling,” he said. 

You blinked. You had babysat Charlie quite a bit, especially when she got a little older and the Morningstars got busier. There was one, and only one instance of her calling you ‘mom’ on accident. It was sweet, but you could never replace Lilith like that. “Yeah, yeah I guess I did.”

“I'm glad to have you here for good now, though. Portalling to Earth all the time really sucked,” he chuckled. “I’ll, um, I’ll let you get some rest. Big day tomorrow. Charlie's just down the hall, but I've got the apple-themed wing on the top floor if you need anything.”

You gave him a knowing smile. “I'll keep that in mind, Lucifer,” you said as you stood to usher him out of the room gently. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Duck.”

When the door closed on him, Lucifer looked at it for a solid minute before taking in a breath and scurrying his way to the elevator. Sometimes he liked to be normal. You had been on his mind longer than he cared to admit. Aside from Lilith, you had been one of the most solid constants he'd had in his long, long life. The last 500 years of knowing there was someone who would always be waiting for him, even if it was begrudgingly sometimes, made him feel wanted. It made him feel valued. 

That was the whole reason he brought you here to Hell. He needed his rock now more than ever. It took Lilith being gone for an extended amount of time for him to come to terms with that. It also took him almost losing his little girl to realize he didn't have much in this world. With Lilith gone, had Charlie not made it through that fight, you were all he had. Sure, the Sins in the other rings would be there for him, but they all had their own things to do. Their own lives to deal with. All he had was you, and he was most certain that all you had was him. 

Maybe now the two of you would have a semblance of family again, even if it was weird and mismatched. From what he'd observed today, you slotted in nicely to the weirdly partitioned puzzle they had going. His lips twitched upward slightly at that thought as he began getting ready for bed. 

Things were starting to fall into place. He just hoped the nature of the realm he unwittingly created wouldn’t come to bite him in the ass as it had done so many times before. Maybe, just maybe he could have a sliver of happiness again.

Chapter Text

Flames licked at your ankles, rising higher and higher with each passing, ragged breath. Searing pain scorched through your every being, your lungs coated in soot and ash.  Screams could be heard from your sister turning into barely audible whispers and pleas for salvation. 

“Save us.” Your weak voice rings out. “Someone, save us.”

You woke up with a start, big, fat, warm tears rolling down your face. You clutched at your nightshirt where your heart was trying to rip itself out of your ribcage. Said nightshirt was sticking to you, much like your hair was to your forehead with the thin layer of cold sweat coating your skin. Your chest was heaving, but your lungs were having difficulty taking in air. Wider than dinner plates and absolutely frantic, your eyes darted everywhere, trying to find an anchor to calm you down. They settled on your mother's cauldron and your breathing started to even out. It was just the nightmare again. Well, more like the memory.

The night you narrowly escaped death and made a deal with The Devil.

It always came back to you around the time of year that it happened, summer going into fall. Hell’s atmosphere was almost exactly like it, days and nights being slightly cooler but over all just warm and slightly humid, at least, in the Pride Ring. Seasons didn’t really matter in Hell, but the calendar kept going, which meant they would come back with a vengeance year after year. It was a tad bit early for them to be coming on as strong, but you chalked that up to the stress of the new… everything you were going through. New body, new home, new realm entirely. It made sense that with the adjustments, old wounds would flare up eventually. 

Your heart eventually stopped stammering enough for you to finally get ahold of yourself, leaving you wide awake with no desire to go back to sleep and risk finishing out the rest of the dream. 3 AM snack time it was.

The hotel halls were dead quiet, as everyone had either gone to bed or were out doing gods knew what, so you tried to pad down to the kitchen as silently as possible. You’d hate to wake anyone because your brain decided to replay your lowest moments on repeat. You had to admit, though, that the hotel being this quiet always felt off. It was much better full of the odd mirth you’d found it to have during operating hours.

Curiously, the lights in the kitchen were already on, glaring through the windows and seeping through the bottom of push-to-open doors. Who the Hell would be up this early? Or did Angel forget to turn the lights out after he got off work? You narrowed your eyes to adjust to the light and pushed one of the doors open, blinking a few times when you saw the culprit. Hunched over a stack of pancakes with a few more on the griddle, Lucifer looked at you owlishly, face full of fluffy, syrupy goodness. If you weren’t so stunned, you’d laugh at the whole picture you were seeing. Rubber duck-printed boxers peeked from under a light pink robe, the boxers were accompanied by matching ducky slippers. This. This was what peak performance looked like.

The only sound between the two of you was the sound of the griddle sizzling in the background. The unspoken standoff between the King of Hell and a sinner to see who would break the silence first only lasted a few minutes when you decided to pipe up.

“A little early for breakfast, eh, Luce?”

A beat. He swallowed what was in his mouth.

“A little early for you to be up, Duck.”

Another beat.

“...You got me there. Doesn’t answer my question, though.”

Lucifer let out a sigh. Putting a finger up, he turned his back to you to flip the pancakes on the griddle, the sides being a bit darker than he wanted, but, they’d still be edible. He then turned to face you again with a tired expression. From the looks of the stack, he’d been at this a while.

“Can’t sleep?” He asked.

“Not well, no. Same for you, I’m assuming?”

“Oh yeah, big time. That’s nothing new, though.”

You nodded solemnly. You yawned and rubbed at your eye, which Lucifer noticed was red and puffy around the edges.

“Looks like those nightmares of yours have been flaring up again, hm?”

“Ye- wait ,” you stopped yourself. He knew? “How do you know about those? I don’t think I’ve ever told you about them…”

Lucifer gave you a wry smile. “Oh, duckling, I’ve known for a long time. I’m the King of Hell, I know a thing or two about nightmares. Practically invented them.” He chuckled awkwardly. “Also, your eyes are red around the rims like you’ve been crying, which you don’t do lightly.”

Your shoulders slumped and a sigh escaped you. He had you there. “Yeah… I think it’s just me trying to adjust to being down here. They usually come up at least once a year, so, I guess now’s their time to shine,” you said as you made your way over to where the dishes were kept and grabbed a plate off the stack.

Lucifer watched as you grabbed a half-stack of pancakes, having no room to protest. He made entirely too many, but there was no real way to make a small batch of pancakes. “You still haven’t answered my question as to why you’re making breakfast at…” You glanced over at the clock on the microwave, which was at least two minutes fast. “Half-past three in the morning.”

“Can a man not have his secrets?” Lucifer asked, sending a half-hearted glare your way before he scooped the last round of pancake batter onto the griddle.

“Of course, but just not when the man is you. In your boxers. Making pancakes in the wee hours of the morning,” you teased as you took your first bite.

Holy shit they were good. Like, melt in your mouth good. You almost didn’t hear a sigh come from Lucifer over the fact that you were enjoying the pancakes almost entirely too much. Managing to tear yourself away from the devilishly good breakfast, you looked at the exhausted king before you. 

“Oh, y’know, too many thoughts buzzing around in the ol’ noggin...” he said in a way that was trying to be funny, but ultimately sounded pitiful. His concentration was trained on the last few pancakes on the griddle. “Things going on in Hell, the hotel, making sure I’m doing enough for Charlie, and now I’m worried about you and how you’re adjusting– which seems to have gone from gracefully to terribly, considering the whole nightmare thing.”

Your expression softened. It was rare for him to vent at you like this, but you seemed to have caught him in a vulnerable spot. “They’re more like… memories about that night… the nightmares, I mean.” His gaze shifted to you with a raised eyebrow. “The night you saved me.”

Both of Lucifer’s eyebrows shot up and his posture changed, straightening out a bit. “Oh, Duck… I’m sorry, having to relive that night after night must be absolute torture…”

A wry smile spread on your lips, your fork picking at the stack of pancakes on your plate. “It can be, yeah… but it’s nice to know I haven’t forgotten what my mother and sister look like after all these years. And what my real name is. Sometimes I can feel those things slipping away from me as time goes on, so the reminders of who I was and where everything started are oddly comforting, even if I wake up full of dread.”

Finding the silver lining in a nightmare was something you had to do in order to get through it. It was a harrowing experience every time you had to go through the scenes in your head, the phantom sensations in your body. You could see a conflicted look settle on Lucifer’s features, his eyes searching for something to anchor onto that wasn’t your face.

“...I’ve always wished I could have come sooner. If I had listened a little harder, moved a little faster. Maybe I could have saved all three of you,” he said. His tone was soft, but the underlying self-blame was palpable.

“Lucifer, you were my last resort,” you said plainly. You didn’t mean it as an insult, of course. “All of my options had been exhausted when your name finally came up in the list of other beings I had desperately called out to. By that point… Mother was already dead, and Miaphine was gasping for her last breaths. There was nothing you could have done to save them short of necromancy.”

The Devil in rubber duck printed boxers was quiet. You had a point. “I guess you’re right… I just… I dunno, always feel a little guilty about everything. That’s my punishment for all eternity. Nothing can ever be nice and good… and everything is somehow my fault.”

The way he stabbed at his pancakes made you wonder just how much of these feelings were always bubbling under the surface, being carefully veneered over by the suave, outgoing personality he pushed out to everyone around him. It was a thin veneer, and most people could see right through it, but you always happened to be around when it cracked completely.

“Me being here is not your fault,” you said softly. “I took the risk. I called out to worse beings than you, Lucifer. Gods no one would dare tie their soul to. But, you were the one that showed up.”

Lucifer watched you for a moment, eyes searching yours to find the utmost sincerity. He looked down at his plate, scooping another few bites of pancake into his mouth. He chewed as he ruminated over his next words.

“Do you ever regret it?” he asked. “Taking my deal, that is.”

You paused mid-bite. You hadn’t quite thought of an answer to that question. You asked it to yourself, but you always thought yourself into circles about it until you gave yourself a headache and went to bed. Being asked the question directly from the cause of the conundrum in the first place was something you weren’t prepared for in the slightest.

“...I’m not sure,” you finally answered, looking down at your half-eaten stack of pancakes. “There are pros. There are cons. So, so many cons. I mean, the fact I didn’t go full-on koo-koo bananas after so many years of existence is a weird miracle in and of itself… but I can’t find it in myself to regret it as a whole.”

Lucifer’s thick, dark eyebrows rose in surprise at your answer. There was a Mariana’s Trench level deep part of him that wished you had regretted it. That you hated him for it. Of course, he wanted to feel a little less alone and you filled the Lilith-shaped void just fine on your own, but, he also didn’t know how to feel about the fact that you didn’t regret anything. Half of it was your fault anyway, never letting him rework the deal to keep living. To keep going. Putting yourself through so much turmoil, and for what? What did that accomplish?

“There are parts of it I do regret,” you said as if you were reading his mind. “The sins I committed knowing they wouldn’t matter in the end racked up quite a bit, and I’m not proud of that. However, I got to experience everything my mother and sister never got to, so, I’d say that’s worth every sin.”

Silence fell between the two of you, the only real sounds being of forks scraping plates, and eventually the sound of Lucifer putting his plate down on the counter. He mulled over your words, letting them tumble around in his mind as he thought of something to say. Anything. It wasn’t like you two hadn’t talked about this before, but your life as a human was done. Somehow, though, you still seemed so lifelike. It was as if you hadn’t even noticed the change in scenery, you were just continuing as if things were natural. He shouldn’t have been surprised given how long you’d lived. But, he’d seen what other sinners did in his realm, the ones that had been there for thousands of years, slowly tearing themselves and others apart because they just couldn’t take the incessant call to insanity that permeated the air.

Something hit him when he looked at you, clad in a nightshirt that barely made it past your thighs with hair a mess from tossing and turning. You had already been through Hell. On Earth. You’d died hundreds of times over, but never truly allowed to move on. You persisted through centuries, going through events you probably hadn’t even dared to speak to him. All because you were surviving for your loved ones that hadn’t. A sad smile twitched at Lucifer’s lips as he revered you.

“I guess you’re not adjusting too terribly after all,” he said.

Your eyes were trained on your now empty plate, the only thing left was the smearings of leftover syrup and the crumbs stuck in them. It was your turn to smile, your gaze shifting up to meet his. “I guess not, huh?”

The unintentional early morning rendezvous, unfortunately, had to come to an end some time or other. The two of you cleaned up your mess, though Lucifer protested at the mere thought of you helping considering he started it. He quickly lost that argument as you grabbed a plate from his hands and put it in the dishwasher. By the time the two of you were done, you looked at the clock. There was no use in going back to bed. 

“Alright, Lucifer, I'm gonna head back up to my room and read until I have to get ready for the day. I'm probably not going to be able to get back to sleep, so, if you need anything from me I'll be up,” you said, your lips twitching upwards in a small smile.

Lucifer mirrored your smile and nodded. “Sounds good, Duck. I'll probably be doing the same. If you wanna come up and read with me, my door’s always open– for you and Charlie that is.”

“Aww, I feel special,” you said, chuckling. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

You lingered for a moment, as did Lucifer, but you knew lingering longer would end up in another conversation so you gave him a quick nod before heading out of the kitchen. On your way up to your room, you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. It had been a long time since the two of you had a talk like that, but it felt… necessary. Since ending up in Hell, you hadn't actually talked about everything that happened. It felt nice to finally be able to get that off of your chest, even if it was over ill-timed pancakes.

A small part of you hoped you could have more time with Lucifer like that, just the two of you. He felt like home, as odd as it sounded. The King of Hell being a comfort wasn't common among the masses, but he was your comfort, whether he realized it or not.

Chapter Text

A few months had passed since  your introduction to the hotel and things had been going as swimmingly as possible with the plucky Princess Morningstar manning the helm. The thought made you smile as you finished up the first part of your morning routine. You’d made a point to do your rounds through the hotel in the mornings to familiarize yourself with it and it just made it into your morning routine. There was no shortage of hijinks ensuing around the hotel, but the least amount of activity happened around daybreak. The only demon you’d come to know as a true morning person was Vaggie. Even Charlie had to pep herself up in the morning to be the bright ray of sunshine she was.

Dressed and ready to start the day, you stepped out of your room quietly and began your rounds. There was a usual pattern of when you would stumble upon patrons and staff alike as they started their own morning routines, though not every day was the same. There would be mornings where shenanigans started early and those days were usually full of chaos and mild to traumatic injuries..

The first demon to show their smiling face was none other than Niffty. She could usually be seen hunting for bugs or other assorted jobs before breakfast. Today seemed to be a hunting day, as she had a needle in her hand and she was lower to the ground than usual.

“Good morning, Niffty. Starting off early this morning, eh? How many’ve you gotten so far?” You asked, looking down at the tiny girl's form.

“Three!” She answered cheerfully. “I would have had four but one of them escaped me. He will be swiftly found and disposed of. ”

“Atta girl. Lemme know if you get ‘em when you come down for breakfast, okay?”

“You got it, Duckie!” Niffty said with a manic grin before she began her search again. Her sing-song tone of voice when she said “come out come out wherever you are, buggy!” as she went about her mission was… unnerving but not unexpected.

You continued on your rounds as scheduled, humming a soft tune until your head started to tingle. Your prophetic dreams had morphed into some weird clairvoyance since becoming a sinner. Navigating that had a bit of a learning curve, but the tingling in your head usually meant a vision was on the way.

A black shadow bubbled up from the floor, giving way to a gangly body that seemed vaguely familiar. Its inky tendrils tried to grab hold of your leg before you–

Tutting could be heard behind you as you moved your leg away from the shadowy puddle on the floor. This caused you to whip around to see Alastor standing there, menacingly. You’ve come to expect that out of him in your brief interactions. His eyes were narrowed as he checked his claws for dirt as if he wasn’t just trying to scare the ever-loving daylights out of you, everpresent grin still slapped onto his face.

“My, my, what lightning-fast reflexes you have, dear Duck. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting that from you,” he mused. “Maybe we should be calling you Sparrow instead, haha!”

You gave that terrible joke a pity laugh, trying to play nice with Alastor after his fowl joke. Oh, now he’s got you in on it too. Damn it. “Good morning, Alastor. On your way down for coffee? Or is it tea this morning?”

Alastor hummed. You could never really tell what he was thinking with that evergreen grin, though his eyes usually gave it away. When they were narrowed dangerously or his eyebrows were furrowed just right, you knew he was angry or annoyed. It was the more general emotions that were harder to parse. Right now he seemed rather chipper. “Oh, I haven't quite made the decision just yet! Which do you think I should go for?”

You looked up in thought. “Uhhhh… tea, today. Tea sounds like it'd be good.”

“Splendid! Coffee it is, then,” Alastor said, his grin seemingly innocent.

You saw that one coming. Alastor was a silly guy, you’ve come to notice. A silly guy who also happened to be terrifying if left alone with him for too long. You were going to try and make this brief. “Whatever makes your little, cold, dead heart happy, Al. Will you be joining us for breakfast?”

“Goodness, no! I tend to not eat with the masses. My palette is… unique to say the least, so, I prefer to eat alone most mornings.”

You raised an eyebrow at that but decided it was best for everyone involved that you didn’t ask what his palette was like. You had a guess, from what some of the others have said, but, you were fairly certain you didn’t want to know. “Fair enough, I guess. Well, I’ll let you get back to it, I’ve got some stuff to check in on,” you said, giving him a small nod and a smile before heading on your way. You didn’t really have to check on anything. You just wanted out of the conversation. 

“Adieu for now, Duck,” Alastor called after you and you just gave him a from-behind wave as you continued. Everything about that guy gave you the creeps, but, he hadn’t tried to kill you yet so that was obviously a good sign.

 You let out a breath as you trekked on, making it almost down to the ground floor when you ran into Angel Dust. The lanky spider demon looked like he had just been run over by a truck several times. Run over, backed into, run over again, all on a loop. The poor thing was exhausted.

“Long night?” you asked.

“Have you ever been covered in baby oil, put on a slip n’ slide, and then spit-roasted at terminal velocity?” the fluffy pink spider asked.

You grimaced. “Yikes. Well, I’m heading to the kitchen, let me know if you need an ice pack… or several.”

Angel gave you a tired, appreciative smile. “Thanks, toots. I think one’ll do it though, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not! I’ll have it up for you as soon as possible. Do you want me to bring you anything else? Coffee, water?” you asked. 

“Water’s fine, Duck. Y’know, his Royal Shortness really lucked out with a cute little thing like you,” Angel said. There was a sly grin on his face. “If I swung that way, I’d probably scoop you up for myself in a heartbeat for bein’ so sweet.”

A flush of heat swept across your cheeks, your hand coming up to rest on one of them to try and cool it as best as possible. “God, you’re such a tease, Angel. There’s nothing like that going on between me and Lucifer,” you said, waving it off with your other hand.

Angel quirked an eyebrow, his sly grin morphing into a knowing one. “You keep tellin’ yourself that, sweetcheeks. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, turning to leave so you didn’t have to keep this conversation going. You noted there were a lot of odd conversations this morning. Then again, these people didn’t know how to have a normal conversation. “Oh, shut up. I’ll be back with your ass pack and water.”

“Thanks, Duck,” Angel drawled as he watched after you. You didn’t see the expression on his face, but you were sure it was of the shit-eating variety. 

Your relationship with Lucifer was a complicated one. You were close, but also very, very distant. It was by design. It had initially been purely transactional. He saved you from certain doom in exchange for your soul, and you performed favors for him in exchange for not dying. There was always a slight hint of care in his voice when he talked to you, but you chalked it up to him being very doting to his human pet. As time went on, however, a shift happened. You guessed it was when he felt Lilith pulling away that he became a little more friendly with you. It hadn’t registered at the time, but now that you thought about it, his visits had become more frequent in that time. That was probably why it kind of hurt when he stopped calling on you for favors. 

You pondered this as you meandered into the kitchen for the ice pack and water, finding Charlie already starting up on breakfast. The coffee pot had already been started and was just about finished, in need of a second round already. The only drug allowed in the hotel was caffeine and everyone took advantage of that rule.

“Good morning, Char, whatcha makin’?” you asked, craning your neck to see what the tall blonde was making.

“Ohhh, just whipping up some eggs, bacon, and toast! Vaggie already got all the continental breakfast stuff situated, but I figured adding a hot meal option would be a good idea too,” Charlie explained with her signature bright, toothy grin.

You smiled softly. “You’re too sweet, Charlie. I feel my teeth rotting out of my head just listening to you,” you said, pinching her cheek before carrying on your way to the walk-in to grab what you’d initially come in for.

“Whatcha grabbing, Duckie? Breakfast’ll be ready soon,” Charlie asked, leaning back a bit to see if she could catch whatever you were doing.

“Mm? Oh, Angel had a rough night at the studio and needs an ice pack and some water, figured I’d grab it for him since I was on my way down anyway,” you said with a shrug, disappearing into the coolness of the walk-in fridge, padding your way back to the deep freeze in the back to grab an ice pack. Angel even had one labeled for him. Poor guy probably needed it more often than not. You grabbed a bottle of water from the drink cooler before emerging once again into the contrastingly warm kitchen, the cool items in your hand immediately started forming condensation. 

“Hey, Duck, on your way back up do you think you could check and see if Dad’s awake? He’s got a meeting with Uncle Ozzie down in Lust today and I don’t want him to be late,” Charlie called after you before you were able to make it out of the kitchen.

Stopping in your tracks, you looked back at her. “Permission to drag his ass out of bed if he isn’t?”

Charlie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Permission granted, though I dunno if you wanna deal with the ramifications of that.” There was a slight grimace on her face. 

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Ahh, I know what he’s like in the morning, I’ll be just fine,” you said, waving off her concern before finally exiting.

Angel was appreciative of the relief and hydration that were delivered. You said your goodbyes, letting him get some rest before the day truly started. Your next target was up in the apple-shaped penthouse suite. Normally you’d take the stairs, but, he was so high up and you’d already gotten your steps in for the day, so, the elevator it was.

The music that played in the elevator was a jazzy little tune, it always got stuck in your head even when you hadn’t taken the elevator at all on any given day. While the elevator took its sweet time, you pondered on what kind of mood you were going to find Lucifer in. If there was one thing he was not, it was a morning person. There had been several occasions where he insisted on spending the night with you when he came up for check-ins and it always resulted in getting a pillow thrown in your direction when you were trying to start your day.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the ding! of the elevator doors sliding open with a mechanical whirr. You stepped out into the main living area of the penthouse to find it in need of some tidying, but overall in decent shape. Niffty was told this area was off-limits to her when Lucifer was in the building and she was quite, quite miffed at that notion. 

The room the King resided in was very much what you expected when you pictured it in your head—a four-post bed with deep red curtains, and a red bed set, all with gold accents. The floor was black marble with white area rugs interspersed in high-traffic areas. As with his personal abode at Pride Manor, there was also an arrangement of rubber ducks. The duck thing was something you never really understood, but, you also never had the heart to ask either. 

Lucifer lay sprawled out on the bed on his stomach, his six majestic wings sprawled out with him. As you walked closer, you pressed your lips together to keep from making noise. The figure in front of you was something you had only seen once, and you didn't savor it as well as you had wanted to last time, so you were taking him in, in all his sleepy glory. His bedhead was adorable. Every time you saw those blond locks out of their usual slicked back and coiffed position, you swore your sin counter always got higher in your head. You also couldn't help but ogle at his wings and the muscles that held them to his body and it was taking everything in you to not run your fingers along the fluffy red and white feathered appendages.

“Luuuuucifeeeerrr,” you cooed softly, leaning down to be slightly more level with his face. “Up n’ at ‘em, Luci, big day of activities ahead for you.”

Silence.

“C'mon big guy, you've got places to be and people to see– also Charlie’s making breakfast.”

The King of Hell took in a sharp breath before letting out a whining groan. He buried his face in his pillow much like a cartoon ostrich would shove their head into the ground. It took him several seconds to come back up, looking over at you with bleary eyes. He blinked one eye at a time.

“There he is! Good morning,” you said. You were trying not to laugh at the slow, frog-like blink he'd just given you but he made it infinitely hard to do when he was just so damn cute.

“Mmmnph… mornin’,” he mumbled. He reached a hand up to run his face, trying to rid his eyes of sleep. “I hope Charlie hasn't implemented in-person wake-up calls or something.”

The way his voice graveled when he spoke after just waking up stirred something inside of you, but you pushed it deep, deep down into the depths of you so you didn't have to unpack that. You instead snorted and shook your head.

“No, no, she just knew you had a lot of stuff to do today and I was already running a little errand anyway so she asked me to come wake you,” you explained. You straightened yourself out, hands folding nicely in front of you. “I see you've evolved, though, I was expecting to get absolutely bodied by a pillow being thrown at Mach speeds.”

“Mm… I could still do that.”

“No, thank you, I like not having pillow stuffing in my mouth.”

“Suit yourself, duckling.”

Lucifer groaned as he stretched, his vertebrae audibly cracking as he did. His wings stretched out as well, your body being between the two larger ones. Your eyes widened a bit at his wingspan but quickly put yourself in check so as to not feel like you were being a creep about it. He was most likely either naked or half-naked underneath that duvet and you did not need him getting cocky in any way.

“I'll let you get acclimated to the world and get dressed. Breakfast should be ready when you get down there,” you said. You turned to make your leave, but Lucifer grabbed at your wrist before you could even try. You looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking what he could possibly want from you.

“Would you… be interested in accompanying me to my meeting today? Don't worry about the whole ‘sinners can't leave the Pride Ring’ thing, you'll be with me so…”

You blinked. You blinked again.

“You're asking me to go to the Lust Ring with you for a meeting with Asmodeus?” You asked.

This seemed to give Lucifer pause. “...Yes. I figure you'd be a good enough distraction for him to not pry into my… uh, my love life .”

It was your turn to pause. Oh. Hmm. You guessed that made sense– to a degree. Asmodeus would be more focused on why a sinner was with him than how he'd been doing now that Lilith wasn't in the picture. But you also had things to do today…

“I mean, I would , but Charlie wants me to run a couple of exercises today and I've also got some other things to catch up with, so–”

“Please, duckling?” He cut you off. “I'm sure Charlie won't mind, especially since it's me asking. That, and Asmodeus has been curious about you since I let it slip that we had a deal, so, what better time than now?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, something you'd learned to be careful of with the new fangs. Letting out a sigh through your nose, you relented. “Fine, yeah, I'll go. But, I have to talk to Charlie about it, so, meet me downstairs when you're done getting dressed and we'll go from there.”

A sharp-toothed grin spread on his lips. His wings folded in a bit as he shifted so he could sit up properly. “Of course, duckling. See you downstairs.”

You made an about-face before you could see any unmentionables. You have him a wave from behind before making your exit, trying to keep your thoughts at bay. Sometimes you wondered if Lucifer did stuff like that on purpose. He always was a huge tease, even when he was married.

You returned downstairs, needing to find Charlie so you could let her in on the new plan of the day. The Princess of Hell’s bright shining smile made its presence known when you entered the dining room. A few meandering souls mumbled to each other over coffee in the corner, which was much better turnout than usual mornings.

“Good news, didn’t have to drag your dad out of bed,” you began, Charlie’s demeanor brightening a bit. “But, he did request my presence today at the meeting in Lust, so I wanted to make sure we weren’t doing anything super duper important today that you would need me for.”

Charlie balked at this, eyes wide and mouth open as if to say something but the words choked right in her throat. 

“Everything… good, Charlie?”

“Wh- oh, yeah, no, perfect! Perfectly fine, I just– he’s taking you down to Lust with him? To see Uncle Ozzie? I don’t know if he realizes the implication of taking a sinner out of the Pride Ring– that hasn’t happened in at least a few thousand years, at least so I’ve heard– mmph!”

You put a gentle hand over Charlie’s mouth, an exasperated smile straining on your lips. “I don’t think that’s something we need to advertise, Charlie, dear. I know, it sounds crazy to me too, but why not indulge the old man in his eccentricities this once?”

“Who are you calling old?” came the offended voice of the old man in question.

“Ohhh, no one in particular, just Lucifer, disgraced Prince of Heaven, King of the Seven Circles of Hell, and Sin of Pride.”

Charlie’s eyes widened once again as she removed your hand from her mouth. “Duckie! The government name?” she asked in a paradoxically loud whisper.

“I thought it’d be funny.” You gave her a sly grin.

Your head slowly turned to look at the now-dressed and ready Lucifer, who had his eyes narrowed right at you. Your sly grin quickly flipped into one of innocence. “You are older than creation, so, it’s an accurate description.”

Lucifer took in a big breath and let it out slowly through his lack of a nose. There was a small part of him that forgot he only ever saw you in small doses. He’d seen you at your best and your worst, but he’d spent the least amount of time with you at your most mundane.

“Fair enough, I guess,” he shrugged it off, feigning indifference. “Anyway, Charlie, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing our dear Duckling today. I haven’t really hired a new assistant after dismissing the last one soooo I figured why not have my favorite ex-human sub in for the day.”

The real reason Lucifer wanted to bring you along was because he hadn't been able to get you alone very often since you got to the hotel and he felt like he needed an excuse to see you. The happenstance meetings just didn't feel like enough anymote. The dynamic had changed. He used to have an excuse when you were a human and he could politely demand favors from you. Now that wasn't the case, he didn't know how to breach the fact that he wanted to just spend time with you. He'd missed your presence in his life, but, now that you were there constantly, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself.

Charlie nodded slowly as she processed the statements her dad just threw at her, seeming to be doing a complicated equation in her head as she thought it over. You swore you heard a small ding when her face brightened up and she smiled.

“That should be fine, Dad! Duckie was just gonna run some exercises today, so I can just have Vaggie fill in!”

“Splendid! Thank you bunches, Apple Pie,” Lucifer cooed as he brought her in for a side hug, nuzzling their similarly red-dotted cheeks together. “Always so sweet!”

When you looked at them side by side, you really got to see just how much of a carbon copy Charlie was of her dad. You’d always thought it, but until you saw them right next to each other, it never really settled in until right then. 

Lucifer gave his daughter one last squeeze before separating from her to return his attention to you. “Alright, I’ll never hear the end of it from Ozzie if we’re late, so, let’s get a move on, Duckie.”

You nodded in agreement as the two of you turned to walk out of the dining hall. Lucifer looked back to Charlie, giving her a wave. “Bye, Princess! We might not be home for dinner, so don’t worry about setting a place for us! Love you!” He then quickly turned back to you in a complete 180° turn from his sweet fatherly demeanor toward his daughter, eyes narrowed and grin sharp-toothed. “If you ever pull the government name out again I will not hesitate to hit you with the full concentrated power of the sun .”

Despite the dangerous gravel of his voice, you couldn’t help but snicker, holding a hand to your mouth to keep yourself from cackling. You knew he wasn’t being serious, but the payoff was absolutely worth the delayed reaction.

***

“Are we taking the weird elevator thing I’ve heard about or are we using a portal?” You asked, looking over at Lucifer now that the two of you were gathered together.

“Eh, we'll just portal. It's not a super important meeting,” Lucifer said with a shrug. He fixed his hat before twirling his little cane and opening a portal into the Lust Ring. Seeing as you were traveling with Lucifer, the fact that you were a sinner didn't quite matter much. The King of Hell could literally do just about anything he wanted, so, to Lust you went.

The red hues of Pride immediately turned into the cool indigos and blues of Lust as the two of you passed through the red and gold portal. You'd never thought of blue being a lustful color, but you figured it would probably make sense later. The overall vibe of Lust was, well, what you expected. Horny, very horny. But like, not in an overbearing way. It was more lax than the displays of lust in the Pride Ring. Probably because the Hellborne denizens of Hell weren't fighting each other for territory quite like the sinners did.

You both came upon the Asmodean Palace, your eyes widening at how different it looked compared to Lucifer’s in Pride. You let out a low whistle as Lucifer put in the gate code. He let out a snort at your impressed demeanor over the whole thing. 

Your wonderment continued, however, as you two ventured further onto the premises, entering the building with relative ease. You forgot for a second you were traveling with the King of Hell and not just some guy. The halls were lined with both artwork and artifacts, all of which were either related to Asmodeus or lewd acts of varying natures. The Sin of Lust was very on brand with himself, it seemed.

“Well, well, well, if it isn't Lucifer himself gracing me with his presence for the first time in at least a couple centuries,” a velvety smooth and deep voice sounded behind you. The two of you turned only to be met with an absolutely massive being.

Asmodeus stood much taller than the both of you and was sculpted like a Greek god. He sported a green mane with visages of what seemed to be two additional faces that sat on either side of what you assumed was the main face. Much like Lucifer, he had a silly little top had and a suit of sorts to match, although you weren’t sure which parts of him were and were not fully clothed. You decided to not delve into the matter, lest you get in over your head. The King of Lust was a force of nature, you concluded. Despite this, he had a gentle face, which softened when his eyes met yours.

“And you brought a guest with you, that's certainly a development! Who might you be?” He asked, leaning down to get a better look at you.

Your eyes widened a bit when you realized he was speaking to you and you blurted out your name. “Ah, but um, most people just call me Duck or Duckie, just a nickname from Princess Morningstar,” you said, giving him a small bow.

“So polite, this one! I can see why you like her enough to bring her out of the Pride Ring,” Asmodeus cooed, pinching your cheek as he cast a sideways glance at Lucifer.

Lucifer let out a nervous chuckle. “Ah, well, this is the uh, the human I made a deal with forever ago, just took a long time to convince her to get down here,” he joked.

Asmodeus looked at you for a few seconds before looking over at Lucifer and barking out a laugh. “Oh, I’m sure it did, LuLu. I’m sure it did,” he said, straightening back up to his full height.

It was your turn to snort. “LuLu? And you get annoyed with me when I call you Luci.”

“Would you believe me if I told you he has a whole theme park under the LuLu name?” Asmodeus asked.

With eyebrows raised, you slowly turned to Lucifer who sucked his teeth, looking very not pleased with the usage of this nickname despite it literally being his brand. He nodded in confirmation. You laughed.

“That’s amazing actually. It gives the ringleader-theming so much more meaning. Other than the whole ‘rings of Hell’ thing.”

“Haha, very funny, duckling. Anyway, ” Lucifer diverged from the current topic, “Let’s get on with this meeting, shall we?

Asmodeus chuckled softly. “It’s good to see you again too, Lucifer. But I agree, we’ll get the business out of the way before we play catchup. I do wanna hear how little Miss Charlotte is doing after that whole… fiasco y’all had in Pride a few months ago.”

Asmodeus led you through the palace halls to his study, where a certain little jester imp already was to help set up. He grinned at you three as you entered, though you had a feeling it was mainly aimed at the big Sin of Lust. 

“Got everything all laid out for ya Oz, you want me to stick around or should I head out and deal with some other shenanigans?” The pastel-colored imp asked, stretching his way over to the taller demon.

“Thank you, Fizzie Frog. You're always such a big help,” Ozzie said, an adoring smile settling on all three of his faces. “And actually… if you could show Miss Duck around while Lucifer and I have our meeting, I'd more than appreciate it.”

Fizzie, he seemed to be named, gave a salute and a momentary serious face before looking back at you with the same wide grin as before. “My pleasure! Follow me, my Duckie friend. I think I'll start in the Hall of V-v-vibrators,” he said, followed by a throaty chuckle.

“Don't get too carried away, we don't wanna scare her off, Fizz,” Asmodeus warned as Fizzie corraled you off. You didn’t get to see Lucifer’s expression, but you were sure he was rearing to protest, however, you were being dragged away too fast for him to get a word in.

“I'll be a good boy, I promise!” Fizzie called back before he pushed you through the door and shut it.

Asmodeus watched and listened through the door as you were carted off by his lover, making sure you were you of earshot before his attention returned to Lucifer. There was a knowing grin on his face, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Having a mid-existence crisis with the little sinner there, eh, LuLu?” He asked.

“I could ask the same of you with your imp, Ozzie,” Lucifer countered.

Asmodeus chuckled, shaking his head. Lucifer was always a quick one. “You've got me there. Looks to me like we've got a lot to discuss then, hm? Have a seat and let's get started, shall we?”

Chapter Text

Five hundred years in the past, the day after Lucifer rescued a human from certain doom—

The second day of having a human in the manor was nerve-wracking. Lucifer and Lilith looked over the body lying in their guest bed, one of many, watching her breathe evenly. The breaths were shallow like she was still clinging to life. The bandages that covered her body were fresh, the couple having changed them to keep her from getting any infections from the places they couldn't heal properly, but, she looked much better than the charred remains she'd almost become when Lucifer brought her into their realm.

“You do realize what you've done, saving this one, right?” Lilith asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the human fighting for her life in front of them.

“Of course, I do, Lilith– you think I wanted to damn a soul to Hell when they've done nothing to warrant ending up here?” Lucifer asked. 

Lucifer felt terrible about it. What was Heaven thinking, leaving a soul calling out to them to die like that? Especially one so young, one that had a lot of promise.

“Look closer at her soul, Lucifer,” Lilith urged.

Lucifer looked up at his wife with a furrowed brow before dropping his gaze to the human. He stared at her for a moment before looking closer at the soul underneath. While the outer layer of her soul was that of a normal human, a Heavenly glow from within caused Lucifer to swallow. This human was blessed with the ability of foresight, given unto her by God. 

Oh no. 

What he had saved was not meant to be saved.

“They wanted to make a prophet into a martyr? What would be the point to that? Were they going to divine retribution the whole village to teach them a lesson in humility after she'd died?” Lucifer asked, voice slowly growing panicked with each question he asked that went unanswered.

The Devil moved away from the side of the bed and began pacing the room, running a hand through his hair. He was trying to come up with a logical explanation as to why Heaven would do something like that. The Bible was written, there was no more need for further evidence of God's will like this. He hadn't been concerned with matters of Heaven for a long, long time, but this was getting out of hand.

“It doesn't matter what they were going to do,” Lilith said, watching her husband's anxiety get the better of him. “What they do with human souls is their business, just like what we do with them is ours. That being said, if Heaven was ignoring her call, don't you think you maybe should have too?”

Lucifer stopped in his pacing, eyes owlish as he gazed at his wife. “Lily… you let me do it. The only thing you did to stop me was telling me I'd be damning her soul, I didn't know what kind of soul she had until you pointed it out!”

His words were harsh, but hushed, trying to keep his volume down for the sake of the poor comatose human that was unwittingly bearing witness to a match between spouses. Lilith let out a deep sigh, rubbing one of her temples.

“I'll concede to that, but, now that we know… we have to–”

“No. No, we are not doing that. Do you know what Heaven would do to us if we directly killed a human? Not only that, but, her soul is damned now, Lily. She'll end up here with murderers and wretches when she hasn't even so much as committed a major sin. Her soul is clean . They would eat her soul alive out there!”

Lilith's expression was dark, not liking the tone her husband was taking with her. She took in a deep breath through her nose and let it out in another heavy sigh. “Then what do you suppose we do, Lucifer? We can't just house a live human in our realm, her body won't be able to take it.”

The Devil was quiet for a moment. He hadn't thought that far ahead. He knew that. Humans who somehow ended up here before dying didn't tend to last long. The atmosphere wasn't kind to their fleshy bodies and even less kind to their poor minds. Knowing the reality of the afterlife in any capacity was a maddening affair. Even people who bore witness to angels in their true forms went insane after their encounters.

“I will… simply make a deal with her. That way I can keep her safe and give her a chance to live a long and healthy life before she ends up down here for good,” Lucifer said. He crossed over to the side of the bed again. The human’s sleep seemed somewhat troubled now. Probably from their argument. “If Heaven doesn't want me interfering with the lives of humans, they shouldn't get to either. This soul used her given free will to call out to me . I wasn't going to ignore that. The least I could do for interrupting an unwitting martyr is to grant her protection for the rest of her days.”

Lilith narrowed her eyes a bit at her husband's soft nature. He was still an angel infatuated with humans at heart. She guessed she'd never break him of that, even if he'd come to hate the realm they created together. “Fine. Do whatever you need to do to quell your feelings of injustice. Just don't let this bite us in the ass later,” she said, almost bitterly, before turning and walking out of the room. The clack of her heels on the obsidian floors echoed until eventually, Lucifer couldn't hear it anymore.

Lucifer closed his eyes, pinching the bridge between his eyes as he let out a long sigh. Opening his eyes again, he looked down at the defenseless human laid out in front of him. He took her hand in his, the stark, void-like back of his hand contrasting with the life-filled skin of hers. His thumb pressed gently against her wrist, finding her pulse. His shoulders relaxed a bit as he verified her status. Not that she would have died in the time it took him and his wife to argue, but, humans were fragile creatures. 

He just hoped she would wake up soon, so he could try and fix this mess his impulsive decision had gotten them into. He wouldn't apologize for saving a human who called out to him by name, but, he did know this meant that Heaven would have a close eye on this one. Well, they couldn't have her.

He'd stripped that possibility away.