Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Of all outcomes to helping Charlie with her hotel project (finally, now that he was aware of said project again and not just expressing that he’d heard of it after completely, and accidentally, tuning out his daughter’s impassioned words when it first came up!), Lucifer had expected to keep an eye on the residents from a distance. Standard king of Hell caution when he didn’t want to throw his weight around too much, while also ensuring that his daughter knew that he had her back if she needed him.

So…why, then, had her hotelier acted like he was being done a personal disservice when Lucifer first arrived for a visit slash inspection of the place? And why did it feel like such a huge, personal slight against him?

…Okay, maybe he had been a bit judgmental when it came to critiquing the decor of the first floor, but the garish additions to a space that had once welcomed important guests after late night fêtes and celebrations at the old royal palace had been - jarring.

Glowing green light did not mesh well with the red and burgundy tones of the carpets, let alone the patterned wallpaper that featured such pretty circus motifs! And that was nothing to say of the stained glass designs that actually turned the windows into light-catchers in a way that made the Hellish red of the Pride Ring’s natural ambiance look pretty.

Hell-p rating: no stars, garish, worst of the worst!

Their little showdown, aka song battle, aka ‘let’s insult each other directly to the other’s face right in front of Charlie’, should have been the end of it. Lucifer didn’t intend to get involved, because he didn’t want to step all up in Charlie’s business and try to fix everything for her, or solve all her problems.

That wasn’t the way to let a child grow into their own, especially when they were old enough to start learning the ins and outs of what might possibly be expected of them when it came time to rule!

(Unlikely without some Divine Intervention, aka the Big Man upstairs deciding to finally give up this stupid little game of Divine Punishment and strike Lucifer down once and for all. Not that He had the nerve, being all about that Divine Ordainment schtick and committing to the bit for over ten millennia now. Bastard.)

But still, Charlie should know how to take charge of situations and call on her own abilities to achieve her goals and win people over through sheer willpower! She was learning, even if it was obvious that she was struggling with it a bit.

So after showing off a bit, flexing his power in a way he hadn’t been able to in a while and making it out of there without significant property damage - no thanks to the Red Ryder radio bastard - Lucifer had gone back home with no intentions of stepping back in unless it became necessary.

There were plenty more ducks to make, pancakes to eat and generally more important things to worry about than potential Heaven-shaking projects that surely wouldn’t come back to bite them all in the collective keister!

…….

Until it did.

Even after all these seemingly endless years, Lucifer had not learned the most important lesson of all: Murphy’s Law existed, and it seemed to exist particularly to fuck him over in all kinds of new and interesting ways.

It wasn’t surprising when Heaven decided to be actual righteous dickheads and push the Extermination forward six months. That had been bound to happen when Charlie dared to challenge their authority and sovereignty.

Wasn’t surprising that Adam still had a hate boner after all these long years and wanted to take it out on someone who hadn’t even been a distant thought when their beef had gone down.

Nope, it wasn’t even the fact that the long-standing rules on how the Exterminations went down were broken by Adam and threw out the clause that Lucifer couldn’t interfere, thus allowing him to save his daughter from death at Adam’s hands and deal a long-overdue beat-down on the First Man.

Simply the fact that they’d won against the Exorcists, and survived, surely meant that down the road that was going to be a serious problem to overcome.

It was the only reason Lucifer felt as if he had to stick around and keep a closer eye on the hotel and its residents. What was going on here was important, and more importantly the hotel had a big fat capital T Target on it when it came to potential Round Two from above. Just made sense to keep checking in more frequently in case something happened out of nowhere, since being on site would be more practical than hearing about the news and then trying to act.

Had nothing whatsoever to do out of a sense of mistrust and wariness to allowing Alastor close access to his daughter without being around!

…Also had nothing to do with the fact that he’d seen the damn demon staring at him in a very strange way more than once since he’d started popping in after the rebuild and he had to find out what that was about!

The bastard was probably just trying to figure out a way to attack him without telegraphing his intent and ruining it all before it could unfold.

Inevitably an attack would come and the fallout would be dealt with. Not the first such incident, and it wouldn’t be the last. Downside of having such a title, even if Lucifer’s status as King of Hell was little more than a figurehead kind of thing nowadays.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Avoiding the temptation to just move right in on Charlie’s project and take up residence in one of the rooms, Lucifer had lasted less than two weeks before a staff dinner slash unofficial official celebration of survival (that didn’t involve pancakes eaten while wearing bloodstained clothes) had him staring longingly at the way the core crew interacted and caused Charlie to pull him aside to talk.

That had almost sparked a panic attack, wondering what he’d done to fuck it up before reconnecting could even begin, but she was quick to explain that an extra set of hands (plus the magic) would be nice to have around while the hotel got back into the swing of accepting guests.

Not that anyone was immediately beating down the doors to the place, lingering wariness from the battle still hanging on for dear life while Hell adjusted, but still! It was something he could do! Without overshadowing his daughter’s efforts and work.

So he brought over some of his most important things (keeping them at the hotel felt better than the too-empty manor), made sure the place was secure and…steeled himself to stay somewhere that would surely have more light and life and potential in it than the palace where he’d spent so much time hiding away.

…But there was an underrated issue to deal with as soon as he took up residence on the top floor.

The first night in a new place was difficult. Lucifer was nothing if not a creature of pure habit, so even though he wanted to spend time away from his place and actually be in a new environment, his body hadn’t gotten the memo quite yet.

Maybe it was the paranoia of knowing that the top floor was shared with only one other current resident at the moment - the damn Radio Demon in his radio tower.

The stupid space hadn’t even been designed in the hotel rebuild as a place for the creepy bastard, but he’d sure waltzed back in after disappearing from the battle and took command of the place like it had been made for him, literally ripping out the second apple-shaped tower space to plant what was left of that garish radio tower space in its stead.

That disappearance was something else that Lucifer wanted to poke at when he got the chance to, since obviously- who the Hell just decided to dip out in a situation like that unless they’d gotten their ass handed to them and had to cut and run.

Tit for tat moment, that one. The demon had gotten enough cracks in at Lucifer’s expense, so it was time to repay some of that with interest.

But…that was a task for when he didn’t feel as if he was about to crawl out of his own skin.

(Not literally, his attention wasn’t slipping that far yet - Spooky Scary Seraphim was only for actual important reasons. Or when he got pissed off enough to the point of losing control, but neither were happening in the present.)

Giving up on stalking around his new living space with no idea what he actually wanted to accomplish on his hobby for now, and with no other set tasks that could keep his focus, he gave up and slipped out of the room - then immediately thought better of walking downstairs directly with that tower across the floor from him.

A snap of magic later and he teleported down to the kitchen in a swirl of red glitter. One quick glance around told him that no one else was lurking around for the moment (which, fair, it was late), all the better for quiet settling in and attempts to field something to make the restlessness easier.

Definitely just a case of not being used to the hotel yet. There had only been the one visit months ago, then showing up in the midst of the battle to save Charlie and take care of taking out the trash, then popping in and out before Charlie fronted the idea that him staying would be both a good idea and a welcome thing.

These spaces were unfamiliar now, even with doing the lion’s share of work with laying magical foundations, walls and other important fixtures that had gone into the project. Anything that had happened on-site in the past was a distant memory, since it was not the same building any longer and definitely not the same purpose for said building.

There were touches here that were not his own, which was perfectly fine! It was Charlie’s baby after all!

It was just…very different, and new, and he still felt like he was intruding on his daughter’s dream despite her attempts to assure him otherwise-

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”

…Ugh. So much for being alone down here. “What do you want, bellhop?” Lucifer grumbled, not looking away from his half-hearted search of the cabinets he could reach. This place really was not designed for those with height challenges! How had he let that slip with having such a hand in it all??

But now, with certain lurking red assholes in eye-shot, he wasn’t going to debase himself by climbing up onto a cabinet to reach the higher ones. That was what magic was for.

“Merely checking to see that there wasn’t an unexpected intruder sneaking about.” Still dressed for the day, Alastor examined the points of his claws in a show of what was probably boredom. “Can’t have that happening so early into our new location, after all.”

Yeah, that was a clear jab. Gritting his teeth, Lucifer looked over his shoulder. “Hardly an intruder. I’m staying here now, after all.”

“Yes, unfortunately.” The demon’s razor grin seemed to sharpen even more. “Burning the midnight oil, sire? I would think that someone with as many responsibilities such as yourself would turn in earlier to, what is the term, get some beauty rest.”

“It’s called multitasking, Bambi. Though I doubt someone such as you understands the term!”

“Hmm. Says the avoidant ruler. I assure you that some of us understand the concept of handling multiple tasks capably, if not all at once, by making progress regularly.”

That might have been a low blow from someone else. But in light of certain Disappearances in the midst of important battles to be taken into account, Lucifer didn’t even flinch.

Snatching up the box of pancake mix he’d been hunting for, he clutched it to his chest and turned away from the cabinet, pushing it shut firmly with a quick burst of magic. “Yeah? And what have you been making progress on lately, if it’s so important compared to what I am or am not doing?”

“Why, managing the facilities!” A burst of canned applause echoed from somewhere - probably that ridiculous looking cane that the demon carried around like the world’s most phallic looking security blanket. “As it stands, some of us know how to do our own jobs. You might take notes if you need pointers on that front.”

“…Ha, ha.” Irritated both by the continued interruption and banter that he was hardly in the mood to put up with at this point in the night (let alone any other time), Lucifer snapped his fingers to pull out utensils and bowls and arrange them on the counter, setting the pancake mix down with them. Cooking probably wasn’t happening any time soon with this display going on, but maybe he could salvage the situation after…whatever this was. “That might be more insulting if Hell wasn’t self-sustaining at this point and doesn’t need my constant presence after so long.”

He realized he’d put his hoof in his mouth - metaphorically but also may as well have been literally - as soon as he saw the spark of amusement light up in Alastor’s sharp-eyed gaze. Ah, fuck. Whatever was about to come out of his mouth was going to be-

“And yet, here you remain. Getting in others’ way where your presence isn’t needed.”

In a darker or more vulnerable mood, that might have set Lucifer off into a spiral. As it was, all it did was make him snort with sudden laughter. “Yes, as you were so kind to imply to me back when I showed up here the first time! Shall we revisit that conversation? Because it seems you’ve forgotten.”

“No point in revisiting a fact that hasn’t changed. Tell me, sire, were you intentionally late to arrive the day of the battle, forgetful as to the fact that the rest of us here were defending your daughter’s dream, or did you simply not wish to be here to face off against Heaven’s forces?”

Nostrils flaring and puffing out a burst of smoke, Lucifer saw red. His sclera bled and inverted as he whirled to face the radio demon, claws twitching at his sides as he stared up at Hell’s most annoying chatterbox that he couldn’t do anything about unless he wanted to risk alienating Charlie. Again.

“…You know what, just because you’re a fucking upstart compared to those that were around when I was actually acting in the best interests of Hell, I’m going to humor you and assume you know jack shit about me or how anything about the Exterminations actually worked. It’s not just a switch that Heaven flipped one day to start…fucking everything and everyone over once a year.”

“Hmm. Do go on, sire, you seem like you’re itching to explain yourself to me.” Alastor’s grin stretched even wider across his face. However the fuck that was possible, it looked- painful.

How in the name of Hell had this bastard actually gotten him to talk about this? Lucifer hated admitting to anything close to the truth he was about to disclose to some overgrown, overbearing, fuck-ass bob-cut-wearing… steeling his nerves with another exhaled breath, one that came with less smoke thankfully, he glared upwards at the demon who was staring down at him with- was that smugness? The bastard would look smug about getting him riled up!

Fucking asshole with his stupid- everything!

“Look, just because everyone believes I’m this all-powerful figure down here, with freedom to absolutely whatever the fuck I please, it’s not…that simple. Wasn’t from the beginning.” Without getting into every specific behind that royal clusterfuck from literal millennia ago, which was a whole lot that didn’t need to be said to Alastor of all people, it was a bit more difficult to figure out how to go on and prove a point.

Stupid Pride. Stupid need to get one over on this bastard when his goal had been to turn the subject on Big Red instead! Much easier to dwell on someone else’s fuck-ups and potential secrets than deal with his own failures!

Lucifer bit his lip and used the pain to re-center his thoughts before they could wander off and drag him through the mire of misery. He was doing so well lately with not wallowing... “It’s… fuck, how did I even get on this topic with you? You’re just fucking with me, I don’t have to explain myself!”

“But you want to,” Alastor pointed out in a grating sing-song voice, leaning closer with both hands folded on his cane. “You’re so desperate to prove that you have good reason for being such a neglectful parent to your only child, up to and including the fact that you could have left her to die against forces you should be desperate to fight against. Why are you so scared of Heaven, hm? Still clinging to your misbehavior in their eyes?”

Tasting ashes on the back of his tongue, Lucifer clenched his hands into fists, using the new tingling bursts of pain from his own claws digging into his flesh to ground him and stop him from lunging forward and burying those claws in Alastor’s neck instead.

“Adam was a fucking bitch and had it out for me after- everything that happened in Eden, so he was just waiting for an excuse to get one over on me. I don’t know whether the Exterminations were his idea originally, or Sera’s. They never told me the fucking truth behind their reasoning when we met centuries ago.”

That was skirting the many details in that meeting - how self-righteous Adam had been, presenting Sera’s well-written terms that closed almost all loopholes possible. And how he’d gloated over finding a way to get back at the Devil after so long, making it obvious that he’d been scheming for years.

Real winning behavior from the original Winner, huh?

“Lying to the Father of Lies? Why, how impressive!” The fake clap track was incredibly jarring in the kitchen this late at night, but that was probably the point. The bastard seemed to be using sound effects to generally just be a shit. Was this normal behavior?

Staying here was going to test every ounce of Lucifer’s resolve if that was the case.

“Did you ever think they were trying to, I don’t know, weaken your position?” Alastor went on when it became clear that Lucifer wouldn’t response to the barb. “That you have a potential down here of posing an actual threat to Heaven itself with an endless supply of sinner souls that, by and large, have a grudge the size of a mountain against a system that dumped them where they justly deserve, even though not all of them want to be trapped down here like rats in a sinking ship? Why, with the right training, you could have an army to challenge the gates of Heaven itself!”

…Exhaling a breath that sounded close to a bitter laugh, Lucifer had to turn away at that moment. The look that crossed his face was probably not pretty, and he didn’t want to reveal how close to home those words had hit the mark.

He knew, of course, that Hell had always been a threat to Heaven’s status quo. They were so desperate to keep the masses trapped down here, well away from their perfect streets and homes to maintain the peace and avoid acknowledging what a flawed system existed.

If even lukewarm winners deserved to live in safety and comfort, rewarded for lives that weren’t the best lived but had ticked off enough boxes in the invisible checklist, why hadn’t it ever meant that sinners damned through actions that were less than evil or heinous couldn’t find their way up the ladder?

Did they really deserve to be damned for a lack of perfection and not the best decisions?

But it wasn’t like he was going to talk about these things with Alastor of all demons. The man was needling at him, and it was obvious. This was likely revenge for their first meeting and how that had all gone down.

“I’m well aware they’ve always thought that we would all rise up against them one day, even though they greatly overestimate our ability to do so.” Moving back across the kitchen to the refrigerator, Lucifer began to pull the extra ingredients out for the pancake batter. He needed to do something rather than just standing around, old insecurities and uncertainties beginning to float around in his brain like particles of oil desperately trying to blend with water.

Futile all around.

“…But you, of all people, should know that an army of sinners would be all but impossible to harness properly.” Alastor’s reputation preceded him. It was impossible to forget the broadcast of screams that had once filled the airwaves with terror. “Unleashing them with no guidance would just be another slaughter like the Exterminations, but worse. Even if certain heads down here might have floated the idea in the past, it was never an actual threat. And that’s what’s so fucking stupid about the entire thing.”

Pushing the refrigerator door shut a little harder than he wanted to, he snapped and sent the ingredients to the counter. “Either way we turn, we’re destined to see sinners die because Heaven has deemed it to be necessity.”

“Isn’t that unfair.”

Not even trying to guess what was buried in Alastor’s tone, Lucifer looked over at him with slightly narrowed eyes. “Yes…? Kind of a sticking point for me for so long, but I couldn’t do shit about it.”

“So the Devil is trapped in a vicious cycle just like us smaller fry.” The demon’s smile twisted, sharpening further at the edges and stretching up even higher on his face - painfully, like his skin was being pulled taut across his skull to the point of tearing.

It was uncanny to look at, even for someone who had been living in Hell for literal thousands of years. “Uh, Bellhop, are you about to-“

“…” Blinking away radio dials from his vision, Alastor seemed to shrink back from the snapping point he’d been approaching. “Oh, that was nothing sire, just a little theatricality! A showman like you should understand such things.”

“Sure, I get it.” Not sure that he did or what could have been behind that slip-up, Lucifer cleared his throat and crossed to the counter. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder, and he didn’t even know why… “Were you, uh…trying to kill time down here? It’s late, I’d expect someone with a schedule like yours would turn in early.”

“As I said when I arrived, I was merely making sure we didn’t have an unwanted intruder in our midst! But then I learned it was our elusive ruler, so of course I took opportunity to speak to you.”

…That felt off, but Lucifer didn’t speak it out loud. “Alright. Well, as you can see, all I’m doing is making a little snack-“

“With entirely unwholesome food for this hour.”

“Pancakes are an all day food!”

“You have the taste palate of a child, which goes along with your tacky decor aesthetic and your garish fashion choices that make you look like a circus ringleader as a clown.”

Tail whipping behind him as it manifested, Lucifer snarled and whirled on the demon. “I didn’t ask to be judged by an Elizabeth Bathory cosplayer! Or is it Bloody Mary you’re trying to channel here? Will you jump out and strangle me if I chant your name into my bathroom mirror three times?”

“I just might do that now if you don’t SHUT YOUR CEASELESS YAPPING.”

Alastor’s stature was growing and shifting again - both of them on a hair trigger temper and showing it through physical traits. Glowing green eyes had been thrown in this time, along with rapidly-branching antlers that were a fair sight bigger than the usual spork-looking fixtures that rested on top of the demon’s head.

Lucifer tried not to laugh. He really did. But the hysterical sound tumbled out of him, chest heaving with the attempt to stifle the giggles that followed - this was…dumb as shit!

Here he was, trying to have a stack of pancakes to settle his nerves after a well-spent ordeal rebuilding this place, and now the Radio Demon was looming over him like some demonic Cernunnos wannabe with eerie symbols floating around him in a green haze; like he’d been hit by the green fairy and was now caught in her hallucinogenic spell.

He didn’t even try to stop laughing when Alastor got even taller, body twisting and cracking in grotesque ways until his head was close to the ceiling - too close, far too close to the drywall, which creaked and groaned and then- splintered under the weight of heavy antlers piercing through the surface.

But he did manage to stop the fit of giggles long enough to gasp out a futile protest of, “We just fixed that!”

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

As it turned out, causing a ruckus in the kitchen of the hotel in the middle of the night tended to draw attention. It didn’t take long after the ceiling cracked and rained drywall down onto the floor for Charlie, sleep-ruffled and dark-eyed to appear.

Her girlfriend, of course, was in tow and didn’t look any more amused by the scene the two of them came upon.

Picking pieces of the ceiling out of his now-mussed hair, Lucifer was pointedly avoiding looking anywhere in the direction of Alastor.

The demon had shrunk back down to his regular size again, and had dusted off most of the debris from his clothes. His appearance wasn’t immaculate, but he looked a fair bit more put together than the King of Hell for the moment.

Unfortunately, the presence of onlookers meant they had to explain what had happened and why the newly rebuilt kitchen was an unholy mess again.

“So, let me get this straight…” Charlie pressed one hand to her temple, eyelashes twitching as she tried to hide the way her eyes rolled - a trick she’d used as a teenager in her emo phase. “You two were talking-“

“Sounded like an argument to me,” Vaggie muttered darkly, her gaze pinned on Alastor.

“Talking. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt like anyone else. But then…” Charlie looked between the two of them, forehead pinched where she was trying to knit her eyebrows together in a frown. “How did that lead to the ceiling getting cracked like that? Dad?”

Wincing at being singled out, Lucifer puffed out a quick breath of air. “I might have- called…some stupid names, without thinking.”

Had the comparisons been uncalled for? Probably, considering Charlie’s program of acceptance and betterment. Had they been hilarious? Yes, and worth it, even if he wanted to squirm under his daughter’s disappointed gaze.

That was the only bad part of landing in a situation like this, after so much effort had gone into the rebuild. He didn’t often feel small like this anymore, removed from people who usually made him feel this way, but in the face of his daughter’s disappointment it was inevitable.

“And you, Alastor?”

Leaning on his cane again, the very appearance of unruffled again after his eldritch outburst earlier, Alastor lightly waved his claws in an ‘oh, well’ gesture. “I merely overreacted to his commentary. It was a misstep that won’t happen again, princess.”

“Good, because I’m expecting staff to be an example to the rest of the guests, Al. You already know that.” Charlie gave him a side glance that Lucifer swore made the demon flinch briefly.

And then it was turned on him and he definitely flinched.

“And you, dad…listen, you know I’m glad you’re here and that you’ll be spending more time around here keeping an eye on things, but I can’t have problems like this happening when we’ve just gotten everything back into order! We need this place in top shape to start welcoming more guests in, and I need to know I can count on you… I’m not expecting you to drop everything and help every time, but this-“ she motioned to the ceiling. “Didn’t have to happen. In the middle of the night when people should be resting.”

“…I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.” Lucifer tried to smile, even if it came across a little watery.

Charlie sighed, some of the annoyance fading from her expression, even though it left her looking even more tired. “Okay, well, with that settled, me and Vaggie have something else to talk to you guys about while you’re both here.”

Smelling the potential danger on the air, Lucifer tensed. His eyes darted across to Alastor, noting that the demon looked wary.

“With dad spending more time around here, while we’re not expecting him to become part of the staff for obvious reasons and he has offered to help out, I…we think it would be a good idea to-“

“Charlie is trying to say she wants you two to find ways to get along better,” Vaggie interrupted, clearly done with this whole charade. “Sorry babe, it’s fucking late and I need these two to get a point so we can go back to sleep.”

“It’s fine,” Charlie waved a hand, reaching back behind her to pat Vaggie’s side. “No, we really are tired, but bonding exercises are-“

“Charlie!” Lucifer and Alastor both protested at the same time, the joint reaction making them glare at each other again.

“No, I’m not budging. If dad’s going to be here more, I need you two able to occupy the same space without getting into spats or fights, and definitely not causing more property damage. It’s bad for morale and it would set a bad example for the guests when we need them focused on doing better for themselves.”

“So you think it’s a good idea for him and me to…what, pantomime the trust falls? Play-act those scripts you’ve been working on for self-improvement?” Alastor was sneering, but under the circumstances, it was to be expected.

Lucifer didn’t have the same visceral kind of reaction, but his gut did twist uncomfortably at the thought. Trying to get along with someone that had had it out for him since they first met…did not sound like the devil’s idea of a fun time. Especially now, in the aftermath of whatever had caused that weird conversation to go down between them.

But, what choice did he have? He was still half terrified that Charlie would ask him to leave at any moment, even more now that they had caused a ruckus in the middle of the night. If this happened much more between them… his standing really was fucked.

“It doesn’t have to be trust falls or any of the other exercises we already used,” Charlie said patiently. “Just…find ways to get to know one another in a controlled setting. I know you said you were already talking tonight, which is a start! We just…need it to come down a few notches, okay? I’m not asking you guys to be friends overnight-“

“Hah! Never going to happen!”

“…Yeah, not likely, but…” Lucifer sighed heavily. “I’ll try if he will give it a proper, honest shot too.”

Putting the onus on Alastor like that had been deliberate. Lucifer didn’t have any illusions about how this might go down, but he didn’t want to be the one to disappoint his daughter again.

And he saw the undertones of whatever connection was going on between them, so he was not above pulling on that to get his way here. All was fair, especially after the radio demon had thrown it in his face that he had such a good, fatherly connection to Charlie now.

Judging by the dark look shot his way, Alastor knew exactly what he was doing here, but couldn’t say anything about it in front of Charlie. “Of course I will make an attempt! What do you take me for? Why, I want to see dear Charlie’s dreams succeed more than anyone-”

“Pushing your luck again, Bambi-“

“DAD!”

“…Sorry, Charlie…but he started it when he interrupted my attempt to make pancakes, I’m hangry.”

Rubbing both temples at that point, Charlie exchanged a look with Vaggie, who scoffed.

“Okay, okay, you two figure this out on your own at this point. But we expect it to happen. Even if it means I start setting you two tasks to do together, like working on that garden for the back of the hotel-“

“…I told you I was not going to take part in such an endeavor if flesh-eating pitcher plants aren’t part of the spread, Vagatha.”

“That’s not my name, pendejo!”

“STOP!” Finally fed up, Charlie manifested her horns, glowing red eyes turning on all present in turn. “I am too tired for all of this bickering. That’s enough, our decision is made, and if you aren’t able to come to an agreement on how this arrangement will work, Vaggie and I will step in and decide for you. So, figure it out. Please.”

Taking hold of Vaggie’s hand, Charlie waited to receive an affirmative answer. As soon as she did, she nodded at them, then led her girlfriend out of the kitchen and - presumably - back upstairs.

As soon as the door swung shut again behind them, Lucifer pointedly avoided looking at Alastor, his eyes going to the ceiling above them again. “Well, may as well just…” with a simple poof of magic, the damage was gone.

“Maybe you should have done that before they appeared to dress us both down,” Alastor pointed out darkly. “It might have saved us getting tangled up in this ridiculous agreement!”

“Like it or not, Charlie was going to find a way to force this on us one way or another.” Lucifer looked over from the corner of his eye, mouth twisting in slight distaste. “We just sped it up with that little episode and catching their attention with it.”

“Does she get her stubbornness from you, or is that a trait from her mother?”

“…Both.” Lucifer swallowed hard, trying to work moisture back into his mouth. “Kid never had a shot.”

Alastor made a noncommittal noise. “Unfortunate that I’m sure I’ll learn more facts about you than I ever would have liked to now.”

“Likewise. But that’s a problem for later…” trailing off into a yawn, Lucifer pressed a hand to his mouth to try and stifle it. “I don’t even want to make pancakes anymore, this has worn me out.”

“Little king needs his beauty rest?” Alastor scoffed. “Too much effort for that tiny body of yours for one day.”

“…In the interest of not making Charlie even more mad if you break something again, I’m going to let that go.”

“Probably wise. I will take my leave, then.” Alastor turned towards the door, only to glance back with a pointed gaze. “Do make sure you’re rested tomorrow. We need to figure out this pathetic arrangement and make progress in a timely manner to get your daughter off our backs as soon as possible. I don’t intend to drag this charade out any longer than I have to.”

Opening his mouth to respond, Lucifer didn’t get the chance before the demon melted away into the shadows. Making an annoyed sound into the sudden silence of the kitchen, he snapped his fingers irritably to clear away the ingredients and utensils. Now it was a ‘sit with a bowl of cereal’ kind of night until he fell into exhaustion…fuck.

Hopefully no one had eaten the Fizzy-O’s he’d stashed in the back of the lowest cabinet. Those marshmallow bits sounded really good right now.

Another night of eating his feelings, woohoo. At least it was in new and novel surroundings instead of the same old same old depressing bullshit.

Chapter Text

Drifting off to sleep after eating a whole box of Fizzy-O’s was surprisingly difficult, even when Lucifer went through the trouble of pulling his duck onesie out of the pocket dimension he kept it confined to for immediate need. And it wasn’t like it was the sugar keeping him awake - his diet was a diabetic’s worst nightmare and simultaneous death sentence on bad days.

Maybe it was lingering unease at the new surroundings, being unused to the apple shaped tower that was smaller than his personal room back at the palace. Could have been the distant city lights he could see from the far-reaching surrounding windows on nearly two-thirds of the tower’s vantage point…

Whatever the case, he tossed and turned a fair bit in the unfamiliar bed, eventually curling up into a tight ball to simulate the fetal position he’d never been given before life - the Cosmos had just spat him out into existence on Father’s plan, full fledged and full formed, ready to go to work on Creation as intended.

Pulling the blankets firmly over his head, he huffed out an annoyed sound and pulled Mr. Quackers the duck plushie close to his chest, claws securely gripping the stuffed toy in a simulation of the kind of hugs he didn’t get out of…anyone, really.

Who was touched starved? Not him!

At least the duck eventually worked, soothing frayed nerves that didn’t seem to have a good reason for pulling their bullshit. Finally able to stop tossing like a stir fry in a pan, Lucifer finally settled down and managed to drift off to sleep.

Dreams were a hit or miss affair with the devil. Most of the time he didn’t remember whatever plagued his sleep, since there were quite a lot of bad occurrences throughout time that his subconscious loved to play on loop and force him to relive.

It was also much easier to wake up after a night without dreams, not stuck in a confused haze of ‘was that real or just my brain pulling a dumbass trick again’, because it was always a trick and almost always cruel.

…So when he woke up in a haze this time, with no immediate recollection of the vivid imagery that usually came with these fits, Lucifer fumbled to pull his plush companion closer, eyes tearing up for a reason he couldn’t quite figure out. It hadn’t been the usual misery-inducing terrors, or any of the awkward social interactions that played like a bad collection of funny video worthy compilations…

There was a vague sense of comfort, familiarity and belonging, and it was enough to almost take his breath away. Looking around the room to make sure there were no familiar presences that might bring comfort in that way, he saw nothing - of course. No one was there, and it had been that way for quite a while.

Sniffing loudly in the empty room, he huffed out an annoyed sound and pulled the duck plush closer to cuddle it for a bit longer, then tucked him back under the covers once ready to start the day.

The reality that he had an actual meeting to deal with that morning was more annoying than usual. Events from the night before caught up with his still-tired mind, and he had to hope that the Radio Demon would be in a better mood today. If he had to deal with more of that snarky banter first thing in the…okay, it was not first thing in the morning, but still morning!

Still too early to deal with the very real possibility of more verbal sparring that might lead to more property damage. Ugh, he was going to have to figure out how to play nicely for both of their sakes. Not that he cared if Alastor got in trouble with Charlie - might be nice for a change! But what was the point of going through with this charade if not to actually play along with his daughter’s wishes and be the better person?

He couldn’t afford to be the disappointment again, not with their ongoing relationship mending still such a fragile prospect.

Forgoing the usual shower routine that took far too long, he dried off and dressed with magic, not wasting time with the manual method.

Best to show up on some semblance of time, but they hadn’t even agreed on where to meet… starting in the lobby was the easiest option. If he had to go hunting for this damn deer- heh, that would be funny, but at the same time annoying as fuck.

Appearing downstairs in a swirl of magic, he straightened the lapels of his coat that had gotten ruffled on the way down, then turned on his heel to head for the sitting room. A blur of shapes in his peripheral vision told him that the bar had its usual occupants - the spider and the cat - but there was no time to exchange any pleasantries!

“Hey Short King, Smiles ain’t down here yet.”

…Huh, that was a new one. Stopping in his tracks, Lucifer turned back with a sigh and planted his hands on his hips. “Well that’s rude. I thought I was going to be the late one.”

“Boss is funny like that sometimes,” Husk grumbled, not looking up from the same spot he was cleaning and re-cleaning with a cloth.

“Yeah, actin’ like he’s avoidin’ something?” Angel whispered with a soft snort, earning himself a look from the bartender. “What? Am I lyin’?”

“Not after last night.” Slapping the cloth down, Husk lifted his gaze, motioning for Lucifer to come closer. “He’s in a mood. So, watch out for whatever he comes at you with today. We uh…heard about the situation already, obviously.”

Lucifer shook his head, entirely unsurprised. He knew the residents were close after six months in forced proximity, so of course they already knew about the stand-off from the night before. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Charlie had something to say about it already either!

“No, I didn’t expect any of that to remain a secret. It wasn’t even supposed to be a situation, but I let me mouth run off without thinking.”

“Eh, happens to the best of us.” Angel leaned closer to lightly bump his shoulder with the- lower shoulder. Sinner traits were funny. “Did you really piss him off to the point where he put a hole in the ceiling, though?? How’d that happen?”

“Angel,” Husk said warningly.

“What? Don’t tell me you ain’t curious about it either.”

“…Not worth my soul flaying, thanks.”

Angel huffed, leaning even closer to Lucifer. “Suit yourself, Whiskers. So, you wanna tell me about that later?”

Having someone in such close proximity was usually unnerving, but Lucifer didn’t even flinch. The spider demon was tall, so for them to talk properly some accommodations had to be made.

“Uh, I’ll get back to you after…well, however this goes today. If he’s in a bad mood…”

“Acid rain check?” Angel grinned, straightening up on the barstool again. “I’m patient.”

Leaving them to talk about- whatever it was they talked about when alone, Lucifer went back to his original course of action and moved to the adjacent sitting room. Cozier than the one that guests had been ushered into in the past, and a sight better than the one that sat empty at home gathering dust.

Sitting on the ottoman set to the side and curling his legs under him, he summoned a sketchbook and propped it up on his lap. Might as well do something interesting while waiting, rather than the default of staring off into space and eventually spiraling into thoughts that needed to be left alone.

It was habit by now to start working on new duck designs when bored, but that wasn’t what the graphite of Lucifer’s pencil settled on as he set to work. Sometimes he did portrait studies, having drawn many of the people that came and went in his life over the centuries.

The residents were new faces and body types to study, something to focus on and pull apart in the metaphoric sense - Lucifer’s days of flaying sinners alive were long since passed, thanks! He always enjoyed studying shapes and figures, though, harking back to how interesting all the creatures in the Garden had looked when he was excluded from taking part in their creation-

“My, is it arts and crafts time?” The low whisper in Lucifer’s ear from behind made him yelp and almost toss the sketchbook.

Clutching it to his chest instead, he scowled and looked back, having to twist his neck a bit to look up in the general direction of Alastor’s smug face. “What the fuck-“

“You were so invested in what you were doing. How could I ever find a way to catch your attention without being so uncouth as to yell?”

…That was a fair point. Having Alastor yelling at him unprompted and unnoticed would have gotten a much different and visceral reaction, likely with more fire and brimstone than either of them would like.

“Yeah okay, but next time, maybe just wave a hand in front of my face or something.” Vanishing the sketchbook and pencil back to their storage spaces, Lucifer huffed out a breath. “How long were you even in here before you did that?”

“Merely a moment. Shadow travel is silent, but I hardly saw the point in lurking.” As if to prove his point, Alastor vanished back into shadow again, reforming himself in the armchair closest to the fireplace. “Did our dear princess speak to you this morning?”

“No, I didn’t see her.” Probably for the best, when Lucifer’s pride was still smarting a bit from the events of the night before. Being scolded by his daughter for his actions while under her roof… it was fair, but certainly didn’t do much for his feelings!

“We spoke briefly. Evidently she and her paramour are taking a trip into the city to look into new recruitment efforts for our endeavor here.” Alastor’s mouth twisted a bit. “Something about handing out flyers at some point in the near future.”

Lucifer shivered at the thought. Charlie’s ideas were wonderful, don’t get him wrong, but… well, she didn’t seem to get her artistic flair from him! But it was fine, if it came down to it, he would praise her efforts and help out regardless. He had promised to be there for her no matter what.

“There has to be better methods, though dear Charlie is hopeful after what happened with our winged adversaries.” The sneer in Alastor’s voice on that last part was very loud and clear.

“Appeal to sinners who used to fear the annual event, she might just be able to drum up enough interest for those who want more assurance,” Lucifer mused. Her idea of redemption might be the more difficult selling point, considering how many down here never wanted to give up what they had - no matter how painful or violent the realities of their lives could be.

The appeal of living by even stricter rules and regulations, with less freedom would not catch many flies with the vinegar. Honey worked best, but that was difficult when the two options were extremes of each other and could hardly meet very well in the middle.

“Perhaps.” Alastor hummed, eyes going to the flames in the fireplace briefly. “Though, that’s hardly the point of why the two of us are here. Ideas to save for if she asks opinions of us later, as unlikely as that is.”

Lucifer made a soft amused sound. They could agree on that point. He knew better than most how stubborn and set in her goals his daughter could be. She was a lot like her mother in that regard… “Right, yeah. We need to…uh, Charlie didn’t leave any projects for us to do, did she?”

“Not as of yet.” Alastor’s lip curled at the corner of his mouth. “Though I’m sure there’s ample time for her to think of options!”

Shivering at the thought, Lucifer ducked his head down. “Okay, okay, we need to figure out something good to appease her.” Anything would be better than a Charlie-brand bonding exercise!

“Good is a matter of opinion. I will not take part in any ridiculous touchy-feely exchange of feelings, or heart to heart moments.”

Yeah, that wasn’t a surprise! Biting his lip to keep from barking out a laugh at the Captain Obvious moment, Lucifer leaned forward and folded his arms on his knees. “Not eager to do anything like that with you either. Appeasing Charlie is one thing, that’s a new level of Hell neither of us should have to explore.”

“Although…” Alastor’s eyes were shining a bit too bright when his head tilted to the side, the red contrasting with the green light of flames that had- when had those shifted?? “Perhaps an information exchange would not be amiss. She’s going to start asking us questions as this proceeds.”

“What kind of information exchange…?” Lucifer was almost afraid to find out where this line of thought was going, goosebumps rising along the skin of his arms despite the warmth in the room.

“If we are to pretend that we’re getting closer,” Alastor sneered. “That would be an easier task if we knew more about each other. Why, most of what I know about you is surely false due to your reputation and reality not matching up!”

In any other situation, this would have been the moment to snap back and point out that there was quite a lot that Alastor didn’t know about him- but then, that was the point being made here, wasn’t it? They barely knew each other.

Any interactions between them had been filled with thinly veiled hostility at best, antagonism at worst. That kind of behavior was not conducive to pretending like they were actually playing along with Charlie’s demands, and would get them caught sooner rather than later.

“….I hate that you’re right,” Lucifer muttered, shifting his position to rest his hooves on the carpeted floor. Now was not the time to lounge in the face of the Radio Demon, not with something like this on the line. “So, how are we going to do this?”

“Maybe a deal is in order.”

“HAH!”

“Not for your soul,” Alastor interrupted irritably. “Or mine, or anything in that regard. No, a simple gentleman’s agreement! And perhaps a little binding magic to encourage us to be truthful, otherwise what is the point?”

“What, don’t trust the Father of Lies?” Lucifer retorted.

He was still highly reluctant to agree to this, not wanting to give the demon any kind of power over him, but… the ability to pry information out of the highly reticent bastard might be useful. Novel, even. He could learn things that no one else had a snowball’s chance in Hell of knowing!

“Consider it a peace offering, if you must.” Alastor rose from the armchair, crossing the carpeted floor to stand in front of Lucifer - or perhaps loom was the more appropriate word. “It would behoove both of us to tone down the open hostility for a time, until Charlie gets this ridiculous notion out of her head and leaves us to our own devices again. And until then, we play nicely and give each other information that no one else has open, ready access to. In the matter of fairness, of course.”

….There was the catch. The demon wanted information on him that no one else really had. But really, Lucifer couldn’t be surprised by the attempt. Wasn’t he tempted by the same idea in the end?

“Let’s set some ground rules first,” he said plainly, looking up at the much taller demon with a frown. “I’m not keen to tell you any other weaknesses I might have so you’d have an easier time trying to take me out in the middle of the night.”

“As if I would appreciate giving you the same kind of information,” Alastor snapped. “That’s rule one. Rule two, if a question asked is too difficult to answer for…emotional reasons, or mental well-being, it can be asked to be dropped.”

“Fair enough.” Lucifer wasn’t sure if that was simply a boon for him (unlikely), or the demon being worried that he might poke too hard at sensitive points. Either way…valid. “Rule three, a soft pass option? On something you might be willing to answer, but not at that given time?”

“Then another question will be asked in its place and the issue will be revisited.” Alastor nodded after a beat of silence. “Anything else, sire?”

“Eager to get this going?” Ignoring the look of venom shot his way, Lucifer tapped his chin with one finger.

He wasn’t in the active business of making deals, not with the reality of how binding they could be due to his power levels and position in Hell relative to most everyone else, but a simple issue such as this wouldn’t be a huge issue compared to soul bargains or other high importance arrangements.

There were no open loopholes he could see, with the option to completely drop a subject if it was too bothersome, and the ability to revisit at a more convenient time. And none of the information could include weaknesses to be exploited for the use of the other.

“This is a really weird way to become friends,” he commented with a laugh, standing up from the ottoman as a blast of angry radio feedback shot through the air around them. “Oh come on, bellhop, I’m kidding. One question a day? So we don’t get too hung up on that being all we talk about in our…activities?”

“Fine. With all the rules we’ve set, I believe this is more than a fair arrangement?” The demon held out his large hand.

“…Deal,” Lucifer said reluctantly, reaching out to take hold of Alastor’s hand.

As their palms touched and fingers closed around each other in a handshake grip, bursts of red and green magic rose from their hands. The eerie green symbols of Alastor’s magic darted around bursts of red swirling glitter and eye symbols that- Lucifer didn’t want to think too hard about those appearing.

He’d felt a strange jolt, tasted the acrid tang of angelic influence on the air that didn’t belong to him, and his immediate thought was that it had to involve the other demon. But…what was that about?

Jerked out of that thought before it could go down rabbit holes of doom, Lucifer shook himself when the deal binding faded out, alongside the displays of their magic. The fireplace flames whooshed briefly, then returned to their former hues of red and orange instead of virulent green.

Pulling his hand back when Alastor let go and - ugh, the ass - wiped his hand on his coat, he decided not to comment on it in interest of…well, they had to find a way to get along, and had just made a deal towards that end. “So, we going to use our time today before Charlie gets back to have our first round of questions?”

“Now that we are tied to the notion of one question a day, yes,” Alastor sniffed and straightened his coat, shadow traveling back over to the armchair he’d been sitting in before. “We will not do an activity together every day, I’m far too busy for that. Some days I will make time, others we can simply meet and get the inevitable over with.”

That might have been a funny way to phrase the issue, but Lucifer decided to be nice and not laugh in Alastor’s face about it. “No, Charlie can’t expect us to put aside time every single day, we both have other things to concern ourselves with.”

Luckily, his niceness seemed to have transferred to the demon for now, who didn’t call him out on that blatant lie on his part. Most of the hotel had seen him lurking around here lately with little to occupy his time that was productive.

The next issue was…how were they going to handle these questions. “Did you have a system in mind for this? Besides just blindly picking out subjects to ask about like a roulette wheel.”

“It didn’t feel as important to negotiate as the actual ground rules,” Alastor waved a hand in a noncommittal kind of gesture. “The end result is the point, not how we get there in the end.”

Almost making a quip about that making him sound like some kind of philosopher, Lucifer decided not to feed into his ego that way. “Okay, well…wait.” A thought crossed his mind, and he snapped his fingers to summon a deck box.

Said deck was half the size of his lap, but that was due to the source of the cards. This particular tarot deck had been a gift from Belphegor a few centuries back, a throwback to the fortune telling she’d taken part in as part of the original Seven Sins Circus. Her style of fortune telling had been…eccentric, more or less just her picking cards out at random instead of letting the requester do so.

That would be an interesting way to lead them to questions, asking things based on the meaning of particular Major Arcana for example.

“Is that for tarot?” Alastor sounded interested - likely more than he intended to reveal at this point. “I’ve never seen a deck that size down here, surprisingly. I’m assuming that is a custom deck.”

“Sort of.” Opening the top of the box, Lucifer reached in to lift up the top card of the deck - flipping it over to reveal the Major Arcana card ‘The World’. “It was a gift, my sis- Belphegor wanted to remind me of our circus days. I’ve kept it to play party tricks with a few times, reading fortunes at old fêtes where some of the guests would get bored with other activities.”

Dancing and drinking only entertained for so long, even among Hell’s upper classes. All the gossip and schmoozing could wear thin, so the games had been a fun diversion that didn’t lead to fielding requests for foolish shows of magic that should have grown old a long time ago.

“And how do you suggest we go about this? Choose cards for ourself, or each other?”

With the idea of letting chance decide, it seemed only fair to continue that trend. “Whoever wins a coin toss, chooses for the day. Then we pick cards and base our questions on what themes of life a given Arcana represents. Start with dividing up the 22 cards and taking out questions we’ve both answered. If we still need more information after we’ve reached the end of those 22, we can give the cards we’ve already eliminated for ourselves to each other.”

Alastor nodded his agreement after a moment. “Well then. You should answer first, sire, since you were the one to get us into this situation.”

Recognizing bait when he saw it, Lucifer scowled a bit. Shuffling the cards with a quick show of magic, he snapped to pull all the minor arcana out afterwards - easier to fan out 22 cards of this size instead of 78. That task done, he held out the remaining cards to be picked from.

Reaching out, Alastor took hold of the edge of one card and glanced down at it. As the card was turned towards him, Lucifer swallowed when he saw a familiar outlined figure. His marriage had still been intact when this deck had been made, so staring at Lilith’s silhouette now as she’d looked in Eden was…jarring.

“The Star in reverse. Let’s start with a good one! What has turned you into such a pessimist and made you lose motivation in regards to fixing your sad life?”

Leave it to the Radio Demon to immediately go for the jugular in all but a literal sense. “…Centuries of recurrent depression,” Lucifer admitted grudgingly, getting the rightful impression that that wouldn’t be nearly enough information for the nosy demon. “It just became easier to hide away from my problems and not face any of the struggles when I’m already up and down like I’m on a permanent roller coaster.”

“Oh, how predictable.” Alastor’s smile widened in an unkind way. “I didn’t expect to learn that cowardice was one of the devil’s vices.”

“Do you get something out of kicking people when they’re down?” Lucifer growled. “Because if that’s really all you’re after out of this arrangement-“

“Hardly!” Flipping the card between his fingers, Alastor passed it back over to be put away. “Merely curious as to what I’m dealing with in being forced to get along with you. Your mysterious reputation certainly never gave me any answers before now.”

Had…the Radio Demon tried to find out more about him? Deciding that that was a crisis he didn’t want to be dealing with now (and probably not ever, but especially not now!), Lucifer cleared his throat as he took the card back and vanished it to a pocket space. “Okay, well, your turn to select a card.”

Taking the cards and shuffling them with deft fingers, Alastor held out the fanned deck to be picked from.

Pulling one of the cards, Lucifer glanced over the face of the card - Lu Lu World’s infamous ferris wheel stared back at him. “Wheel of Fortune upright. So…how did you twist fate and reach the position you’re in now as an Overlord?”

That was one question he’d never been able to ask any of the current crop of Overlords, merely being aware of their rises in the hierarchy from whispers in Pride. Even Zestial in their dealings had been quite reticent about where he’d come from and how he managed to rise and terrorize the denizens of Doomsday.

“One learns quickly upon arrival that the rule of terror is the law on the streets.” Setting the cards in his hand down, Alastor examined his claws, almost as if what he was about to say was a simple commentary on the chance of acid rain later. “It was either eat or be eaten, and as I had developed a taste for the flesh of vile sinners and abusers top-side, it was only natural that I thought I could EAT MY WAY TO THE TOP.”

A thought about the cruel irony of manifesting in this plane with traits of a prey animal crossed Lucifer’s mind, but he didn’t put it into words. Surely, that would turn around that double-toned voice on him, and while he wasn’t afraid of the demon across from him, more property damage would just get them in more trouble. They were trying to avoid that!

“So you…actually broadcasted screams of those you were torturing.” More questions were begged from this, but their deal only spoke to one being necessary - and if he asked know, Lucifer was certain that Alastor would simply spin some terror angle and feed him some fresh bullshit.

“It’s a wonderful diversion tactic. The more fear I instilled, the more likely they all were to start slipping up and make foolish mistakes.”

…His expression looked sincere, with the way his eyes shone with too much amusement. Deciding he’d pushed his luck enough for the day, Lucifer pushed himself up out of his seat. “Alright. That’s enough for now. Shall we figure out when to meet again tomorrow?”

“Before that daughter of yours decides to set us on a task,” Alastor scoffed softly. “Tea time. I’m sure a formerly cultured sovereign such as yourself must have taken to the custom in the past. I shall bring my own refreshments and spare your delicate sensibilities, sire.”

Wondering what kind of bloody display would end up on his fine china, Lucifer tried his best not to let disgust show on his face. “Fine. Until tomorrow.”

Not waiting for a response, he summoned glittering magic to return him to his room. After…that, he really just needed to sit down with some art and get lost in the lines on the page. This was going to be a long endeavor…

Chapter Text

Waking up late after a long night of frenzied sketching, Lucifer glared at the large beam of daylight coming through the edge of his curtains - not that it did anything to stop the brightness, but it made him feel better briefly. Kicking at the covers he was tangled up in, he dragged himself out of bed with quiet cursing.

It was surely going to be late enough to avoid company in the kitchen, since that was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

Events of the day before were still stuck in his mind - namely the complexity of the situation he found himself facing down. As if the arrangement hadn’t been bad enough…now there was deal magic involved. Even without the addition of souls into the bargain, such magic was old and complicated.

And easy to get helplessly tangled up in if one was not careful. Not that Lucifer had any experiences in that, but he’d heard horror stories throughout the centuries. With him involved, the deal was even more complex. What had he been thinking…oh, right.

Playing along with Charlie’s demands. If she heard about this, neither of them would ever hear the end of it. Never mind that it was sound logic to follow, but surely she would think it was a bad decision.

Certainly a good reason for Charlie to not find out anything about any of it!

Pushing open the door to the kitchen cautiously, Lucifer looked around the doorjamb to be sure there were no immediate signs of anyone else’s presence.

The space was clean, other than remnant dishes - an always kind of thing in this communal space. No faces, familiar or otherwise, so the coast was clear.

“Hey dad!”

…Until it wasn’t. Turning away from the coffee pot as it steadily dripped fresh brew, Lucifer quickly forced a smile onto his face. “Hey, Char-char. You uh, getting a late start, or just eating late?”

“No, I was looking for you actually!” Charlie tilted her head, taking in how her father was still dressed in his pajamas. “Bad night…?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that!” Lucifer waved a hand quickly, not wanting her to go down that train of thought. There were crashes and pitfalls all along that way and that needed to be avoided at all costs! “Just, slept a bit later than I meant to, stayed up a little later than intended too so no big deal!”

Charlie looked a bit…unimpressed. “Are you sure that’s all it is? I know after what happened with Alastor-“

“We’re not fighting again if that’s what you’re asking!” Maybe he…blurted that out a bit too quick, but it was a panic reaction.

“…I wasn’t asking about that until you said it like that.” Charlie sighed. “Dad. I know you have had issues with him for whatever reasons since you met him, but he’s important to the hotel, and me as a supporter. I don’t want to see you at his throat, or vice versa, because it’s not fair to what I’m trying to do here.”

“I know, Charlie.” Wilting on the spot, Lucifer crossed his arms across his chest defensively and leaned back against the counter behind him, ignoring the pang of discomfort as one of the drawer handles dug into the space between his shoulderblades. Stupid designs for tall demons. “We came to an…agreement. We’re trying to make this work out so we aren’t at each other’s throats and keeping you in the middle of that anymore.”

“That’s all I wanted, dad, and it’s why I wanted to talk to you without him around.” Reaching out, Charlie laid a hand on his shoulder. “You know I still want you here, right?”

“I hoped you did,” Lucifer murmured, wincing at how his tone sounded. Was he still that concerned about being kicked out so soon…? Apparently so.

“I do. It’s…well, I can’t say it’s been nice with the constant threat of bickering and property damage, but I am glad to have you here.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Managing a more genuine smile, Lucifer uncrossed his arms from their defensive stance and took hold of her hand briefly. “I’m sorry your old man is such a hot mess.”

“Did you pick that phrasing up from Angel?” Charlie giggled, the sound almost as if she was a young girl again.

“His way of talking is contagious!” Lucifer protested, as if he was offended by the suggestion - but his goal was to try and get more sounds of amusement out of his daughter.

It had been a long time since he’d seen her behave like this, and after the past couple of weeks, it was nice to imagine she could let loose and not have to be serious and focused so much all the time.

“Just, please don’t pick up all of his slang.” Charlie huffed, stifling the giggling back down. “I don’t think I could handle hearing you saying some of the stuff he does.”

“Oh, no. I’m not going to do that. He’s quite…expressive in a way I don’t want to be.”

“Good,” Charlie sighed in relief. “Anyway, I’ll…let you get back to your late breakfast?” Her eyes went to the coffee pot. “I hope you’re in here for more than just coffee.”

“Who’s the parent here?” Lucifer snorted softly. “I’ll eat something just for you, Char-char.”

It would have to be light, but he didn’t want to say that out loud. Then she’d ask, and with the way his brain to mouth filter worked, he’d blurt out about the ‘tea party’ and…well, he didn’t want to picture Charlie’s face if she imagined a meet up like that!

It clashed too hard with the ones they’d had when she was younger, and there were so few nice times they had together before everything went downhill that he didn’t want to taint old memories…

“I know, dad, but I worry about you.”

…Lucifer definitely had to sniff again, reaching out to pull Charlie into a hug over that one.

At least she didn’t call him out on it, which suggested it was something she had needed as well.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Without a standard agreed-on meeting place again, Lucifer was unsure of what to do with himself while waiting for the set time. Surely, it just meant that the Radio Demon had a better plan in mind and would reach out - hopefully in not the same breath-stealing manner as the day before. That still chilled his blood to think about!

Most demons actually had some kind of presence to alert him to where they were, especially when they got close enough. One of many anomalies to add to the ever-growing list. As if he needed any other kind of big project like this to take away from actually important issues…

Settling on a bit of scenery change, Lucifer retreated to the space that had become a game room slash common area - luckily it was empty at this time of the day, since most of the residents either spent their time elsewhere, or got out during the days for work or other responsibilities and activities beyond the hotel.

If it hadn’t been for waiting around on Alastor’s apparent whims, Lucifer might have put the radio in the room to good use. But turning on such a device, even if it didn’t look like the old-timey demon’s aesthetic, just seemed to be asking for another kind of jumpscare. Definitely not the kind he’d want to test his luck or sense of hearing with.

Listening to music was out of the question, but humming alone to any tune that crossed his mind didn’t come with radio interference.

Outside of art, music and duck-making, he didn’t have many set hobbies or interests that could hold his interest for long as a general rule. Working on puzzles was an underrated use of a mind that liked to wander far too easily, since the task of separating out pieces by likelihood of placement in a given section of the puzzle required focus.

Lucifer’s focus wasn’t the best even on good days, though it didn’t stop him from getting into a bout of tunnel vision that saw a good portion of the puzzle completed before movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Instead of a familiar fuck-ass bob, he looked up to see…a shadow version of the same. Alastor’s shadow was watching him, green eyes a bit narrowed as if in focus.

“…Hello,” he greeted, feeling a bit dumb.

Reacting to the shift in Lucifer’s attention onto it, the shadow’s demeanor seemed to brighten in an instant. It perked up, spectral ears standing at attention, and gave a quick little wave.

“Are you here to keep me company, or…?” Not sure why the spectral creature was there, or what it could want beyond its masters whims, Lucifer was still curious despite himself. Manifestations of sinners’ powers were as varied and diverse as the forms their bodies took on after death, though manifestations of power like this were rare.

Shaking its head a bit, the shadow bobbed closer, looking down at the puzzle spread out on the mat. Studying the scenery portrait that looked like something straight out of Charlie’s imagination (the rainbow kaleidescope patterns were complicated and reminiscent of stained glass), the creature looked back up and tilted its head.

“Oh, that’s…I was keeping myself busy. Waiting for this afternoon’s meet-up.”

The shadow nodded in answer, then mimed as if it wanted to help out with the puzzle.

“…Can you touch the pieces?” It felt…rude, somehow to be asking that even of a shadow creature.

The shadow flew upwards, hovering as its silhouette grew larger - and it might have been menacing if not for the immediate interruption that followed.

“He’s asking a fair question,” Alastor’s voice snapped, echoing through the room as the demon himself stepped out from deeper shadow at the back of the room. “Stop trying to intimidate someone on whom that act won’t work.”

Shrinking back down, the shadow wilted, green eyes set in what Lucifer would swear was a kicked puppy kind of expression as it looked at him.

Whatever that had been about, he didn’t dare call Alastor on…disciplining…a willful manifestation of his own power. Even if the thing looked cute now and he had a desire to reach out and pet it. That compulsion definitely needed to stay stifled.

“Someone’s been busy.” The comment was neutral, which…was a step from Alastor.

“We didn’t arrange a meet-up point, so I had to find something to do.”

The two stared at each other - Lucifer half-waiting for some snide commentary on how there were more important things for him to be doing, but it never came. Instead, Alastor exhaled slowly.

“It’s not as if this hotel has an appropriate space, so I had to make one ready.” The unspoken jab was there because, hello, yeah he’d been the one responsible for the rebuild.

“If we spark up a tea-time revolution among these sinners, I’m going to be almost impressed,” Lucifer snorted softly at the thought. Though, they would have to find a different set to use than fine china! Something more…sturdy to handle outbursts and potential fights.

“Oh, I doubt that will happen, most of them are too uncivilized and uncultured for that kind of thing,” Alastor scoffed. “Are you ready now, sire?” He turned his head, giving a look to his shadow that Lucifer couldn’t see but could imagine quite easily to be very put out.

“Sure. Let’s get this tea party going!”

Rewarded with the sounds of radio feedback that screeched quite loudly, Lucifer still decided it was worth it even when he had to rub at one of his ears in discomfort as he followed the taller demon.

The myriad of empty spaces they passed by was still high, though if they kept up little meetings like this, maybe there would be more dedicated spaces for others’ use. More places for Charlie’s exercises…more busy work for Niffty as she darted from place to place with her duster and needle and mad cackling laughter.

Towards the back, close to the doors that led out to the backside of the property, Lucifer half expected to be led outside. But Alastor stopped by the doorway of what had started as storage space, motioning inside with an unreadable expression. “Here we are.”

Half expecting to find some slapped together arrangement of furniture cobbled from elsewhere, Lucifer had to catch his breath instead as he stepped into an…actually nice arrangement.

The tea table was tall, with equally tall chairs - to equalize their heights, most likely - and made of highly polished wood that matched well with other furnishings in the building. Free-standing cabinets with glass doors for seeing what was inside framed one wall, with a scenery portrait of non-Hellish origin set between as if in a point of pride. Matching the other furniture was a large tea cart, big enough to hold serving arrangements for several people - and pushed to the back were a few extra chairs to match the table.

Moving across the room to get a better look at the portrait study, Lucifer held his breath as it seemed to be…a familiar landscape, somehow. But he couldn’t figure out why that was. Assuming that the scenic view of trees and grass and flowers had to be from Earth (not like he was allowed top-side to know!), he turned his back on the painting. “This is…surprisingly nice. How long did it take you to set up in here?”

“No more than an hour,” Alastor waved a hand, as if dismissing it as a trivial thing. “Of course I had to prepare a suitable space for royalty.”

Even if it was a backhanded kind of compliment, Lucifer was going to take it. “Well, good job. I appreciate the effort and look forward to our chat here.” Crossing the floor to reach the table, he swallowed down what was probably meant to be an indignity to climb up on the footrails of one chair and pulled himself up into the tall seat.

Yes, definitely a better view here! It brought him closer to the hanging chandelier-type arrangement that was not standard in most rooms. And the table fitting, which seemed to be a hand-made doily.

“…Do you crochet??” The hysterical thought crossed his mind before he could filter himself, but rather than the radio feedback, he heard a bark of laughter answering him instead.

“Oh, I could do quite delicate things with these claws if the mood struck me, but no, that is not one of my talents. It was made by a dear friend.”

“Right.” Admiring the minute and complicated details a moment longer, Lucifer pulled his gaze away as Alastor sat down across from him. “Shall we take tea before we draw the cards again, or after?”

“Before. Dinner will likely be late this evening with everyone busy, and I could use the refreshment.”

Nodding, Lucifer summoned his main tea set from the palace - it didn’t belong here at the hotel due to the very real risk of it getting broken, but one afternoon of use surely wouldn’t backfire that badly.

With the table set, tea didn’t take long to brew with a little magic. His amount of sugar and cream didn’t get a comment this time, so he returned the favor by not commenting on the liquor that Alastor poured into his.

At least the accompaniments that the other demon had brought didn’t seem to have any blood or viscera (or appendages like fingers) sticking out of them. Not visibly, there was a distinct crunch that spoke of some kind of bone but…when dining with a cannibal, that was to be expected.

Halfway through his third finger(not literal) sandwich, Lucifer realized he’d been zoning out and missed the shadow suddenly looming close to his face. Blinking froggishly, he looked at it, then back up. “Were you trying to…”

“Yes, I was trying to get your attention,” Alastor smiled stiffly. “Good to know you pay attention to that one.”

Reacting to the jab, the shadow stuck its tongue out before vanishing back into the floor.

“Are you ready for the deck?” When he got a nod in response, Lucifer popped the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and chewed while snapping to summon the cards. Using magic to shuffle the cards, he held out a game token from Lu Lu World - from the first day the park had been opened. “It’s not a traditional coin, but we can still flip it.”

“I suppose.” Catching the token on his palm, Alastor took a moment to study it. The corner of his mouth twitched, though he kept any other reaction under wraps. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails.” Watching the coin land on tails - the design featuring a view of the big top at the park, surrounded by the attractions closest to it - Lucifer exhaled slowly. “Alright. We should pick cards for ourselves, so…”

The card he ended up pulling for himself was Judgment, reversed. The reality of what could be asked from that meaning hit him (as well as the unspoken threat of Heaven one day unleashing the apocalypse and swallowing the world and all its inhabitants), and he swallowed hard as he looked back up at Alastor.

Not missing a beat, Alastor eyed the card, the quirk of his smile twisting slightly. “Hmm, your cards don’t seem to like you much, sire. So, what do you think is holding you back the most from learning lessons and moving forward with your life?”

Leave it to the Radio Demon to once again go for the jugular. “Wallowing,” he said sullenly, after a long pause. “I get…stuck in the same mindset and thought cycles that cause me to not move forward. It’s…easier to stay there and not have to challenge my mind, let alone those thought processes.”

“Very perceptive of you.” It was hard to tell whether or not Alastor was being sarcastic or genuine. “Dear Charlotte would be proud! This feels like a moment worthy of one of her trust exercises or impromptu therapy sessions.”

The same ones they both avoided like the plague, citing other tasks or responsibilities that needed to be done and couldn’t be missed.

“Don’t be getting any ideas about suggesting to her that I start doing that…I’ll drag you down with me.”

“I’d never dream of it! I did say that I refused to have those silly heart to hearts and I meant it.”

If only it was more worth the threat of potential property damage to point out that, what they were technically doing, was just that kind of thing. But Lucifer held his tongue and reached for the tarot to hold them out.

Alastor chose The Chariot, reversed. It took restraint to not laugh at the look that crossed his face once they were both staring at the charioteer - of course it was an angel, but Lucifer couldn’t remember which one this card was supposed to represent. Belphegor had left him to guess with most of these depictions, outside the more obvious ones.

This question was probably going to end badly, but there was nothing to do but make attempts to find answers… “How do you handle not being in full control of situations you find yourself in?”

“Like in the kitchen the other night?” Alastor’s tone turned menacing briefly - but it hadn’t been the exact outburst expected of him. “Why, then it’s time to reconsider my approach! Especially if I’m dealing with powerful beings rather than the small fry. I didn’t come down here to Hell to simply repeat the struggles I faced in life, and I don’t abide by standing back and letting circumstances around me shape my present or future. Taking charge by any means necessary is the only proper way forward.”

That was certainly a fitting answer for the demon, just based on what Lucifer had learned of him so far. Deal magic wouldn’t have even been necessary to get an answer like that out of him, most likely.

It could even be construed as advice for his own situation, not that Lucifer would ever admit to something like that and feed into the man’s ego. He didn’t need any extra help inflating his sense of self-importance.

“Then I guess that’s it for today.” Lifting his teacup to drain what was left of his now-lukewarm tea, Lucifer kept his gaze pinned to the rim of his cup. Lowering it back to the table, he took a steadying breath. “…Thank you for your efforts in arranging this space. I’m sure Charlie will appreciate it when she realizes she can do fun exercises with the residents in here.”

“Anything to give dear Charlotte an extra helping hand in her rehabilitation efforts.” Standing from the table, Alastor studied Lucifer’s face briefly. “Perhaps it’s your turn to choose our next meeting location.”

Caught on the spot, Lucifer blinked. Huh, yeah he…guessed that was fair. “The billiards room. Earlier in the day to avoid the usual suspects that hang out there?” Not that he had seen anything untoward happening, but he’d come across Angel and Husk spending time together there several times since moving in.

“I suppose I can spare some time after breakfast.” Giving Lucifer another look, Alastor then smiled thinly. “Do be sure you aren’t too late waking up tomorrow.”

Before he could offer a retort, Alastor had vanished into shadows. Bastard had to get the last word, of course.

Chapter Text

Morning weren’t exactly getting easier, but waking up with actual goals for the day had done something to Lucifer’s brain. Not that he wanted to dare to admit that that had anything to do with Alastor, even though it was the truth. If the demon himself heard it, no doubt it would stroke his ego and that was something that no one needed.

No, it was just easier to go with it being because of Charlie’s trust in him making a change for the better. A step in the right direction after so many years of making mistake after mistake, failure after…well, so on and so forth.

He was, actually, almost on time for breakfast. The usual gang was not wholly there - mainly because Husk rarely appeared in the kitchen unless dragged in for ‘group time’, and Niffty…well, he wasn’t quite sure what she got up to, though the image of a predator dragging away its prey to eat in some darkened den somewhere crossed Lucifer’s mind and made him shiver.

Best not to dwell on that or think too hard about whether it could be accurate, even if her treatment of bugs she wanted to murder lent to the idea!

Vaggie (whose name he finally remembered, her having to correct him on it more than once) nodded at him in greeting, on her way out as seemed usual. Leaving…Angel Dust and Charlie, both talking quietly over their plates.

Trying to stay quiet to avoid interrupting whatever it was they were talking about, Lucifer summoned his usual coffee cup - or tried to. What landed in his hand was a different cup entirely than the one he was thinking about. Huh. He could do without the duck for a day, but wanted to find out why it wasn’t coming directly to his summons when that was hardly ever a problem otherwise…

“Everything okay, Short King?”

Jumping a bit, Lucifer looked towards the table with a smile that was half grimace. “Yeah, it’s fine. Just…magic issues a bit. Maybe I’m still tired.”

“That an issue you actually got?” Angel raised an eyebrow. “You seem awful powerful for that kind of thing.”

“He’s probably distracted,” Charlie commented in a stage whisper, and Lucifer decided to pretend like he hadn’t heard her. “Something you need help with, dad?”

“Yes, sometimes it happens,” he told Angel with a wry smile, thinking it best not to get into the metaphysical link between him and his grasp on his magic in this assumed body. That was far too complicated talk for over breakfast, especially before coffee. “And no, I’m good Charlie, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay…” Pushing herself up out of her seat, Charlie took her now-empty plate over to the sink. “Don’t forget about the trust exercises today, Angel.”

“We were literally just talkin’ about ‘em, toots,” Angel rolled his eyes, though his expression seemed fond rather than put out. “My brain’s not goldfish sized. I’ll be there like I said I would.”

“Good,” Charlie smiled brightly, then turned her gaze on her father. “Dad, did you ever think about joining us in exercises after the last time we talked about it?”

“…Maybe soon, Char-char,” Lucifer had to fight his own expression to keep it from turning into a grimace. The literal DEVIL in a group setting for trust exercises seemed like a horrible idea, and the glimpse of a grimace on Angel’s face also seemed to reinforce that. It was hard not to laugh.

“That’s fine, just…think about it, please? I’d like for staff to set a good example, and I know you’re not officially one of us, but it would mean a lot at least once.”

“We’ll arrange something,” Lucifer let out a breath, holding a hand out to take Charlie’s hand briefly to squeeze it. If showing up like that was what his daughter wanted out of him, well, he could very well suck it up.

“Thanks, dad. I’ll see you guys later!” Darting off with her usual energy, Charlie disappeared through the doorway in record time.

“Ya made her mornin’,” Angel noted with a huff of laughter. “Really gonna let yourself be dragged into this stuff? Not like you can exactly…climb back up that ladder through usin’ good deeds to change yer ways.”

“Yeah, no shit on that point,” Lucifer barked a laugh. Once upon a time, comments like that would have pissed him off and made him go demon mode. At this point, he was just too tired to care.

And it was kind of funny, honestly.

“Would you even go back if they gave ya a shot to do it?” Angel asked curiously. “I mean- shit, ya don’t have to answer that, Short King, I’m just runnin’ my mouth without thinkin’-“

“FUCK NO!” Lucifer laughed louder. “No offense to what Charlie is doing here, obviously, and don’t go telling her we talked about this…but I fucked up way too hard to ever want to go back. Maybe a long time ago I might have had a different answer, but too much has happened since now and then.”

“Nah, I kinda figured,” Angel waved a hand. Pushing out the chair next to him with his knee, he motioned for Lucifer to join him. “Just didn’t wanna offend by bringin’ it up or anything.”

“It’ll take more than that to offend me at this point.” Sitting down, Lucifer snapped to bring the coffee pot to the table to save some effort, and used magic to pour the coffee. “Especially when it comes to Heaven. Had a long time to waste all my rage about what they did.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Smiling crookedly, Angel pushed his cup forward to bum another refill. “Really need that fucking caffeine buzz today, got an off day and I wanna just spend it sleepin’, but now Charlie’s dragged me into this new exercise effort with the newbies…be glad you didn’t fall for her puppy dog eyes yet.”

“I haven’t been able to resist those since she was little,” Lucifer sighed. “As soon as she turns them on me, I crumple like wet tissue paper. So if she gets the idea that I need to play along on any given day, I’m doomed.”

“Don’t ya have…somethin’ going on with Smiles that’d make it hard to swing some of Charlie’s ideas right now?” There was the real reason Angel was trying to subtly dig for information.

Of course he’d be curious after the story they likely had been told about the kitchen incident, especially with the evidence in the ceiling now gone besides a couple small indentations that could still be seen upon looking up.

“…Yeah. That’s still a thing that I’d rather forget about.” With a quick glance around to be sure the demon (or his shadow) weren’t lurking around, he leaned closer. “I won’t be caught dead telling you anything I learn about him from this arrangement, so don’t ask.”

“Not worth my head, trust me!” Angel held up three hands, leaving the last where it was only because it was wrapped around his cup.

“Good that we’re on the same page.” Tired again and not sure how coffee was supposed to fix that, Lucifer groaned and dropped his head into his hand and propped his elbow onto the table to support it. “We’re drawing major arcana from a tarot deck I have, and basing questions we ask each other off of the card meanings. It’s been…something.”

“That’s…huh. I’m surprised you managed to get him to agree to somethin’ like that. He’s the kinda guy that seems like he took all his secrets to the grave, but then continued carryin’ ‘em down here.”

“You’re not wrong. Learning anything at all about him feels like forcing a square peg into a triangle hole.”

Angel snorted at that phrasing, but fortunately didn’t make a raunchy joke. “Charlie must’a been really mad at him for that incident the other night for him to be keepin’ up with this. Or he’s tryin’ to find something to get over on you for an advantage. Also seems like that kinda guy.”

“Yeah…wouldn’t surprise me.” Lucifer had his suspicions, but wasn’t going to put those into words. No point in dragging Angel into this even by proxy. “I just have to get through our d- arrangement until we can fake that we’re actually getting along properly.”

“Wishin’ ya luck, Short King.” Angel lifted his coffee cup as if making a toast. “Hope ya don’t end up askin’ the wrong question and find out what the business end of those big teeth of his are about.”

“Good thing I regenerate,” Lucifer muttered, lifting his mug to clink it against the side of Angel’s.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Playing billiards alone was not the most fun thing to do - Lucifer knew from past experience, since the palace had held a successive number of games and past-times around throughout the centuries to make passing time easier. Trick shots could only be so much fun so many times especially without any kind of audience around to see them, so he didn’t even bother picking up the cue stick.

The cue ball rolled smoothly between his hands as an object to fidget with, and had he been in the mood, he might have picked up more of the balls to juggle them. Once a circus act, always a circus act, even if the juggling hadn’t been his main schtick as ringleader.

Sitting directly on the table would be uncouth, since the hotel and everything arranged for group use was Charlie’s, so he marched across the room to where a low couch had been set up next to a vending machine.

Snacks for game night seemed like a fun idea, and he was almost mad he hadn’t ever thought of this kind of thing in any of his game spaces of the past.

Flopping down onto the couch with his boots hanging over the arm’s edge - placing shoes on the furniture was only for heathens - he tossed and caught the ball in a bit of mindless distraction while waiting for any sights or sounds of approach.

No sound ever came, but an interruption finally made him pause and face a brief moment of confusion where- the ball disappeared in mid-air.

Then the movement of the shadowy shape next to the couch made him realize what had happened. The shadow had caught the ball and was holding it, looking down at him with a bigger grin than it had worn the day before. Surely it was showing off now after the question about its ability to interact with physical objects.

“Hey, you. Did you want to play? Is that why you’re here?” Motioning to the ball, Lucifer swung his legs over the side of the couch and sat up. It felt like the kind of foolish question that Alastor would scold both of them for if he was around, especially him for daring to make such a suggestion, but…luckily he wasn’t around.

Because the shadow nodded eagerly, giving the ball back to him.

Unexpected, considering who the shadow was connected to, but Lucifer couldn’t say that he wasn’t amused by the thought of playing around with the spectral manifestation. There were several options, but the one that came to mind was- “Catch!”

Tossing the cue ball through the air, he watched as the shadow melded to the floor quickly, then sprung back up across the way and caught the ball with both of its hands.

Though he was still uncertain as to what the creature’s motivations were - was it there to observe him before its owner showed up? - he had fun testing out the shadow’s aim and accuracy by varying the force put behind multiple throws.

It always caught the ball, though the method in which it did so varied. And the motions got more elaborate the more this little game went on, to the point that the last toss that Lucifer threw out came with a showy flip and twist through the air before the shadow retrieved the ball and brought it back again, eyes curved shut in an expression that looked a lot like a full-faced smile.

“Glad you had fun,” Lucifer said in a quiet voice, guessing that Alastor was about to appear. “I did too.”

The shadow nodded enthusiastically before melting down to the floor again, darting up underneath the couch as if to hide.

Alastor appeared in the doorway not long after, walking rather than traveling by shadows. He paused at the door, glancing through the room as if checking for the others, then seemed satisfied. “Good, no stragglers hanging around other than you.”

“Ha, ha.” Unimpressed by the joke, Lucifer pushed himself up off of the couch. “We have some time before anyone might interrupt, Charlie is holding a trust exercise this afternoon and conned Angel into doing it at the very least.”

“And Husker is out on errands for me.” Eying the billiards table briefly, Alastor watched the cue ball being put back into place with a critical eye. “If I thought you could play-“

“Hey! Who said I don’t know how?!”

“You must not if you were lying around in here being bored instead of entertaining yourself,” Alastor scoffed. “Oh. Wait. You did try to do that.” A dark stare turned on him. “Did you have fun making my shadow play fetch like a common dog?”

“…I knew that thing was up to something,” Lucifer muttered, unfazed. “Maybe if you entertained the poor thing, it wouldn’t have to come bother me for attention!”

“It is a construct of my power! It doesn’t need to be entertained!”

“Sure could’ve fooled me with as eager as it was to play around.” Half tempted to pick up the ball again and throw it across the room to see if he could draw the hiding shadow out, Lucifer refrained. Barely. His claws constricted, tapping against the resin surface. “Look, sorry or whatever if you’re gonna get pissy over a stupid situation like that, but I’m not going to apologize for doing that, nor will I refrain in the future if your shadow comes to me acting like a puppy begging for pets-“

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

“Or what, Bambi?” Crossing his arms and staring down the angry Radio Demon, Lucifer kept his expression as impassive as he could make it. “You gonna murder me in the billiards room with a candlestick?”

“…” Disarmed a bit by the suggestion, Alastor stared. “What?”

“….It’s a reference to…never mind, you don’t even know what Clue is, it was probably after your time topside.”

Alastor looked at him as if he’d grown another head, which.

While he could, would be a pain in the ass to deal with.

“So I can’t even call you Mr. Scarlett either, has a nice ring to it.”

“…You are talking in an inane yammer. Are you quite done yet?”

Making a mental note to see if the old board game version of that was still buried somewhere in the palace, Lucifer was now determined to twist Alastor’s arm and con him into playing a round or two. It was, after all, right up his alley with the whole murder schtick.

“Yeah, yeah. Let me guess, you want to get right to the deck today.”

“Some of us do have other things to do than sit around and be idle layabouts.”

“Ouch. That one almost hurt my pride today, champ.”

The corner of Alastor’s mouth started twitching, hints of green stitchwork appearing at the edges of his lips.

As much as Lucifer wanted to prod at whatever that was about, he decided to back off. Once again, can’t afford to cause property damage or they’d get another lecture!

(And he might get threatened with Charlie wanting to kick him out this time, which…would hurt. A whole freaking lot. 0/10 experience, would not want to have to review that one!)

Saving them both the trouble of raised blood pressure or potential wrecking of a room, Lucifer waved a hand to pull the cards out of their pocket dimension. As usual, they got shuffled with the help of magic to keep things fair. Well, as fair as anything could be in Hell.

The coin flip went to Lucifer, and after the near-incident he’d just caused, he decided that picking his own card to get screwed over by was probably the better option. Best to let Alastor lead up with a question, buy time to have him calm down before prodding at whatever horrible life detail might come out.

The deck had not exactly been kind, and it was likely soon to turn on the other participant of this little game too.

He supposed it was fair that when he drew the Fool card for himself (designed as he had looked before burns and scarring had completely altered his appearance, an insult from Belphegor though she would likely not understand why), Alastor burst out laughing with an intensity that caused crackles of radio static to echo through the air.

He resisted the urge to flip the demon off, holding himself back with a pinched expression. “Are you done? I know it’s something you would like to actually call me.”

“Oh, but I value my propriety more than stooping to that particular level. Let alone the integrity of my back.” Straightening the lapels of his coat, Alastor glanced down at the card in consideration for a long moment, then raised his eyes. “How fortunate it was upright. So! Care to tell me what you were like as a budding angel before you ended up down here in the pit? Inquiring minds would like to know!”

“…Seriously?” That was far too open-ended, and entirely not what Lucifer expected to be asked.

“What is the expression? I believe I didn’t stutter, sire. I’m quite curious to know what an idealist you were before it all went pear-shaped. Before you were no longer God’s favorite son.”

That…phrasing was like a slap to the face.

Heart thudding from long-buried memories surfacing at the back of his mind, he reached up and raked a hand through his hair, grasping and tugging at the strands sharply - trying to use the stinging pain to stop the onslaught.

(‘ABOMINATION! YOU WILL BE CURSED FOREVER!’)

The echo of sharp snapping next to one ear pulled him out of the haze, finally. Unaware of how long he’d just drifted, unmoored from stability that had only come with time and distance, he looked up with hazy vision and- too many Eyes, others had manifested on his cheekbones and just above his jawline.

“Oh, dear. Did I make the illustrous king spiral?” Alastor lightly clicked his tongue. There was…something strange about his expression, something guarded behind the sharp smile - as if he was watching and waiting for the one in front of him to crumble to pieces before his eyes. “Is it time to make use of that ‘pass’ option?”

Unable to vocalize a proper thought at the moment, Lucifer jerked a nod.

It was too much in present company. For as much as he pretended to have adjusted to his Fall, and everything that had happened in the millennia since it had all gone to shit, the reminder that prospects had been so different once upon a time still hurt.

Even if he would sooner rage against Heaven for everything he was worth for the wrongs committed on his turf, for the threats made against him and those important to him, especially his daughter…there was still some small, terrified part of him that had once wanted nothing more than to course correct and take back the actions that had driven him from his family and everything he had known since his creation before the dawn of time.

Especially when there was so little left to show for those fateful actions other than a kingdom full of misery and a family once again cracked at the edges.

Unaware of just how much inner turmoil he had caused, Alastor moved right on. “On a related but not note, how do you intend to move forward with your plans for Hell now that you’re presumably going to become more active in matters beyond your palace walls?”

Remaining silent for a long moment to finish re-gathering his thoughts, Lucifer exhaled slowly and closed his eyes - all of them, he certainly didn’t need the extras in such a mundane moment. “For now I just intend to support Charlie to find my footing again. When I’m ready to become more politically active, the first order of business will be to reach out to the Sins again.”

His long seclusion had led to final radio silence in the case of the once-booming group chat - likely the others had moved on to individual and smaller group discussions without him. He had made it rather clear that he didn’t intend to get dragged into their issues, personal or about Hell, any time soon when he’d withdrawn from everyone and everything. And that had remained true in recent weeks, as going about figuring out who to contact first had been…overwhelming, to say the least.

“Hmm. You sound uncertain.”

“Wouldn’t you be if you’d disappeared for a number of years and then reappeared and tried to reorient yourself and figure out what you had missed?” It was a bit of a low blow, but he didn’t care.

Instead of getting upset, Alastor’s expression changed with a sharper smile. “Touche. And now the card for myself…”

The Moon reversed was not the worst card that could have been drawn, though took a moment for Lucifer to figure out a proper question that likely wouldn’t end with physical harm. He didn’t want to press his luck after nearly having a meltdown in front of the other demon today.

Best not to put both of them in a bad situation at once, even if it meant getting another very straightforward and predictable answer. “How do you deal with not having all the information when situations aren’t as they appear?”

“Simple. I dig until I find out the full truth, no matter how long it takes. If I can’t find the answers through regular means, I go to greater lengths. Making it as an Overlord is not as simple as taking every demon at face value. I’m sure you understand that as well, don’t you sire?”

“Taking anything down here at face value is asking to die, or suffer,” Lucifer agreed with a sigh. The cards disappeared back into their holding space, waiting for the next round. “Is that all for today?”

“Quite enough. I think I pushed you far enough, and have other matters to see to outside of the hotel. Tata.”

Without further comment or explanation, Alastor disappeared into tendrils of shadow.

Watching the space he’d disappeared into for a moment, Lucifer buried his head in his hands. It was a good thing he hadn’t agreed to trust exercises or anything else like it, because now all he wanted to do was curl up in his own bed and try to bring himself back down from the thoughts that were still trying to swarm through his brain like an angry horde of Hell hornets.

So much for being above such episodes now that he was trying to help Charlie! Hopefully she had business to keep her busy for the next…however long this took to pass.

(As long as it was before the next question session with Alastor…the last thing Lucifer wanted to do was let him into his quarters, let alone when he wasn’t at 100% and couldn’t guard his space.)

Magic took him back to his room, where he curled up tightly around Mr. Quackers and buried himself under bed covers. Anything to block out light and distant sounds of voices that couldn’t be easily shut out. He really needed music, but bothering to touch the radio across the room even with magic felt like a terrible idea.

Acid rain started beating on the roof, a sign of how his moods still affected the weather in the ring. Unable to feel guilt about it in the moment, Lucifer let his eyes drift shut and the dull drone of the rain pattering overhead lull him into a false sense of security.

Didn’t fully drown out the voices of long-forgotten memories playing like the world’s worst highlight reel, but it was better than the silence by far.

Chapter Text

Waking up to the sound of knocking at his door, Lucifer groaned and nearly reached for a pillow to shove over his head for muffling the sounds. Even if that unwanted nap had been restless, being woken up like this before being ready was always unpleasant.

Plus, there was a very short list of people who would be brave enough to knock on his door - or have reason to. Most of the residents didn’t have reason, none of them had really developed that kind of relationship, so it had to be on a very short list of options.

One of which he couldn’t simply ignore.

Pushing himself up and straightening his clothes, he crossed the room to pull open the door and gave a weak smile when he saw that his guess was correct. “Hey, Char-char…what’s up?”

“You never came down for dinner,” Charlie was frowning slightly. “And no one saw you after a certain point today. Is everything alright, dad?”

The one time someone wanted to check in… biting back unkind thoughts because they were misplaced, he stepped back from the door and motioned for Charlie to follow. “I was just a little tired. You know me, still working on getting back to a remotely regular schedule!”

AKA not falling into the habit of wallowing in his bed at all hours of the day and night with no real heed for schedules or responsibilities or…anything to do with being a remotely functional being.

Charlie didn’t call him on it as she followed him further into the room, at least. “I know, but I just want to be sure. I don’t want to risk you…sliding into old habits like you did for a while there.”

Grimacing, he shook his head. “No, sweetie, I’m not that bad off again. It already helps me just being here, knowing you’re around and doing well. More than well, considering!”

“Thanks, dad, but you put too much faith in me sometimes.” Looking embarrassed much as she had as a teenager going through ‘a phase’ and not wanting to be seen with her parents, Charlie focused on anything but her father’s face by looking around at the arrangement of the room and everything in it. “Oh, you did nice things up here! Is that-“

“My fiddle?” Unable to help laughing at how her grimace deepened, Lucifer stepped towards it. “Yeah, the same one! Of course I’m going to keep it close to wherever I’m staying in case I want to play.”

“Yeah, but it looking like that…doesn’t it make it hard to play a solid gold instrument like that…”

“No more difficult than some of the bast-…sorry, angels upstairs, with their solid gold harps and flutes and tambourines, and whatever else is en vogue up there now. Maybe DJ turntables for all I know.”

Heaven had seemed to try to modernize just like Hell had, but at a much slower rate due to, you know, so many things being taboo and antithetical to everything. It would be just like some of the showboaters to pull off such a move, even if they’d lie about not trying to glorify themselves or draw attention.

He should know, some angels were just as prone to vice as humans and demons, if not worse!

“I guess.” Turning away from the ostentatious instrument, Charlie faced her father again. “Are you sure you’re okay…? I heard you had a conversation with Angel this morning after I left breakfast, and he said he was going to try and hang out with you after group today, but couldn’t find you.”

“…He said that?” Lucifer blinked. Huh, most sinners wouldn’t bother, what with his entire…everything. The reputation of the Devil was not to be trifled with, even if some of it was blatant exaggeration and propaganda, if not outright Heavenly lies.

(Another silent tick in the column of them being just as bad as ‘lesser beings’ below in some ways. Propaganda was propaganda, no matter who was spreading it around like a venereal disease.)

“Yeah. Group went well, he helped me break through to a couple of the newest arrivals. One cried on him and he didn’t get uncomfortable like he used to!”

Lucifer assumed that meant he was making progress in his redemption attempts. He…supposed that was good, for those that wanted that chance. Hey, at least he was trying to come around to the idea, even if it was an uphill battle right now. “That’s great, sweetie.”

He meant it, even as Charlie launched into more chatter about her day - talk about others in the group session and how it had gone down for everyone involved, other tasks she’d taken on for the day and done well with, and what had been for dinner that ended up making his stomach rumble from belated hunger pangs.

Right, he hadn’t really eaten at breakfast, and there was this pesky need to keep up with that since he’d gotten into the habit of it over the centuries… the unfortunate part of letting your assumed flesh vessel acclimate to a habit, it wanted to keep at it after a long enough period of time.

“Oh!” Seeming to realize she was rambling finally, Charlie broke off with a sheepish look. “Did you want to get something to eat, dad? I can go downstairs with you if you want!”

“I’ll just bring something up with magic,” Lucifer waved a hand. “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”

Even if he hadn’t been able to spend as much time around his daughter as he wanted while she grew up, he knew a lot of her tells. Mostly because some of them were just like his own - like the fiddling with her hair, even if hers was much longer and usually kept in a braid.

“Is it that obvious…? Yeah, I did kind of want to run something by you, since I’m going to be bringing it up to all the staff soon for discussion.”

Though a bit surprised by that, Lucifer nodded. “Sure, we can talk.”

Since they’d stayed close to the door (even though it had been shut with magic so no one could look in from down the hall, like certain nosy bellhops), he motioned for her to join him in the small seating area close to the fireplace.

The flames were simply for cosmetics this time of year, the magic-based logs created to burn without excess heat. Hell was sweltering enough, no need to add to that atmosphere in his own rooms and deal with heat damage to his hair. It was hard enough to deal with on a good day.

“Alright, what’s on your mind, Charlie?” Giving her a bit of space to get her thoughts in order, Lucifer sat down in the armchair closest to the fire.

Sitting in proper form on the loveseat, Charlie crossed her ankles together and laced her fingers together, looking as if she was doing so to avoid fidgeting in place. “So, I was thinking. I know we gained a lot of attention after the battle and all the news coverage that went around Hell because of it, but…that’s not the reputation I want this place to have. Just somewhere where more violence is being bred and dealt out, even if it’s because we were attacked first.”

“I’m following,” Lucifer said quietly, trying to encourage her when she hesitated.

“But without letting anyone in here to see what we’re offering, get a feel for the building and amenities and even other residents, there’s no way for anyone to really understand our message and our goal, or what we can offer to help make their afterlife a little easier even if they’re not fully ready to embrace the idea of redemption.” She had definitely prepared this topic as a spiel, barely taking a breath while she got the words out. “So! That’s where this idea comes in. What if we hold an open house kind of event? Where we clean the hotel up, offer tours, and kind of throw a little party that showcases some of the activities and potential benefits we offer anyone who might want to sign the ledger?”

“That’s…a great idea, sweetie!” Of course, that was not Lucifer’s first thought when he heard the words ‘little party’, highly doubting that anything Charlie had a hand it would actually be a little affair, but he had to ignore his panic to offer his support.

It was, after all, why he was here in the first place. Anything Charlie needed from him, he would do his best to give it to her. And even if that meant donning a clown costume and juggling for all he was worth, he’d do it just for her.

“Really, you think so?” Letting out a breath that bloomed into a huge smile, Charlie waved her hands. “I want to get a loooooot of decorations and bring in all kinds of food and treats and- oh, no drugs though! Or alcohol! Maybe party favors?? Oooh, dad, can you make confetti cannons to rig and rain over the heads of attendees when they show up??”

“Charlie, slow down,” Lucifer laughed. “We’ll get it all figured out. Don’t you still have to talk to the others about it, as well?” He didn’t want her to get too far ahead of herself, even if seeing her excited like this warmed his heart.

This was the kind of energy he missed most, losing out on so many moments where Charlie could have been her true self and not felt as if she had to hide her dreams away.

“Oh, right!” Charlie looked sheepish. “Sorry, dad. I just…I want to bring more people in, let them see my vision and hopefully help more poor sinners out of their desperate circumstances. There’s…so much that goes on in Hell that we can’t fix overnight, but I want us to try more.”

“I know, sweetie. And you know I’ll be there every step of the way with you if you need me, right?” He held out a hand for her to take.

Charlie did so, squeezing his palm. “Thanks, dad. I’ll let you know when I manage to get the staff together and then we can all start strategizing on what to do and what we’ll need?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Oh, and…one more thing.” Exhaling as if she’d been holding her breath, Charlie gave him a long look. “Are you sure you’re alright? I know we didn’t exactly finish out our conversation earlier, since I got distracted talking about group, and I’ve asked you more than this but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten a straight answer. You didn’t…look too hot when I showed up.”

“Charlie, you just woke me up from a nap. You know your old man can’t wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed immediately like you sometimes.” Deflect, deflect, deflect. She didn’t need to know about what had happened-

“Did something happen between you and Alastor today?”

Ah, fuck.

Why had she had to develop the same compulsion he had to dig into other’s problems? Except hers was more finely honed now.

“…Do you wanna know what we’ve been doing together after that incident?” Lucifer sighed. He wanted to pull his hand back, shy away from his daughter having to offer him comfort, but she wouldn’t let go of his hand and he wouldn’t dare yank himself out of her grip. Never.

“It might be nice, because if it leads to another incident…” There was an unspoken threat in her words.

“No incident! I just…he asked something that set me off a little bit. We have an agreement that we ask each other questions, and I had to drop that one for another.” Short, simple, to the point. As long as she didn’t ask-

“Set you off how? What was the question?” There was now a hard edge to Charlie’s voice that Lucifer wasn’t used to.

“About…” his breath hitched sharply in his throat. “About what I was like before…I fell with your mother, how different was I as an angel.”

“…Oh, dad.” Charlie’s expression visibly fell, and regret shot through him like a lightning bolt.

“Char-char, you don’t have to feel sorry for me,” Lucifer laughed, the sound a bit wet. It was difficult to not get upset in the face of seeing her demeanor change. She wasn’t supposed to feel bad for him of all people, especially not after he had failed her for so long. He should have been the one comforting her through her insecurities and doubts.

“I earned my way down here, not stupid enough to ever believe otherwise. It just…hurts, sometimes, to think what everything was like before. I didn’t earn my reputation overnight, and the person I was soon after, when we were trying to scrape everything together to form a new life down here…it was hard.”

“Dad…you don’t have to put up a front around me.”

Leave it to his daughter to completely disarm him, the gentleness in her voice and look on her face as if she was staring at someone in actual crisis and not just stuck in their own stupid head and mental short-comings-

“Whatever happened…you know I’m not going to judge you, right?”

“…You probably should, sweetie. I fucked up so much.” Inhaling and exhaling slowly, trying to bring the edge of panic down, Lucifer couldn’t even bring himself to look at his daughter now. He didn’t want to see the disappointment - or pity, or whatever else it might be - written all over her features that were so much like his own.

Facing Charlie sometimes felt like he was staring at who he used to be.

The idealistic dreamer that had once been ready to take on everyone and everything to make life better in the future for the humans, until fate stepped in and kicked over the sandcastle.

His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out the sound of her voice when she spoke up again. Trying to focus and face her again, he couldn’t- move, breathe, think about anything but trying to hold the fractured pieces together, anything in a desperate bid to keep from falling apart at the ill-sewn seams.

Her grip on his hand turned insistent, tugging him to his feet and pulling him- when had her strength gotten so impressive? Oh, right, she grew up when he wasn’t looking- and she pulled him to her, dragging him into her arms with little trouble because he didn’t want to resist any longer. It wasn’t like there was anyone else around to offer any shred of comfort like this, because they didn’t know him or care like this.

Lucifer still felt like he didn’t deserve his daughter’s care or comfort, but that didn’t stop him from clinging to her all the same. Holding onto her like a lifeline, manifesting his wings and folding all six of them around them both for comfort.

“I remember you doing this kind of thing with me when I was little,” Charlie whispered, her head tilting to the side to brush up against some of the long primary flight feathers. “Does this make you feel safe, dad?”

“As safe as I can feel with the way my mind is.”

“…Will you tell me some time? I mean, what you were like as an angel. We don’t ever talk about anything to do with Heaven, and I understand why, but…I’m curious.”

“One day I’ll tell you more about it all, Charlie. I just…don’t think I can bring myself to do it right now.”

“That’s fine, dad.” Charlie tightened her grip briefly. “If you want to stay like this for a while, that’s fine too. I…missed this kind of thing.”

“Oh, Charlie…”

There was no one around to see this display, so Lucifer gladly held onto his daughter for a good while longer after that. Even though his mind felt selfish thinking it, he thought this was something that they had both been missing in recent weeks.

The fear of almost losing her to Adam had been a persistent weight on his mind since it had happened. Realization that arriving a moment later could have led to losing her had haunted him in the aftermath and was only now beginning to dissipate. While he would never forget the mix of potent rage, anger and terror, he could handle it better now. She was safe and well, and carrying forward her dreams.

It was just a miracle he’d continue to embrace that he got to be here to witness her like this. She wanted him here, and while it lasted, he was going to hold on for dear life.

Unfortunately that meant there was a very embarrassing giggle that Charlie made when she heard the loud, insistent growling of his stomach. “Dad, you were supposed to bring food up here and eat something.”

“Yes, I know,” he grumbled. “But then we both got distracted. You know we can’t do that to each other if we want to get things done, sweetie.”

“Of course, I got it directly from you!” Grinning, Charlie pulled back from their hug and carefully ducked out of the safety that his folded wings had provided. “C’mon, bring something up. I’ll sit with you! Oh, do you wanna watch a movie? It’s not time for bedtime yet, and we haven’t been able to spend much time together one on one lately!”

Her eagerness was contagious, even if Lucifer’s plan had not been to do anything more than wake up and possibly do some reading. It was simpler to entertain himself alone now, since interacting with others was still a work in progress with far more work to be done, but… Charlie’s puppy dog eyes still worked like a charm.

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you pick the movie since I don’t have anything in mind.” Summoning the projector he kept on hand for these purposes, Lucifer got it set up with magic. That done, he brought up leftovers that were communal rather that someone’s personal takeout package from a restaurant and sat down to eat.

Charlie being Charlie, she picked a Disney movie of course. Unable to grudge her for her decision, Lucifer retracted his wings and sat down on the floor, summoning pillows and blankets for them to get comfortable with.

She was long since grown and they both knew that, but being able to enjoy time together like this again was priceless. It was a sign that not all hope for reconciliation was lost, and that they were both willing to put in the work.

…It was probably also a good thing that Charlie was grown now that they were attempting to watch Lilo and Stitch, because the underlying of family extending beyond blood hit them both hard. Neither of them made it through the movie without some tears shed.

No one was around to witness it, but really, anyone who would have expected anything different from the Morningstars didn’t really know much about them.

Chapter Text

The next morning was a very early one, no thanks to Lucifer’s long impromptu nap the day before. Outside of the throes of depression that took him far too often, he didn’t need a lot of sleep - mainly turning it into a habitual act to keep him on some kind of schedule when time didn’t matter.

Which was a good thing, now that he was trying to get up and out and active again, whether he wanted to be or not.

Becoming comfortable enough around the hotel to appear downstairs in his pajamas was- actually, not a deliberate plan at the time, but he realized when he teleported still wearing ducky slippers and the pink set that would surely get him laughed at because the ducks were actually unicorns too… oh well, wouldn’t be the first time he got laughed at if anyone noticed, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last either.

Not his fault if certain people didn’t have good taste! Or a sense of whimsy to cling to when the horrors got to be too much!

Able to make his coffee without disturbances because most everyone else was still asleep at this point, so he was able to sit quietly and spend some time getting his thoughts together for the day.

Outside of…whatever would end up planned for the meet-up today, he wanted to check in with Charlie and throw out a couple ideas about activities for her open house, and maybe get a drink that night at the bar.

Indulging often was not a vice he possessed, but sometimes he did like to get a bit tipsy to shut his brain off for a bit. Happier thoughts were nice, even if they took a bit of liquid courage for them to appear sometimes.

A little investigation in the cabinets let to realization that someone had refilled the cereal stash, meaning there was a fresh box of Fizzy-o’s alongside the rest of the cereal-of-the-month branding buy-ins.

Everyone knew that Lucifer was not a paragon of resisting temptation considering everything down here being because of him and his act of original temptation, so he settled in with one of the big movie night popcorn bowls and his favorite rainbow iridescent spoon (that had to have been brought in by Angel at some point, because who else would) and went to town on overdosing on sugar to start the day.

Wasn’t like anyone was around to tell him no… until the creeping feeling of being watched hit him and he glanced up to see the green eyes of a fixture that was becoming very familiar around him…

“Morning, buddy,” he greeted after swallowing a mouthful of cereal. Even if this was an indication that he was probably being spied on at this point, it was something he decided he didn’t care to poke into just yet.

Especially after what had happened the day before. He needed a breather before prodding a bit harder with Alastor’s questioning and trying to find out more about what made the demon tick like such a peculiar cuckoo clock.

Floating closer, the shadow gave a little wave, then tilted its head curiously as it looked down into the bowl he was eating out of.

“Yeah, I’m a little hungry. Not the healthiest, but what you gonna do down here?”

The shadow gave him what looked a bit like an unimpressed stare, then shook its head slightly and moved on. Folding its hands together, it pressed them to one side of its face and tilted its head again, clearly asking through miming whether or not he had slept good.

“Oh, me? Yeah I…got a good nap in. Kind of ruined my sleep schedule for last night, which is why I’m up so early.”

This…definitely had to be a sign of something. Here he was, talking to a power construct of the Radio Demon as if it was a friend all of a sudden, when the last two interactions with it had been borderline hostile the first time, playful but a little strange the second.

He really needed to get out more beyond these hotel walls and try to connect with people if he was that desperate for connection…

Didn’t help his case that the shadow’s cute closed-eye smile was back, and made him feel a flutter of happiness in his chest.

“Keeping me company again?” he asked, when the shadow’s expression shifted to something a bit more neuutral again.

It nodded in response, moving to shift even closer while tapping at one spectral wrist as if someone who was keeping track of time for some reason.

“Wait…until it’s time for our meeting?”

The shadow nodded more eagerly, grin widening. It seemed pleased to be able to make its meaning known even though it couldn’t make audible sounds.

Lucifer could honestly say this was one of the stranger games of charades he’d ever played, but it was endearing in a way. Not that he would dare admit to that, knowing that Alastor would probably react badly, so that would definitely remain an inside kind of thought.

“Okay. I’m not going to be doing much because…that’s my main scheduled activity for the day.”

It felt strange to admit to that, but not quite as bad as it might have in the recent past. He was improving in doing more than wallowing in depression or falling back on making ducks 24/7 when he was stressed, but being back to…what counted as normal was going to take a good bit of time.

And maybe some more encouragement from more people than just Charlie, but baby steps for now! It was a good start and a hell of a lot more than he’d done in the past several years!

Catching his attention again when it waved suddenly, the shadow mimed throwing something, almost making him burst out laughing.

“No, I think both of us will get in trouble if we play again like that any time soon, but…I promise I’ll find a way to play with you again as soon as possible. It was fun.”

Nodding again eagerly, the shadow floated lower, getting closer to Lucifer’s eye level. It motioned at its ears suddenly.

“…I will definitely get in trouble if I pet you,” Lucifer whispered, dropping his voice nervously. There was no indication that Alastor was anywhere nearby yet, but with the way his luck went-

And then the damn thing pouted at him, quite a neat trick for an eldritch creature that only had so much range of motion for facial expressions.

“You may as well pet the damned thing.”

Speak of the demon…

“How long were you standing there?” Lucifer grumbled. At this point, he should have been used to Alastor sneaking up on him, but it was still taking him enough by surprise that it was getting aggravating.

He didn’t like being caught off guard like that.

“I just shadow traveled in while you were busy playing charades with it.” Alastor’s expression was unreadable, but his eyes were rather bright under the dimmed illumination of the overhead lamp. “A little birdy told me that you had a bad evening last night.”

“…Kind of,” he admitted grudgingly. “It’s not important, I got over it.”

“Of course you did, I’m sure it’s not the first or last such instance! But my point remains…” Alastor sighed as if being put upon. “Pet the damn thing so it will get this compulsion out of its system and stop bothering both me and you.”

“…” Under the distinct impression that this was only going to cause a bigger problem for both of them later when the creature decided it liked to be touched, Lucifer decided that this was going to be something that was squarely Alastor’s fault. “Okay, okay.”

He held out his hand, silently inviting the shadow to move closer, and focused to lightly stroke the top of the creature’s head.

Its eyes turned up into half moon crescents, and were it capable of making noise, Lucifer was sure that it probably would have been making a sound similar to a purr right about now.

He also couldn’t help but notice that Alastor’s ears twitched when his claws lightly rubbed at the shadow’s ears, piquing his interest. Maybe there was a sense of shared touch between them, due to the whole power manifestation aspect.

But there was no point in wasting a potential question in their little game on that when he highly doubted that the Radio Demon would ever admit to something like that.

It was a mystery best left for later investigation - provided they continued to talk outside of mandatory interactions for the hotel once this arrangement was over and done with.

“Alright, that is quite enough,” Alastor said after a moment, speaking to the shadow rather than Lucifer judging by how he gave it a look.

In a fit of pique, the silly thing stuck its…vibrantly green tongue out at its master, then smiled quickly at Lucifer before vanishing into the floor.

“Such a willful damn-”

“It’s cute!”

Lucifer winced at the shrill radio feedback that comment drew, but in a way, the pain in his ears made it worth it seeing the discomfort written on every line of Alastor’s face.

“You are ridiculous. Is all that sugar already going to your brain and making you say such foolish things? Or is it being up so early?”

“Usually not even awake this early in the morning, Bambi, so if I’m loopy it’s because of that,” Lucifer huffed. “I haven’t even had coffee yet either, but I got more sleep than usual.” Outside of depressive episodes where all he did was sleep like the dead, but no way was he going to put that in words for Alastor to mock him for.

Or look at him strangely, which…kept happening as soon as he tuned back into conversations.

Now was no different, but Alastor snapped out of whatever that had been about quickly. “Well then. I have business to see to today, so I would ask that we get our little gathering done early. Fortunately you are awake and somewhat cognizant now, so shall we?”

After what had happened the day before, Lucifer hesitated. He didn’t want the potential of a repeat, but their deal required that this happen. If Charlie heard that they were already beginning to think of backing down from what was keeping them from lunging at each other’s throats, he didn’t want to think about what she’d do or say…

In the end, of course it was just better to get it over and done with.

Waving to vanish the remnants of now-soggy cereal and sending the bowl to the sink for later washing, Lucifer pushed himself up from his chair. “Let’s go, then. I’m guessing you already have an idea about where we’re going.”

“Yes, of course. If I was not prepared to take you there, I wouldn’t have suggested it now,” Alastor pointed out, sounding impatient. “I thought your usual demeanor was annoying at regular hours of the day!”

At least the needling was still intact, taking away from the bit of weirdness that had come from petting the shadow right in front of Alastor’s face.

Later, he was probably going to think that had been some early morning fever dream, or a hallucination brought on by a sugar crash. Anything but reality, where the idea of touching even part of the Radio Demon was insane, even part of his power was as hysterical as the idea that he would ever be allowed to set hoof back in Heaven ever again.

Still being dressed in his pajamas and ducky slippers felt a bit mortifying as he followed Alastor upstairs, but at the same time he didn’t want to give the demon more ammunition to use against him. Embarrassment was a powerful tool, and it was one he didn’t need to lay in someone else’s hands.

Besides, he hadn’t been called out on it yet, so drawing attention to it by changing would make the mockery even worse in the end!

“Uh, are we back up on our floor to…”

“This is where we were meant to go, sire.” Alastor had turned them towards the direction of his own tower, which-

Wasn’t that a mildly terrifying thought? Not that Lucifer had anything to fear from the demon’s power, hilariously outmatched by his own as it was. But being led into the demon’s space, especially that one, gave him mental pause.

Not that he had a hoof to stand on in saying no, either, since. More material to be made fun of for, so thanks but no thanks.

Best to let himself be led into the belly of the beast, as it were.

“Age before beauty, sire.”

“Why, you little- oh!” Barely stopping himself from stumbling on his slippers as the door to the tower swung open, Lucifer’s eyes glowed a bit in the dim lighting while his vision adjusted.

The space beyond the door had plenty of features marking it out as a radio tower, mechanical fixtures taking up residence in and through the walls. The desk, taking up half the floor space and overlooking the windows that had a great view of the cityscape beyond the hotel, held fully furnished radio equipment set and ready to send out a broadcast at any given moment.

There were few signs of residence in the space, suggesting that Alastor had somewhere else in the building where he actually…functioned in the day to day. Stored clothes and knick-knacks, maybe - or retreated to have one of his ‘special’ meals away from the eyes of the other residents. Sat down and read a book?

It wasn’t as if they had talked much about hobbies and what they did on a daily basis! Everything was about the deck and the deal and how best to continue the charade of making Charlie believe that their budding acquaintanceship was hunky dory.

Stepping inside and not having the door swing shut behind him like the bars of a prison cell, Lucifer felt a bit better about letting his eyes wander when Alastor crossed the room to…fiddle with something on the desk, judging by the sounds he was hearing.

He had been curious about what had been done here since the apple tower was ripped out and replaced with this hulking beast of mechanics, and now a valid reason to be here had been dropped in his lap. Of course Lucifer intended to take advantage of that, even if he had to do so under the watchful eyes of the tower’s owner!

And the shadow, that suddenly popped up next to him and gave a little wave. Here, in this room, it seemed more tangible - the virulent green of its eyes glowing with faint smoke as it moved. The likely explanation for that was right there, evidenced by the rest of the room’s composition - Alastor had made this space the seat of his power, infusing his will and energy into the very structure around them.

That spoke to his claim on the hotel as Charlie’s hotelier. Deciding not to read any further into that for his own sanity’s sake, Lucifer smiled at the shadow, then glanced past it to where its owner was still tinkering.

“Is today one of your broadcast days?”

“Later this morning,” Alastor answered, sounding distracted. From this vantage point, mostly all that could be seen of him was his ears, sticking up over a section of the desk like radio antennas. (Hah!)

“Then that’s why this needs to get done early.” Lucifer knew that he wouldn’t be around to witness the broadcast, even if there was a tiny part of him curious as to what the demon was like when in his element.

Such details were hard to glean in just listening to someone perform on air, unlike other mediums of art and performance.

“Yes. So if you’d be so kind as to get our cards ready for today, I will join you momentarily. There is seating space over there.”

Following the direction that Alastor pointed in, Lucifer took note of the hidden alcove space underneath the hulking skull of…some kind of beast mounted to the wall. Or had it been a monstrous sinner? Deciding he didn’t want to ask, he crossed the room, trailed by the shadow that seemed intent to stick with him now.

What was the saying? You pet it once and now it’s yours? Wouldn’t go so far as all that yet, but it did seem to be playing a game of attachment that Alastor would likely get mad at down the road.

Future problems for a future version of himself.

Perching in one of the high-backed chairs, he summoned the cards and got them prepared, trying not to laugh at the way the shadow started squinting at what he was doing. The poor thing was never around for their exchanges, likely due to Alastor’s demeanor towards it.

For once, no comment was made in the shadow’s direction when Alastor shadow traveled across the room to save effort and sank down in the chair across from Lucifer. The coin flip went to him, but the draw was momentarily interrupted as the shadow tried to take the coin in an apparent fit of curiosity that got it snarled at.

When Alastor wasn’t looking a moment later, Lucifer used magic to pull another copy of the coin from his pocket space to hand it over.

Realizing what would happen if it stuck too close, the shadow melted away with its prize intact and wrapped up in tendrils.

“Now that that interruption is over, we pick for each other today.”

The card that was pulled for Lucifer once again drew a laugh, but this time by Lucifer himself. The Hermit was a bit too on the nose, and the sting of it being reversed only added to the irony.

“What causes you to withdraw completely from others? In general, not in specifics to your most recent bout of this habit.”

Lucifer assumed that Alastor was trying to soften the question a bit, considering what had happened the last time… and of course at the moment it was appreciated.

“Self-worth issues are at the core of it.” Able to admit to this kind of shortcoming now, he kept his expression neutral. It didn’t hurt as much to approach as it might have in the recent past, which was…funny, in present company. “That’s a long-standing struggle I haven’t figured out how to deal with at this point in my life, and didn’t have many reasons to try until recently.”

Maybe the situation between them was lightening up a bit. Charlie would be happy.

“The Sin of Pride, doubting his worth?” Alastor scoffed. “Perhaps that is something you should work on in the interest of self-improvement. I’m sure your daughter would agree with my sentiment.”

“…Is that implying that you would tell Charlie about this?”

“If you insist on playing this foolish ‘woe is me’ game from here out? Yes.”

That was a rather low blow, and Lucifer wanted to be angry, but there was…something about Alastor’s demeanor now that gave him pause. “Are you worried about me, Bambi?”

“Don’t be foolish and read into situations that have no meaning behind them!” The snappish tone had been expected. “I am simply refusing to deal with someone who wallows in their own misery at length with an inability to self-reflect on why they feel such a way.”

“…That sounds like worry, but I’ll let it go.” Not sure what he thought of this conversation flip now, Lucifer dropped his gaze back to the cards to make the next selection.

The Lovers was certainly an interesting option for Alastor, especially with it being in reverse. Pointedly avoiding looking at the illustration once he’d figured out what the image was, he cleared his throat.

“Have you ever avoided responsibility for your actions in a way that affected your interpersonal relationships?”

“When I was alive, yes,” Alastor admitted after a long pause, just when Lucifer thought that he wasn’t going to receive an answer. “But I’m fairly certain that that’s a common occurrence in humanity, so I’m hardly unique in that.”

No further explanation seemed to be forthcoming, which was fine. It was a better answer than he’d been expecting, honestly, wondering if he would be poking at an issue that was off limits in some way.

“Alright, then should I prepare to leave you alone for your broadcast?” Returning the cards to their storage space, he moved to stand, then paused when a hand was held up.

“No. I still have time, and I am…amenable to company this morning. Perhaps it’s a situation you should take advantage of, so we look as if we’re being more harmonious.”

The Radio Demon was full of surprises this morning, apparently more relaxed in his own territory where his power was quite obvious.

Comfortable in the chair now and not really in the mood to get up, Lucifer sank back. “Sure. I’ll stay for a while longer.”

“I knew you would,” Alastor commented dryly, the humor less biting than usual. He got up out of his own seat to return to his earlier task at the desk, evidently not willing to sit around and talk, but this was a step somewhere less hostile.

Whatever had changed, it was…nice for the moment. Not that there were many illusions to suggest that it would be a reoccurring situation, but as music began to filter through the tower around them in a way that accentuated the room’s unique acoustic properties, Lucifer decided he didn’t care.

He was going to enjoy this situation for what it was while it lasted.

Chapter Text

Being up so early meant that there was a good amount of time to get tasks done. Since he hadn’t been very good at working to help Charlie and the others take on tasks around the hotel (power in numbers and all), Lucifer made use of his time after leaving the tower to catch up on tasks that might have slipped through the cracks.

At least it wasn’t that stupid wall up-front again, everyone was tired of having to fix the damn thing!

That had a lot to do with the environment around the hotel being rather quiet lately, a fact that Lucifer couldn’t help but muse over when passing by the memorial space still set up in the lobby. Charlie’s friend looked resplendent in the portrait, and while he had seen the serpentine sinner the first time he arrived for a visit, their interactions had been minor at best.

A saluted greeting in passing, acknowledgment and…little else. There hadn’t been time back then, he was too busy being fixated on Charlie and what she had been up to - desperate to try and convince her to give him another chance when he hadn’t really deserved one at the time.

And then the stupid bickering started with…he couldn’t even mentally use any of the old derivative nicknames now, since they seemed unfair. Maybe reflecting on his position here wasn’t the best idea when stepping out of his routine like this.

It started with…Precious? No, that hadn’t been the name. Penitent? That wasn’t it, either.

Frustrated with his sieve of a brain refusing to hold onto important details when they mattered, Lucifer sighed and snapped with magic to clear the dust off of the makeshift altar. The sheer irony of memorializing a serpent here like this when he’d turned everything on this path as one… well, at least someone deserved recognition for their heroism.

“Ya miss ‘im, Short King?” Angel appeared at his shoulder suddenly, stepping up behind him before he even realized the spider had been there.

“More like I was just…thinking.” The arranged flowers were starting to look wilted, and while they could be perked up with magic, the easiest route would be to preserve them. “This should be in a permanent display to honor…uh…”

“Pentious,” Angel supplied, without any hint of snark or annoyance in his voice. “Yeah, I was thinkin’ something similar recently. I know Charlie wants more people in an’ out of here, but after me, he was the first real resident that was given a shot. An’ he paid the ultimate price for us, so I don’t want anyone else who follows after ‘im to not be able to see his influence around here.”

“I can fix something up,” Lucifer offered. He didn’t want to just jump right into it, with no idea where to place something like this, but that was a task he could start looking into. Find something to do that felt a bit more useful and added something to the hotel that would add to the atmosphere rather than take away from it.

“I think that’d be nice,” Angel smiled down at him. “Where ya thinkin’ about puttin’ it?”

“That’s the thing. Since this is Charlie’s project more than it is mine, I should ask her opinion first. See if she would want anything else done to add to the display, too. Hopefully her grief isn’t so high now and it won’t hurt her to talk about it.”

“Yer really tryin’, huh?” Leaning closer, Angel dropped his voice. “I can tell your kiddo has some daddy issues, an’ I didn’t know why until I met ya back when.”

Trying not to splutter at that phrasing, Lucifer looked up at the spider demon with a face flushed gold. “Is- Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah. No offense, Yer Majesty, but you got all the tells too. So I can see Charlie got it honest. Issues run in the family, huh?”

“…You could say that.” Sighing and trying not to succumb to the urge to run off and bury himself underneath his bed, Lucifer shoved his hands in his coat pockets. That was not something to be discussed casually, what with Heaven’s everything taken into account, and it wasn’t something he wanted to get into with Angel at this point in time, either.

The sinner didn’t seem like he had ulterior motives, but considering past history…

Basically every interaction he’d had with human souls over the millennia had been either full of ridicule, scorn or an incredible level of awkwardness (not to speak of his bout of Eternal Punishment and following Heaven’s rulebook about the Eternal Damnation of the Wicked for a while there!), so the potential was incredibly varied and anxiety inducing.

“Hey, ya know I’m not tryin’ to be an ass to you, right?” As if sensing the turmoil like a shark smelling blood in the water, Angel tilted his head. “I know ya don’t get out a lot, and I think ya need some more face to face interaction with people, huh? That’s all I’m doin’ here, anythin’ you tell me won’t end up in my gossip seshes with anyone if you don’t want it to!”

“…Why?” The myriad of emotions that came from that simple explanation just spiked a bit more anxiety through Lucifer’s blood. He didn’t want to spiral, but it really had been so long since anyone even tried to reach out…then again, most of that was his fault so he couldn’t expect much more. Still! This was terrifying!

Angel laughed. “Because yer interesting! And yeah, okay, someone like me might come across like I’m lookin’ for power, but that ain’t it. I got enough influence in my job, don’t really need to go houndin’ after some bigwig down here for more than what I got.”

“I’m not…used to this kind of approach now, that’s all.”

“Really?” Angel looked skeptical. “I’d think people would be all over ya.”

“They have been in the past, but for the wrong reasons. Plus, hiding myself away for so many years kind of killed off any social connections I had recently.” Unbothered by the truth of that statement being out there, Lucifer shrugged.

“That’s fuckin’ depressin’! C’mon, we’re gonna fix you up!” Angel looped one arm around his, tugging him in the direction of the bar.

“But it’s the afternoon-“

“That don’t mean nothin’ around here! Husk’ll pour drinks any time of the day if you give him good enough reason or a fat enough tip!”

…Well, he had said he wanted to get a drink at that open house Charlie still needed to plan. Maybe this was the safer option. Less potential fuck-ups, insults while tipsy or other forms of embarrassment opened up through the avenue of alcohol.

Letting himself be dragged along (almost quite literally, Angel’s stride was a lot longer than his own), Lucifer settled on the first barstool and waved away his coat to send it back to his room. No point in being fully dressed up and proper for a gathering like this!

“OI WHISKERS!” Angel called out loudly, since they had arrived to an empty bar. “We got a thirst we need ya for! Well, I do, I dunno about the short one ‘ere-“

“Please don’t drag me into this,” Lucifer hissed out, barely keeping himself from spluttering at the implication.

“I’m jokin’!” Angel cackled. “Just tryin’ to get his atten-“

“You’re lucky I still wanna put up with your shit,” Husk grumbled, appearing from the side of the lobby. “Why are you yelling at me at this time of day and dragging the king along in your bullshit?”

“His Royal Shortness needs some people to chat with and I’m offerin’ to give him a crash course!” Looking proud of himself, Angel leaned closer to get to eye level with the grumpy cat, one lower hand resting on his hip while the other reached out to twiddle the bowtie under Husk’s chin. “An’ I’m thirsty besides that-“

“Oh shut the fuck up about your randy nonsense, lay off kid.” Despite his gruff tone, Lucifer swore he saw some level of amusement in the cat’s demeanor - until his gaze turned on him and became more neutral. “I see you’re still in one piece.”

“Me? Why wouldn’t I- oh, right.” Of course Husk would have to bring attention to the arrangement. Laughing nervously, Lucifer waved a hand. “No, no fighting going on here, don’t want to stir up trouble around here!”

“Just making sure. The boss can be…something else.”

“Yeah, which is why we’re gonna get somethin’ boozy goin’ on for him, he needs a break from those pow-wows or whatever!” Perching himself in his usual seat, Angel fluffed up his…chest fluff? As if he were adjusting himself to look more buxom. “Am I gonna have to make you a promise of motorboating again-“

“What did I just tell you about making jokes like that in the middle of the day?!” Pulling a flask from the pocket of his pants, Husk made an exasperated sound before uncorking and drinking a good measure of it in one go. “Christ’s sake, kid, I’m not even one sheet fully to the wind yet.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes, Kitty Cat,” Angel purred, wiggling his expressive eyebrows. Catching the dark look shot his way this time, though, he started to pout a bit. “Okay, okay, I’ll take it down a few. Gimme my usual, Husky.”

“Expecting that tip after your shoot tomorrow,” the cat muttered, eyes drifting to Lucifer. “And you?”

“Oh, uh, an appletini?” It was the least embarrassing of his drink options, and he didn’t want to test the limits of what Alastor’s barkeep was willing to put up with nonsense-wise, thanks to Angel’s screwing around.

“Alright, they’ll be up in a minute. Don’t you say it, Angel.”

“Aww,” Angel grinned, but kept his word. “Alright, short king! You wanna spill more about what’s been goin’ on between you and Tall, Dark and Creeptastic?”

“You know I can’t say anything about what he tells me in confidence because of those questions…”

“Not what I’m askin’ about, I know better. Don’t wanna get my head bitten off for knowing too much. More…” Tapping the bartop with two fingers, Angel tilted his head to the side. “What’s your goal once you get through that agreement you two have going on right now?”

“Goal?” Lucifer sighed. “I’m not holding out hope for much. This was…” he dropped his voice pointedly, after looking around quickly to be sure that Charlie was nowhere nearby. “Just to make sure that we’re playing along with Charlie’s demand that we get along. There was no ulterior motive on my part, and unless he’s trying to get some dirt on me to use against me later…I don’t see what his motive could be.”

There was a scoff from behind the bar where Husk was working, but the cat didn’t turn to look at them.

Angel snorted almost in tandem with the sound, but didn’t seem eager to say whatever he had been thinking. “Sure. You think there’s any chance you might ever actually be able to get along with the guy?”

“…I think I piss him off too much.” Propping his head up in one hand, Lucifer closed his eyes briefly. Outside of the shadow’s demeanor towards him shifting a bit, and the tone of Alastor’s questioning softening a touch once he’d realized he’d pushed too hard with that one question, there hadn’t been much change between them.

And really, why would anyone expect otherwise? A pair of people who got into a song battle for their first meeting really didn’t have the makings of the kind of bosom buddies who would sit down over drinks and chat away.

“An’ yet he’s playing along with all of this without going all psycho eldritch bitch again,” Angel pressed. “Maybe if you spin things right, you might get on his good-“

“HAH!”

“-better side. Shit Husk, I know, don’t interrupt a guy!”

“Don’t trust Boss’ motives, all I’m saying,” Husk muttered, setting the two prepared drinks in front of them. “He doesn’t go into any situation without having eyes on all opportunities and claws wrapped around every possible string to pull like a twisted puppeteer. He thinks he can get something out of this situation between you two, mark my words…not that you heard it from me. I didn’t say shit.”

Task done for the moment, the bartender flung the wiping rag across his shoulder, then crossed to the entryway couch nearby to sit down and start shuffling through a deck of playing cards.

Sighing at the turn in conversation, Angel shook his head as he reached out to pick up his drink and take a sip. “Okay, maybe I agree that he probably does have some kind of motive, but it’s pokin’ at my brain to figure out what it could be.”

“If he wants to backstab me, he would have been better off just coming at me right from the jump.” Toying with the apple slice dropped into his drink, Lucifer plucked it out and popped it between his teeth to chew. “Could’ve gone with any number of angles to blackmail me.”

“True. You probably gotta lot of material out there, huh?” Angel smiled sadly. “People always comin’ at you sideways, either wantin’ something or just trying to get close to you to do…whatever twisted motives they have in mind. Does it get tiring?”

“I thought you were a celebrity and understood that kind of thing.” Lucifer felt…tired, suddenly. He didn’t really want to deal with this line of conversation.

“Yeah, but even a porn star of my high caliber doesn’t compare to Hell royalty! Let alone the top cheese…apple?”

“And now you know why I don’t let too many people get too close to me.” Other than the most obvious reason why, when the most important person in his life had walked away without so much as a glance back.

“Too bad I’m not gonna let that stand!” Banging the bartop with one fist, Angel reached out and grabbed onto Lucifer’s wrist, lightly shaking his arm. “I don’t like seeing lonely mugs like yours moping around even when you’re trying to pretend otherwise! And I don’t have to have any kind of stupid arrangement to try and cheer you up, so we’re gonna do fun things together when you’re not busy dealin’ with Smiles!”

“Angel, you don’t have to, I can manage just-“

“Nonsense! Someone else gotta look out for you when you’re tryin’ so hard to be better for Charlie! Even strong types need help too!” Pulling his hand back, Angel lifted up his drink glass and held it out for a toast. “C’mon, to livenin’ this place up a little!”

“…To friendship?” Lucifer suggested instead, lifting his martini glass to tap against the rim of Angel’s glass.

“Sure! Wouldn’t say no to bein’ able to throw your name out if I need a favor in the future.” Angel’s grin stretched wide across his face. “I’m kidding. Now, c’mon, I got some gossip you might find interestin’, Husky thinks I’m boring when I talk about this sort of thing and I need another listening ear that won’t run off into the night like Niff. So, there’s this bitch named Tiffany Titfucker in my line of work, right?”

“…Right? That’s an interesting name…”

“Yeah it’s because her rack is bigger than her head and her head is already fat anyway. But back to the point! There’s this awards show down here for pornos, right? The Sex-x-x-i awards, an’ everyone knows I’m a shoo-in, but this bitch and her latest flop of a bounce-house-wannabe back-breaking, bed-rocking scene got everyone talking about how her tits flop around like watermelons in anti gravity-“

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Multiple drinks, several stories from Angel and one tipsy near-fall when he leaned back in his seat later, Lucifer felt lighter and more float-y than he had in some time.

Husk had returned to the bar, contributing more to the conversation once both he and Angel drank more - suggesting this was a usual routine for them.

But he’d been kept in the loop and hadn’t been ignored like other conversation partners might have after a while, which was…nice. Even if he was not quite sure where their rambling points of conversation had taken them now.

The words were buzzing a bit in his ears. It had been quite some time since he drank substantially, let alone in a social setting. He used to be better able to hold his liquor than this, keeping up with high society that enjoyed getting day drunk as if it was a daily part of life.

Not that Lucifer wanted to go back to those habits, back when keeping up appearances with Lilith was more important than anything else… it led to nothing but loneliness, a sense of ill belonging and the realization that he had only been wanted around when his presence was convenient or for show.

Like an emperor’s favorite horse being trotted out when necessary to show off, then put away again in a gilded palace that was closer to a cage than a home.

“—hey. I think you had enough?”

Coming back to reality when Husk’s fingers snapped in front of his face, Lucifer blinked. “Wh- oh. I was just…spacing out a little.”

“More’n a little, short king,” Angel was grinning a bit, likely trying to soften the words. “I thought you were about to keel over if that stool tipped a bit. We been tryin’ to get your attention for a couple minutes now.”

“I’m not that far gone,” he complained, pushing himself up further onto the stool and- wobbling a bit, but didn’t fall! “See? Not too far!”

“Uh huh.” Husk looked unimpressed, which- considering his usual expression, was ironically impressive. “And what if you tried to get up on your feet?”

“Husky, maybe that’s not a good idea,” Angel stage-whispered. “Fallen angel falling on his face wouldn’t be all that great-“

“’M not gonna fall!”

Famous last words for a being that tried to hop off the stool, but was tipped too far back and got his hoof caught up under the foot bar. Making a faint oof noise, the room spun dizzyingly on the way down, and Lucifer braced himself as best he could before he hit the floor.

…Not that he ever even hit the floor. The chill that passed over him was familiar now, and while being pulled to a stop with a jolt was a bit uncomfortable, it was better than having his head hit the floorboards. That would have hurt even with his constitution being what it was.

Opening his eyes partway to look upwards at the now-chittering shadow, he couldn’t help but musing at it making noise.

Apparently by bitching at him in whatever passed for language for the eldritch critter. Had it always been able to do that, but hadn’t bothered before now?

“…Huh, when did you get here?”

“Boss probably had it spying,” Husk muttered, focusing on mopping the bar a bit forcefully now. “’Course he would.”

“Yeah, sounds like Smiles,” Angel whispered, as if trying not to be heard.

Helped back up onto his feet properly, Lucifer wobbled a bit and laid one arm down across the bartop. “I’ll be fine,” he complained half-heartedly, but due to the amount of difficulty in trying to push away a creature that could become intangible at a moment’s notice, didn’t try to do so to the shadow.

All the better, because the silly thing was still hovering over him. The flurry of noises had stopped, but he was still being watched with a pointed gaze.

“Maybe I am done,” he told the other two, deciding that arguing with the shadow in a state like this would not end well - besides, he was feeling a bit dizzy and like he wanted to lie down for a while…

“Yeah yeah, let the thing lead you upstairs before it glares holes through us,” Husk grumbled, sounding done.

Angel reached over to pat his shoulder. “See ya later, short king. We’ll figure out another time to hang out, okay?”

Nodding in response, Lucifer let himself be led away by the shadow. It would have been easier to use magic to just make his way upstairs - but then again, if he was really tipsy, it might not be a good idea to try and teleport…who knew where he’d end up?

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Once they were up the first couple flights of stairs, Angel let out a breath. “…What was that about anyway?”

No longer pretending to clean the bar, Husk looked towards the stairs to be sure they were gone before dropping his voice. “That’s above my fucking pay grade, kid, and I don’t think you wanna get nosy about it either…”

“You tellin’ me that just makes me want to be more nosy about it.”

“Be my guest, but I’m not getting in Boss’ fucking way about this one. That dumb shadow doesn’t act like that with just anyone, and mark my words, it’s gonna be about something weird.”

Angel wiggled his eyebrows. “Oooh. Juicy, I’m gonna have to really look into this now!”

Exasperated with the constant innuendos, Husk crossed his arms and leaned forward against the bar with an unimpressed stare. “Okay, but don’t come crying to me if you get your ass chewed about it. Not like that, stop giving me that look. Just shut up and finish your drink.”

“Alright Whiskers, yeesh. Maybe if you hadn’t put so much booze into his drinks, we wouldn’t have seen this happening.”

“Not my fucking fault the King of Hell can’t hold his liquor!”

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

If Lucifer hadn’t had his eldritch companion to lead him upstairs, he certainly would have gotten lost on the way to his own room. Wasn’t that an embarrassing thought? Not that he would have cared - all he was concerned with was getting upstairs and curling up into bed to let the floaty feelings carry him off into some kind of oblivion.

At least he was happy and floaty, not the depressed kind that usually came during a bad episode. Especially since Lily left…

Shaken out of his thoughts by the shadow chittering at him again suddenly, Lucifer lifted his gaze to look up at it. “What…? I’m coming, I promise.”

The shadow’s mouth twisted, its eyes narrowing at him and reached out to tug at his arm with that cool touch.

Why was that so comforting in the moment…? Oh right, he was a lonely bitch and could still recognize that in an inebriated state. His brain wasn’t that fuzzy around the edges, even if he was unsteady on his hooves.

It remained insistent to keep some kind of spectral touch trained on him until they reached the top floor and approached the door to his tower room. Waving with a fumbly bit of magic to unlock the door, Lucifer stumbled inside and bypassed everything to make it to his bed and flung himself down face-first into the bedding.

The world spun and twisted dizzyingly on its axis, but he ignored it by squeezing his eyes shut until the sensation passed.

Around him, the bedding shifted in a whisper, suggesting that the shadow had followed him over. “Can you get the door first…?”

A whoosh suggested that it vanished across the room quickly, then the sound of the lock clicking into place echoed through the quiet space.

Curling on his side and wrapping 0ne arm around his ribs, Lucifer cracked open one eye to look up and see the shadow coming back to join him. “I dunno why you wanna keep me company again, because I’m pretty…pathetic, but if you’re gonna stay…nap with me.”

At the moment, he would take the comfort even of his rival’s eldritch power personified to avoid being alone. Maybe it would keep the darker thoughts at bay while he drifted off.

Making a pleased sort of sound, the shadow tugged several of his stuffed animals closer, bringing a couple of the favorite duckies closer as well for good measure, then seemed to shrink itself down to curl closer to him and the impromptu cuddle pile.

Curling his claws around one stuffed duck and pulling a plush cat closer to his body to hug it with his other arm, Lucifer smiled sleepily at the shadow’s crescent moon expression fondly. “G’night…”

He drifted off soon after, made more comfortable by the blanket that got pulled over him and took away the chill of the shadow’s proximity. It was trying to make him more comfortable, and the bid worked.

Chapter Text

Sleeping off alcohol didn’t usually take so many hours, but Lucifer was vaguely aware that it was late when he cracked open one eye and took note of the way the fractal pattern from the window was casting itself across the walls. Late in the morning, but not noon yet…

And too damn bright. Grumbling in discomfort at the spike of pain that shot through his skull, he pulled the blanket over his head again, disappearing back into the dimmed light that was more comfortable for the moment.

Charlie was going to be disappointed in him if she found out he’d fallen into a bout of day drinking (let alone that it had been afternoon and he’d been trying to be social…). But, that was a problem to deal with later, if at all.

It wasn’t like they’d had an agreement to meet up that he’d missed! And hopefully Angel wouldn’t go blabbing about what they had gotten up to. As far as he knew, the spider demon was supposed to be cutting back as well, trying to be better and get closer to the ideals of redemption.

Whoops. So much for both of them behaving very well.

Groaning and twisting himself onto his belly, Lucifer flung his arms out to pull a plushie closer and hugged it to get out some of the guilt choking at the back of his throat. At least he was alone to- wait, the shadow!

“…Buddy, are you here?” he croaked out, wincing at how cracked his voice had come out. Wow, he really needed something to drink.

There was a soft answering chitter, sounding further away, and he peeked out from under the blanket to see the sweet thing across the room near the fireplace.

…Wait, why was he thinking of it as sweet? Alastor would try to strangle him if he ever let a thought like that out! Best that he didn’t and got a handle on that one quick.

But, it had escorted him back up here the day before, that much he could remember…and it had cuddled with him at his request, easing some of his ever-present loneliness.

Well, fuck. He just kept digging a hole for himself lately, didn’t he?

Pulled out of a potential spiral when a glass was suddenly set in his hand, Lucifer almost jerked under the blankets and pulled it off of his head to look out.

Ah. It was just water. Pushing himself up and ignoring the way his head spiked in pain again, he raised the glass to his mouth and drank almost half of it immediately. It soothed the parched feeling in his throat, so hopefully his voice couldn’t crack again like before. “Thank you.”

Nodding eagerly, the shadow held out a hand to take the glass back and set it on the bedside table.

“Didn’t you uh…have to go back to your master last night?”

After a brief pause, the shadow shook its head, like it had to consider the question.

Alastor had said he had matters to see to, so maybe he had been busy up through the night. It was probably important, but not enough so to require more of his power. So, presumably nothing too dangerous.

Not that it was anything that really concerned Lucifer. Just something to muse over while he considered what to do about their meeting today. They hadn’t made arrangements, and after the visit to the tower yesterday, a vague thought bloomed in his mind.

Maybe it was best to even the playing field by bringing Alastor into his space now. A show that he was willing to take the game of tit for tat to that point now, and let the Radio Demon see more into what his day to day life looked like where their tasks didn’t cross.

But first things first…he wanted to do something about his head. Calling on a bit of healing power, he pressed two claws to his temple. The hangover headache dulled down to a barely-there pressure - a consequence of drinking he didn’t always bother fully healing himself from.

Maybe it was another part of his punishment from the Big Man upstairs, some reminder that he wasn’t completely divine any longer and was subject to some of the same bullshit that lesser demons had to put up with to make eternal punishment more painful. As if Lucifer needed any reminder of that aspect of his non-angel-hood in a more obvious way, thanks for being a dick for so long, Big G.

“Hey, you think you could get a message to Alastor for me? Kinda want to bring him up here today for our card draws. Just feels fair after he took me to the tower yesterday.”

Floating closer, the shadow nodded eagerly. It was nice that it was so willing to help out now, since getting up just yet…still seemed like a problem for a bit later.

The comparison of still feeling like a wobbly goat was right there and fitting, but he didn’t want to stoop to that level even against himself in his own mind right now. Falling over like a startled animal with all limbs extended if he got snuck up on in this state would be embarrassing as Hell, and no way he wanted to put himself through that while still dealing with vague hangover effects!

Tilting its head, the shadow looked like it was waiting for further elaboration. Likely used to being ordered around more directly with more in-depth orders.

“Oh! Right, buddy, sorry. Give me a couple more hours, so about three in the afternoon? If he can’t show up then, just come back and let me know and we can figure out a later point in the day.”

Nodding again, the shadow chittered and…huh, made what looked like a heart with its hands before disappearing into the ether.

That was a bit unexpected and he really didn’t want to dig into what was behind that right now! Still too hungover for that, even if it had been cute…

…Yeah, he sure had screwed himself over by petting the silly critter’s ears, hadn’t he? Once he petted something, it was all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking it was forever cute from there no matter what.

Going downstairs for late breakfast, or brunch, or whatever kind of meal seemed a bad idea, so he summoned food to stave off further hangover effects. At least the leftover this time weren’t highly spiced or greasy - Angel’s name had been written on the top of the container, and he would have to make that up to the sinner at some point.

Maybe some kind of outing…even if it meant researching places to go beyond the reliable takeout businesses that had his depression orders on speed dial. Ugh, the things he did to get social interaction in at this point…but at least the spider had made the first steps and made the entire affair a little less awkward.

Still awkward, but with Lucifer involved, that was to be expected.

Halfway through eating, a knock at the door echoed through the room. Biting back a reflexive groan, Lucifer motioned with one finger to unlock the door with a soft click, hoping that the sound did the trick of inviting the other party in.

Sure enough, the door was opened by Charlie a few seconds later. “Dad, are you up now?”

“…” Swallowing the mouthful of food he was trying not to choke on, he sat up straighter and scooted across the bed to sit on the end and draped his legs over the edge - a little more dignified position than sitting like a hunched over creature nibbling on stolen goods. “Yeah, I’m up. What’s up, sweetie?”

“Oh good, I thought you were having another late morning.” Lightly shuffling papers that she was holding, Charlie glanced down at them, then back up at her father and smiled brightly. “We’re going to have the open house soon! Obviously preparations still need to be made, and we have to get the hotel ready to host more sinners for the event, so I was coming to see if there were particular tasks you wanted to help with?”

“Are you dividing things up?” When Charlie nodded, Lucifer let out a breath. “Okay, well…what’s on your list?”

Taking a deep breath before launching into her notes, Charlie flipped through several of her pages before finding the right one. “Vaggie is dealing with a couple catering companies so we have a lot of food at our disposal, and she’s going out to hire a couple extra security types from Carmilla Carmine’s employ too to make sure things don’t get too crazy out of hand here. Most of that is self-sustaining…obviously Niffty is going to be cleaning like a tornado, we’re all kind of leaving her to it but there is one of our new faces that offered to help her. I think Husk is hiring out a couple entertainment contacts he has? Something about game tables and a prize pot…” Trailing off when her usual rambling manner caught up with her, she paused to catch her breath.

“Angel and his friend Cherri are going to deal with decorating and they said something about mocktails they’d need help with guinea pigs to test out. And Alastor…”

“Is going to do his usual ‘Alastor’ things?” Lucifer finished Charlie’s thought for her.

“Yeah, kinda how it seemed, but…he’s playing along, dad.”

“I know, sweetie.” Not even feeling compelled to argue about what Alastor could possibly be getting up to, Lucifer looked thoughtful. “I don’t want to step on too many toes so I won’t really swoop in with magic to just fix everything up. Maybe I can help Angel and his friend, then I did want to have a conversation with Vaggie about making sure the grounds are up to par for security.”

“Oh!” Charlie remembered something suddenly, looking excited. “Speaking of grounds! I’ve been wanting us to put a garden up out back, and now would be the time to work on that! Do you think you could help Alastor with that task for a few days? He originally said he was going to do it as a favor to me, but it’s been getting pushed off.”

Wondering if their arrangement had led to that task being pushed aside, Lucifer winced a bit. “Sure, sweetie, I can help with that.”

“Great! I’ve got some drawings and diagrams of potential ideas but…if you have something you wanna see done out there, feel free, dad? You kinda know more about gardens than I do.”

Huffing out a breath through his nose, Lucifer barely kept from facepalming at the real meaning of that veiled comment. He knew his daughter. “Charlie, I am not recreating the Garden of Eden down here. That’s too much blasphemy even for the Devil.”

“That’s not what I meant, I swear! I just…there’s not a lot of garden like places up here in Pride. I kinda miss seeing wild spaces like the ones near Aunt Bee’s beehive, and it’s kinda hard to get away from here since there’s a lot to manage…”

Making a mental note to consider arranging a short trip for Charlie and Vaggie, even if it meant having to reach out to Beelzebub again sooner than he was ready to, Lucifer covered up the complicated swirl of emotions running through him in order to smile at her. “We’ll figure something out, sweetie. I can’t bring a piece of Gluttony up here to you, strictly speaking, but I can work a little magic to figure something out.”

“Don’t forget a magic shield, dad. You kinda…get carried away with the acid rains sometimes.”

Lucifer grimaced. At least none of those episodes had happened…recently…or rather, more recently than a few days ago. He HAD gotten a little carried away again, huh? “Yeah, okay, point taken. Now, if you need me to help out with anything else, just remember to let me know, okay? I don’t know what needs to happen around here unless I’m told, and I am willing to help out however I need to.”

“Thanks, dad.” Smiling brightly, Charlie hurried over to give him a quick hug, then pulled back. “Think we can get all of this done in a week from today?”

“…We can certainly try.” That meant there would be at least a few days ahead eaten up with party-related tasks, but it wouldn’t be that terrible. At least there would be a goal of Charlie’s to work towards.

Brightening up even further, Charlie did a little dance on the spot. “Okay I need to go start getting schedules figured out for these plans! Will I see you at dinner tonight, dad? You’ve missed the past couple times…”

“I’ll be there just for you tonight.” Ideally, he would be feeling more normal then and could deal with the nightly banter that went on.

“Thank you! See you later then, bye!” Disappearing in a whirlwind of motion as she usually did, Charlie left the door open behind her.

Snapping to shut the door with magic, Lucifer propped his hands on the bed and leaned back on them. After a beat of silence, he groaned and flopped back into the bedding. Well…this had been an inevitability, but the timing of a week was…a lot.

There were still enough cards left in the Major Arcana deck to last him and Alastor seven more rounds of questions, meaning they would have to juggle those between planning.

They’d managed it out so far without too many hiccups, so maybe it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Famous last words level of thoughts, Lucifer.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

The shadow came back some time later, playing charades to get its message across. Alastor would be showing up on the agreed time, so all that was left to do was make sure the tower was cleaned up and in proper order first.

Magic usually solved matters well enough, but he had to be sure by manually checking under knick-knacks and behind furniture - even under the bed, not that they were likely to get anywhere near that part of the room for a drawing!

It would be the one time that not every spot was picked up, though, so he crawled up under the edge of the duvet cover to get a better look.

“Why is there a half-eaten bag of…never mind, I was a little upset when I first moved in…they’re probably bad by now, so goodbye!” Vanishing the offending garbage with a wave of magic, Lucifer crawled a bit further under the bed to be sure everything was-

“SHIT!” Startled into banging his head against the underside of the bedframe when the shadow’s face swam up inches from his own, Lucifer cursed in several different languages and wrapped both arms around his head. If he hadn’t gotten rid of the hangover headache, that surely would have contributed a fair bit more pain.

Not that it stung any less. “Damn…you can’t sneak up on me like that, Tzel,” he grumbled, not realizing he’d just inadvertently given the thing a name.

The chittering sound it made this time came across as very inquisitive - as if the way its eyes lit up with even more vibrant green light than usual didn’t indicate that.

“…Oh, I don’t know why I called you that…it means shade in Hebrew.” Even if it wasn’t Enochian, variations of the language over the years had been easier to pick up than other human speeches. Not that Lucifer didn’t know them all as it was, but some were more instinctive than others.

And the language of Creation had been the ancestor of Hebrew.

Dropping his grip on his head, Lucifer looked warily over at the shadow, trying to gauge what its reaction was really about.

Pointing at itself in response, the shadow seemed to be requesting to hear the name again.

Lucifer hesitated. This wasn’t his call, he didn’t have a right to do this to Alastor’s shadow - it was not a manifestation of his own power. But…something felt right about it all the same. And he couldn’t help but remember that he’d been told to pet the shadow already.

Not like he could claim the eldritch manifestation for himself, or would even try if it was possible.

“Tzel,” he repeated, watching as the shadow’s ears twitched in response, eyes curving upwards in that familiar crescent shape.

“You are going to get me in so much more trouble, you know that?” Lucifer told it with a sigh, teleporting out from under the bed to save some effort (since his dignity was already gone for the day).

Warping up from under the bed, Tzel grinned broadly, seemingly unperturbed by the idea of trouble from its master. It was, of course, willful, and that had become abundantly obvious in their interactions.

“You’re worse than Alastor in some ways,” he grumbled, returning to the task of checking around the room for anything else that needed to be cleaned.

Pointedly ignoring the way Tzel made a cackling kind of noise at him, the sound twisting and distorted as if it was drawing from radio waves to speak.

Well, that was a new one. And of course it would laugh at him.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Three o’clock rolled around, and right on cue, the knock at the door sounded through the room. Looking up from the book he’d settled down by the fireplace to read, Lucifer waved to unlock the door. “Did Charlie already talk to you about everyone moving forward with preparations?”

“Of course.” Stepping into the room, Alastor glanced around, eyes slightly narrowed as he took in the layout of the room and what lay inside.

Compared to the palace, Lucifer had decorated the space simply - the wallpaper matched the rest of the hotel’s theme, the carpeting was a bit thicker than what could be found in guest rooms and other spaces but was otherwise designed similarly. Most ornate was his bed, curtained for when the moods to hide away struck slash blocking out the morning light when he remembered to pull the curtains closed before going to sleep.

“Hmm. I expected more ducks, I will admit.” The barb was a light one as far as Alastor’s commentary went, but it still made Lucifer roll his eyes.

“I don’t do most of my hobby work here, there’s more storage space at home.”

“And you have lived there for much longer, yes of course.” Waving a hand, Alastor crossed the floor to stand in front of one of the bookcases. “Seems you have much more reading material on hand than you do anything else!”

“Reading is a much better use of one’s time than hours of mindless TV. My brain is quite scrambled enough without helping it along!” Marking his place in the book he held, Lucifer set it aside. “I’m not keeping anything overly expensive or important lying around if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I’m merely curious as to what our little sovereign deigns to decorate his living space with, that’s all.” Plucking a paperweight from the shelf, Alastor turned it in his claws, expression amused - of course it had to be an apple. “Keeping on theme, I see.”

“Ten thousand plus years of the occasional tribute gift, and most of them went for the l0w-hanging fruit.”

“…Puns as well. Interesting.” Setting the apple back down on the shelf, Alastor angled his body to half turn towards Lucifer, leaning against the bookcase lightly with one shoulder. “Had a rough morning, did we?”

“What gives you that idea?” Lucifer scoffed. “I simply wanted to take an easy morning and afternoon before we’re dragged into the scrum of preparing the hotel for Charlie’s open house. We’re going to be quite busy for the next week after all.”

“Oh, of course. Best to not push oneself too hard, that leads to collapse.” Tapping claws along the shelf closest to his hand, Alastor pushed himself upright. “Did the liquid courage last night help you prepare for the inevitable with your daughter’s latest project?”

…There it was. Lucifer knew this was going to come up - it was inevitable when the shadow had showed up to check in on him, and then made sure that he made it back to his room.

“Last I checked, I’m well over the age of majority to drink alcohol. Do I need permission to do that?”

“Ha! No, that’s not what I was getting at. I simply found it interesting that you picked our dear Angel Dust to take a nightcap or six with. Did you quite enjoy Husk’s mixology after bitching about how the bar decor clashed with your precious hotel aesthetic?” Visage twisting, Alastor’s antlers cracked faintly, growing and branching a bit as his body seemed to lengthen, shadows drawing in around him with an eerie glow lighting up his eyes that weren’t drawn into radio dials - not yet, but were likely close to it.

…So, that’s what it was about. Lucifer couldn’t help it, laughing in disbelief. “Are you jealous that I didn’t ask you to drink with me?”

“WHAT CAUSE WOULD I HAVE TO BE JEALOUS OF YOU, LET ALONE WHEN IT COMES TO THE SPIDER?”

Raising one eyebrow in an unimpressed stare, Lucifer considered the collection of Radio Demon traits that remained and worsened a fair bit, casting shadows across the fireplace itself now, and beginning to affect the room beyond. Yeah, there totally was nothing behind that idea - nothing whatsoever, the antlers branched for no reason surely, let alone the rest of it.

“If we make it through this week without someone getting punched or stabbed, or some dumbass guest pulling some stupid bullshit that will cause trouble for everyone and interrupt the party, how about we hold our last tarot session over drinks then?” Maybe it was best to offer an olive branch and get it over with so they could proceed with this reading.

As if a switch had been flipped, Alastor’s more eldritch traits stopped bleeding through and he looked perfectly normal again as if nothing had ever happened. “Hmm, I believe we will need the break after. Fine, I will take you up on that offer, sire. Now, the cards?”

Motioning to the other high-backed chair to his right, Lucifer waited for the demon to cross the room and sit down before summoning the cards. The coin flip went to his guest, who decided that they should pull cards for themselves.

Drawing out Temperance and staring at a portrayal of himself with his angelic traits intact and not twisted by demonic features made Lucifer’s stomach twist up in knots, and he silently cursed Bel for including that version of himself in the deck.

It doubly felt like an insult now, especially when he caught Alastor studying the art on the card while presumably thinking of a question to ask.

At least the card had been drawn upright, he didn’t want to deal with the meanings of this one reversed.

“Inquiring minds want to know…” That tone to Alastor’s voice suggested this question wasn’t going to mean much good. “Did you have any idea that your actions in giving the Fruit of Knowledge to humanity would lead down the path that it did?”

…Seriously? Barking out a startled laugh as the question sank in, Lucifer gave Alastor a look for that one. He wasn’t even upset this time, not like that previous question - no, something about this made his blood boil.

Likely the fact that no one ever bothered to ask him his side of the story, simply accepting facts as they were presented through word of mouth in Heavenly decrees, or through the many translations of the Bible over the years.

Why did these prying questions keep falling on him?

“Of course I had no idea that anything I chose to do back then would have led humanity to this path. All I wanted was to give them a choice, to be able to make decisions for themselves and their own paths that weren’t…dictated on an All-Knowing God deciding what was and was not acceptable for them to learn, or know, or be. I saw the paths that were laid out in front of them…what it would mean to simply accept that they would be allowed to live on the whims of what Heaven dictated to be proper.”

“So you chose what seemed to be the lesser of two evils,” Alastor commented calmly. “Isn’t that amusing?”

“They should have never allowed me near the garden,” Lucifer’s smile was tinged with something dark. “And oh, did they try to keep me away. Naivete plus a desire to make a difference led to all this because I never wanted to admit that I could be acting wrong in the eyes of Father, let alone anyone else. They never understood…”

“No one? Ever?”

Catching the odd tone to Alastor’s voice, Lucifer gave him a strange look. Why did that seem…wrong, now that he was thinking about it?

There had been a few. The main one that came to mind was Michael, before they were twisted and turned against each other, used as weapons in a conflict that left eternal scars…reaching up to rub absently at his chest, Lucifer swallowed hard.

…Had that really been it? It was almost as if there was a gap there, when he tried to think back. Hazy memories of…something that was just out of reach, warm and comfortable and safe-

“I can’t remember most of what went on back then,” he whispered hoarsely, giving up when the pain in his head threatened to spike. “It was so long ago now. Too long. And they’re all out of my reach regardless. I’m condemned down here just as much as the rest of the sinners.”

“Yes, but we earned our way down here with your gift!” Alastor laughed, sounding slightly unhinged in the process. “Why worry about what those feathery BASTARDS upstairs think after all this time? They’re the ones who cast you away. Perhaps you should stop hinging your sense of worth on mistakes from so long ago that brought us all here and focus on what you can do down here.”

“…Are you actually trying to help me?”

“I did tell you that I wouldn’t abide with the ‘woe is me’ act taking forever,” Alastor waved his hand flippantly. “Besides, I think it’s your turn to ask me a probing question, sire. Or would you rather keep this all superficial as we have been up until this point? I daresay you’ve opened up the floodgates to give us more understanding of each other!”

Unable to argue that point, Lucifer shook his head and motioned for Alastor to draw his card.

The Hierophant was another of those cards with a design that told a story - Satan posed as a religious leader may not have been intuitive based on the hierarchy of Hell and the Sins, but Belphegor had thought the pun suggesting that humanity’s confusion over who was really charge in Hell had been hilarious.

It made Alastor bark a laugh when he realized what he was looking at. “No one ever could explain to me why there were multiple demons put forth for the identity of the Devil. Before you ask your question, why exactly was it that Heaven painted Satan as the culprit?”

“Because he was the angriest when he fell. Heaven’s attempts at propaganda even in the early days was outrageous, and Samael didn’t fall for any of it. He also acted out a lot back then, and made a reputation for himself.”

It maybe wasn’t the wisest idea to go talking about the Sins’ dirty laundry, but it wasn’t like there was much that even he could slip up and say that would affect their standing down here. Power mattered more than reputation, and there wasn’t much that could compare to their capabilities as embodiments of literal sin.

“I suppose that’s fair. Most of us never much questioned what we were taught, or learned not to when the answers weren’t satisfying.” Alastor waved a hand. “Your question, sire?”

With the meaning of the card in mind, Lucifer went quiet for a long moment to think. Upright had less out of the box definitions than reversed, which might have been easier to deal with for a person that was a bit less… everything that Alastor seemed to represent.

“When you were alive, did you have traditional beliefs about religion?”

“Growing up in the Bible belt down in Louisiana shaped a lot of what I was meant to believe. Not that it meant much when I saw how God-fearing men around me behaved in the name of religion, and by virtue of their skin color as well.” The smile that twisted Alastor’s expression was very obviously not a nice one. “I earned my way down here for deciding that I was a better judge, jury and executioner than the so-called ‘good men’ who let their bastard friends get away with vile and terrible acts, and covered up for them. Admittedly I started off in the belief that I was making the community better and more religiously pure, but as I gained a taste for blood, I lost sight of that so-called religious cleansing and embraced the fact that I was simply a terrible man in my own unique ways.”

Once in the recent past, Lucifer would have reacted in disgust to this information. Having answers as to what brought Alastor down here made a whole lot of sense and painted a better picture of why the demon might be so feared at this point. But at this point, simply having pieces to the puzzle made him feel like he understood the Radio Demon a bit better.

This was still not the worst sinner he’d ever had contact with, and even though many of them still deserved their fates, there was some vindication in knowing that he had given them the gift of free will in order to determine their fates outside of a system that didn’t protect them.

Religious belief might have been meant to make humanity behave according to Heaven’s mandates and order their lives, but as with anything else in history, bad had seeped in to ruin everything good that it came in contact with.

“Not often I hear about those who killed in the name of taking care of others doing even worse.” Not wanting to call much attention to what he really thought of Alastor’s explanation, Lucifer let the issue drop. They still were not that friendly, and he didn’t want to push his luck. “Were you going down for the group dinner tonight? Charlie asked me to show up.”

“I was intending to cook tonight for the group. I hope you enjoy spice in your dishes or we might have to find you some milk.”

Biting his lip briefly to keep from snapping off with a snarky comment, Lucifer gave him a look. “I literally breathe fire, I don’t think there’s much that you can make that could surpass that level of heat for me.”

“Hah! I’ll remember that once I’ve made you tear up with my maman’s special jambalaya recipe!”

“You’re on, Bambi.”

Chapter Text

Being in a crowded kitchen would have been a nightmare and a half, especially when one of the cooks was Alastor, so Lucifer decided to skip helping with the prep work at dinner. It was much simpler to deal with the dining room arrangements and setting the table, a simple matter even without the use of magic to streamline.

Well…simple other than constantly remembering to dodge Niffty, whose head was barely level with the lower backs of the chairs.

And moved very quickly for someone so small, making it very difficult to predict where she was going to be next - until she was right there all of a sudden.

“’Scuse me, Bad Boy!” There was an insistent tugging on one of the tails of his coat to go along with the sound of her voice.

Barely keeping himself from jumping and glancing down, Lucifer met her gaze. “Yes, Niffty?”

“Have you and Alastor been sharing secrets?” Fiddling with the napkin she was supposed to be folding around silverware, Niffty also stared unblinkingly, which - not a new expression to see on her, but in context of the question…

It was a bit unnerving.

“We…they’re not secrets, so much? But answering questions.” Wondering what was behind this question - and her motivations, since she was quite an enigma - Lucifer covered up his mild discomfort by smiling. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering! I haven’t really seen Alastor spend a lot of time making time for someone else in a long time, and it’s kinda fun. But he won’t tell me anything because he’s like that.”

“Yes, he can be rather mysterious…”

“So maybe I’ll just start asking you questions about it soon instead!” Blinking to break the spell, Niffty cackled suddenly and tossed aside the napkin, producing her massive sewing needle from under the tied ribbon of her apron and darted off on some new wild bug chase.

“…” Staring after retreating form for a moment, Lucifer shook his head and returned to his task. Maybe she would get so distracted going after new mother bugs in front of their children that she would forget such a sentiment. One could hope.

It didn’t take much longer to finish getting the table prepared - these dinners were still staff only, including the obvious exception in the form of his presence, so there weren’t many place settings required.

And with not much left for him to do, he retreated to the sitting room to wait. The sound of voices from the direction of the bar caught his attention, but the realization that it was Husk and Angel talking gave him pause. After their last meet-up, he wasn’t quite in the mood to test the extent of Alastor’s totally-not-jealous fits on an evening like this, especially when food was on the line.

He wouldn’t put it past the Radio Demon to throw the kind of fit that would result in the entire table’s contents being scattered if he got mad enough. At the very least, they needed to make it to the main dish so Lucifer could try it and prove Alastor wrong about his tolerance for spice levels.

Movement near the door drew his attention, and Lucifer looked up to see Vaggie entering the room. “Waiting around as well?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes sir,” Vaggie answered, falling back on the form of address she’d taken to using in their few interactions since the battle. “Alastor asked Charlie to help him in the kitchen tonight, so…”

The way they shared a grimace didn’t need to be explained. Charlie would be eager to do something useful in the kitchen, but her skills left a lot to be desired. Enthusiasm only went so far.

And if not for the knowledge that Alastor was likely trying to find ways to distract Charlie from her insistent mission of making sure they got along, he would have thought the demon had other ulterior motives and decided to storm in there.

As it was, he was not looking forward to potentially burnt food that his little girl decided to help with…

“Do we have a backup plan?” he asked in a low voice, hating that the words came out of his mouth in the first place - but if they all wanted to find a way to eat, it might be necessary.

“Speed dial,” Vaggie whispered back. “There’s a few safe options that already worked for a previous dinner night when Niffty put something…’crunchy’ in the casserole, in her words. None of us trusted that it wasn’t bug carcasses.”

Lucifer shivered, silently glad that he had missed that group dinner. “Hopefully we don’t have to fall back on those plans, maybe he’ll just have her doing something simple like prep work without the stove top.”

“I love Charlie, but I really hope so,” Vaggie muttered, her expression resigned but full of fondness. “She needs cooking classes, but I don’t have the heart to suggest something like that.”

“Take a class as a couple?” Lucifer suggested. He normally felt strange when it came to the matter of relationships and advice, what with his abysmal recent history, but this was for the sake of Charlie so he could suck it up. “Char-char would probably love to do that kind of thing and pay attention to impress you.”

“You think so?” A brief look of insecurity crossed Vaggie’s face. “I mean…you don’t have to answer that, I said it without thinking, sir…but I’ll look into something.”

“Make it a surprise and make a day of it, take her out.” Knowing how hectic the next week was about to become, Lucifer decided now was the time to press for that break he’d considered suggesting for the two of them. “Better yet, I’ve got something in mind. Give me a few days to arrange it and I’ll let you know the details so you can gather Charlie up and head out?”

“But we have the open house coming up soon-“

“And you both have been incredibly busy keeping pace with new arrivals and everything else going on around here since the hotel reopened,” Lucifer said firmly. “I think I can manage juggling tasks for a day for the sake of you two getting a little break. And don’t argue with me, it’s my job to look after both of you now.”

“Sir…”

Recognizing the look on her face as the expression of someone that was not used to having others look after them, Lucifer waved a hand to stop a visible spiral before it could go into full swing.

“No no, I’m not taking no for an answer. You work too hard, what is the purpose of having the offer of help around here if you can’t take advantage of it? You’ll still have plenty of time to make plans and arrangements for the open house, and get to come back with hopefully a clearer head to deal with the inevitable chaos.”

“…I still feel like I should be telling you no, but,” Vaggie sighed. “Okay. Just let me know where and when, that way I can figure out some story to spin for Charlie and not ruin the surprise.”

“Smart,” Lucifer winked at her. “It’ll make future group dinners easier for all of us, hopefully…”

“I’m glad we agree on that much, sir.”

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Once dinner was finally ready - and miraculously not looking or smelling burnt thanks to Charlie’s contributions to the efforts - everyone started to gather around the table to settle in and eat.

Alastor didn’t wait for the two wayward ‘barflies’ as he called them to come in from the bar, which Vaggie shot him a look for but didn’t seem to want to argue with him about.

It seemed she was starting to come to the same realization that Lucifer was about trying to get along with Charlie’s hotelier, even if they likely had very different internal monologues going on about it. Similar sentiments, though she wasn’t bound to good behavior by a deal or as much of a threat of expulsion from Charlie.

The extra portion of jambalaya ladled out onto Lucifer’s plate was a clear silent challenge, Alastor’s eyes shining with a faint green light around the edges as his grin broadened. “Since you haven’t been eating very well the last few days, sire!” he said in explanation for the others, underpinning the audible hint of meaning to his tone.

Normally, those would have been fighting words - and the pleading look Charlie shot Lucifer’s way spoke of how she thought the same. But he knew better than to rise to the bait so obviously, especially with witnesses right there.

“I appreciate your concern, Al.” Emphasizing the abbreviated version of the demon’s name, Lucifer was gratified when he saw his eye twitch. “So let’s see how your mother’s recipe is on the spice levels.”

The first fork full brought a layer of heat to the roof of his mouth, not unbearable yet but he did notice the spice. And as much as he was grudging to admit to the fact, the food was quite good. Cajun and Creole cooking had never really been on his radar of dishes before, not knowing anyone from the region, but he could see why there was appeal.

“Well, sire?” Alastor lightly prodded, an edge of…something to his voice. Was it anticipation? “Feeling the burn yet?”

Inhaling slowly through his nose, Lucifer considered whether or not there was any new or unusual sensations in his mouth. There was a burn, but it wasn’t like he’d anticipated. “Not really other than- mmph!” Coughing on a bit of smoke that curled up from the back of his throat, he waved a hand as it spiraled from his nose. “…Never mind,” he wheezed. “Found the bite!”

“I told you,” Alastor sing-songed, looking far too pleased with himself. “Shall we find you some milk to cut the burn?”

“No, it’s fine,” Lucifer wheezed again, breathing out more smoke like an asthmatic dragon. “It’ll- pass…in a bit!”

“Dad, are you okay?” Charlie looked concerned. “That’s a lot of smoke…you look like you’ve got demorbus again.”

“OOH! I can nurse the bad boy!!” Jumping up to stand on top of the books stacked in her chair, Niffty looked far too excited and pulled out a medical mask from…somewhere to put over her face.

“That’s not- ugh, necessary!”

“Niffty, dear, sit back down.” Alastor gave her a pointed look. “Our little sovereign will be just fine, I highly doubt that my food could make such an illustrious being ill!”

“…Did you do something to my plate?” The thought crossed Lucifer’s mind, realizing that none of the others were reacting to the dish like him.

“Oh, come now! I didn’t! Why would I have reason to tamper with your food, sire?”

“Dios, Alastor, you sound suspicious as fuck right now,” Vaggie growled. “What did you do?”

“Hmph. Maybe it was simply a little trick, but not at my hand…” Snapping his fingers, Alastor summoned his shadow from where it had been lurking just out of sight, holding chopped up bits of a very familiar-

“…That’s fucking Satan’s Balls peppers! You sneaky bastard!” No wonder it felt like his throat was on fire. Not an easy feat when he literally breathed fire, but that particular pepper variety was grown in Wrath specifically able to affect even demons that expelled brimstone like it was nothing.

“Alastor! Why are you playing a prank on my dad?” Charlie looked entirely unimpressed, pinning the shadow with part of her ire in a look as well.

“Aw, if it’s just a prank, that’s boring! I wanted to treat the sick Bad Boy,” Niffty complained, waving her fork around like it was a weapon.

“Niffty, you’re not…never mind, that’s not the important issue right now,” Vaggie sighed irritably. “I thought you two were supposed to be getting along, and here you are antagonizing again.”

“Stop, stop, that’s enough.” Breathing out another puff of smoke that curled in the air, Lucifer stared at it briefly, then burst out into laughter.

The sound startled the rest of them, but none of them seemed eager to interrupt whatever had caused this fit of amusement - not like it was normal for him to show much emotion around them that wasn’t manic encouragement for Charlie, sheepish attempts to play along with plans or quiet apathy that was hard to fully conceal, so they probably wanted to see it play out on its own.

Calming himself down after a long moment, Lucifer brushed tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes. “Is this your way of saying you’re comfortable in our acquaintance now? And you had to show the others?”

“I hardly know what you’re talking about,” Alastor sniffed, examining his claws while the shadow bobbed behind him, ducking its head in several quick nods to completely subvert its master’s words. “But I simply recall telling you there would be spice in the dish and you should prepare for it.”

“Still think it’s good,” Lucifer pointed out, another faint stream of smoke coming out of his nose - the sensation was always ticklish, making him sneeze and Niffty jumped up on the tabletop itself this time in reaction to it.

“LET ME HELP YOU! I’m a good nursemaid!”

“Alastor, control your maid, idiota!”

Shaking its head in disapproval, the shadow scooped Niffty up and carried her back to her place in spite of her protesting.

“I thought dinners could get bad when Husk and Angel bothered to show up,“ Charlie whispered to her girlfriend.

“Hey, what’s with the whisperin’ about little ol’ me?” Right on cue, Angel marched into the dining room, wearing much more concealing clothing than he usually bothered with. “What’d we miss?”

“Sounds like chaos before we came in,” Husk muttered irritably, following after the much taller demon. Seeing Niffty still being held in place by the shadow, he twitched his eyebrows and frowned. “Niff, what are you on about?”

“Bad Boy’s sick and they won’t let me take care of him!” Niffty wailed, big crocodile tears rolling from her eye.

“He is not sick, Niffty, you have been told that repeatedly!” Alastor’s patience sounded like it briefly frayed, likely no thanks to the dark look he had shot Angel’s way as soon as the sinner made a late appearance. “Too busy to bother to be on time, you two? Or were you otherwise occupied and couldn’t give a shit about group dinner?”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Angel protested. “We were drinkin’ an’ got a little distracted, that’s all!” Looking around as if searching for secondary support, Angel’s eyes landed on Lucifer and he blinked. “You uh, good? Your face looks a little hot.”

“Someone got me with Satan’s Balls.” Having taken a couple more bites of the jambalaya while conversation moved away from him, Lucifer was breathing a bit of smoke again - but the sensation was enjoyable thanks to how good the food tasted. Even if he had been tricked, he found he didn’t really mind at the moment. This kind of thing reminded him of when the Sins were on better terms in the past and had frequently tried to find ways to trick and prank each other when they held gatherings.

“Satan’s…what? Hah, Smiles, I didn’t know you had it in ya!” Angel cackled, not afraid even in the face of Alastor’s expression morphing into something darker.

“SHUT UP YOU INSOLENT LITTLE-!”

“OKAY, that’s enough!” Jumping in to try and settle the new round of bickering - and calm Alastor down before he went full Eldritch mode since his body was creaking and cracking a bit in anticipation of such a change - Charlie threw out suggestions for what they could do for the next gathering meal.

The distraction bid worked, even though Alastor still looked like he would enjoy taking a chunk out of Angel’s hide, or maybe one of his entire arms.

Conversation soon settled again, food was passed around and enjoyed, and while Lucifer still felt a bit like an unmoored boat floating in a harbor that was unfamiliar, seeing the others interact was comfortable enough that he felt a bit more at ease now.

There was still a lot of work to be done in getting actually comfortable here at the hotel among all of them and not just a few, let alone feeling like it could be home. But as he sat back and saw Niffty happily offering to share her dessert with Angel when Alastor wasn’t looking, Husk holding a conversation in low tones with Vaggie, who seemed focused on the subject, and Charlie holding her own in a story that even seemed to be keeping Alastor’s attention for the moment…

He decided that the effort would be worth it. Being part of something like this was the kind of pipe dream he hadn’t believed possible for himself after so long, so much seclusion and too many mistakes, but…maybe it was possible with a bit more work.

The kind of work that Charlie reminded both him and Alastor would begin in the soon-to-be garden the next day.

Which, not the end of the world kind of work! At least it would lead to something beautiful. Hopefully. Provided they could agree on anything at this point.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

“Hey! Short King!”

Interrupted from his attempt to leave (having been shooed away from the kitchen when he offered to help with clean up), Lucifer turned to look at Angel with a tilted head. “Yes Angel?”

Stepping closer, the sinner gave him a complicated kind of look for a moment. “You uh…good after getting tricked by Smiles back there?”

“Yes…?” Not sure where the question was going, he cleared his throat. “It’s not a big deal or anything, you don’t have to worry about it upsetting me or anything. I actually thought it was pretty funny.”

“If you say so.” Angel gave him another look. “Just making sure you’re good with him startin’ to act like he’s jealous-“

“What?” Not believing he’d just heard what had come out of Angel’s mouth, Lucifer blinked froggishly. “What do you mean, jealous?”

“Didn’t you ever hear about people as kids, likin’ someone an’ pullin’ their pigtails?” as if realizing the metaphor was probably a bit too literal for the actual devil, Angel held up a finger. “I mean…he’s doin’ the kind of thing I could imagine someone who actually likes someone would do to try and get that person’s attention, even if it’s a bit mean.”

“That’s…no.” Laughing at how absurd this sounded, Lucifer shook his head. “No, Angel, you have the wrong idea. This is just another layer to our sniping at each other with words, but with actions instead. He was jabbing at me about his mother’s recipe being too spicy for me, and I called his bluff. That’s all. He tricked me to get an advantage over me and win.”

“Uh…huh. Right.” Angel sighed. “Okay, as long as you’re good with it. Just wanna be sure.”

“Thanks for your concern,” Lucifer smiled, starting to realize it was nice to maybe consider the spider sinner a potential friend. Being checked up on like this outside of Charlie (as nice as that was, but she was his daughter and probably felt obligated) was still new and novel after so long.

As much as he was pleased to be included, such a big dinner had him feeling tired and stifling a yawn. “I think I’m gonna have an early night tonight, have to get a head start on the garden landscaping out back before the weather gets miserable tomorrow. Night, Angel!”

Angel waved him off, staying back and crossing his arms. This was going to be interesting to watch, and whether it was in a good or a bad way remained up in the air.

Chapter Text

The blank slate in the back of the hotel grounds presented far too many possibilities in Lucifer’s mind as he looked out over the space that morning. Agreeing to help out hadn’t really made it click that there was so much work that would need to be done.

Ironic when the building had originally been owned by him and he knew the state of disrepair it had fallen into first-hand. But knowing something intellectually and grasping it in a literal sense were two different matters, especially after so many years of not being present.

Evidence of the last bout of acid rain painted the…grass, if it could be called that, with spots of scorching and patches of darkened earth where the rain had puddled and soaked into the ground. Charlie definitely had good reason to bring up the idea of magic shielding here - no point in beautifying a space if the next depressive episode would wipe everything clean again.

Were he acting alone in this project, he would have started working immediately - starting with the lawn as a base to build up a proper surface area.

With Alastor having been pulled in as well…there was no way he wanted to get involved in something as petty as an argument over making the Hell-grass too tall or too short, or an issue equally as stupid as that. So he’d conjured up a lawn chair and set it out on the grass to wait.

Staring out into the distant abyss of the wilds beyond the pentagram, he almost lost himself to darker imaginings. Sometimes, the appeal of disappearing into the unknown seemed so much easier to face than all the machinations going on here with the rest of Pride, let alone the rest of Hell…

Movement against his wrist drew his gaze away and down. “Oh, Ziva…finally waking up from your nap?”

Tiny tongue flickering out of her mouth, Ziva coiled her body around the back of his hand, head raising up slowly to look up at her owner. She seemed sluggish still, only recently awakening from torpor, and Lucifer stretched out one finger to lightly stroke the scales on the back of her head.

“Thank you for keeping me company as always,” he whispered, petting her for several long moments until she seemed to have her fill. Pulling his hand back, he let her wrap herself around his arm again, hiding under the rolled up cuff of his shirt sleeve.

Her preference for keeping close to his skin was normal at these times, since his body heat made comfortable spaces for her to curl up and doze. Her lack of energy in times like this was normal after so many years, though it was nice to see her starting to move around a bit more. He’d have to see about feeding her that afternoon, possibly.

“My, someone is having a relaxing morning, aren’t they!”

Jumping at how close Alastor’s voice sounded to his ear, Lucifer growled out a couple choice words under his breath and looked over his shoulder. “Why do you keep doing that? One of these days I’m going to react on reflex and hit you!”

Seemingly not bothered by the idea, Alastor laughed. “What fun! Of course I do these things to get reactions out of you, what else?”

Rolling his eyes, Lucifer pushed himself up out of the chair and vanished it with a snap of magic. “Yeah yeah, of course you do. You finally out here to join me?”

“I did have other responsibilities to take care of,” Alastor reminded him, though it didn’t come with as much of the usual venom. They were starting to make progress on that front, at least. “Any lingering heartburn from our meal last night?”

Letting that comment go without a response - he was fine, thanks! Satan’s Balls weren’t that powerful! - Lucifer exhaled in a huff and shook his head as motioned out over the grounds. “Where are we going to start with all this?”

“The basics, I suppose.” Entirely unhelpful, entirely an Alastor kind of answer. “Since the wonderful weather patterns like to kill off whatever the hardships of non-nutritious soil and barren rocky landscapes don’t already ruin.”

“Do we even have any supplies around here…?” There was nothing visible anywhere nearby, so unless Charlie had supplies on order and he was just blind-

“I should think magic would be a better start, sire.” Moving one hand up to his chin to tap it with one claw, Alastor looked the picture of mocking as he stared out over the…not-landscape around them. “Deal with the basics first, then we can see about installing plant-life and whatever other ridiculous decorative nonsense that your daughter deems to be necessary.”

Despite himself, Lucifer snorted softly. “I’m assuming she’s already put in orders for something if you’re talking about it like that…”

“What would ever give you that idea?” That scoff was much louder than the meaning of the words.

Yeah, Charlie had some Charlie level ideas. But the hotel was hers now, so that was her call to make, whatever it was.

“Well, that’s a problem for later. Right now…” Moving away from the demon’s side, Lucifer stepped further out into the ‘yard’, for lack of a better term. Staying well away from the cliff face for now - not wanting a repeat tumble, or willing to show his back completely to Alastor in a location like this just yet - he knelt down in the withered grass and probed with soft tendrils of magic.

No necessary nutrients for much life beyond the grass as it already existed, which explained why it looked the way it did and how acid had ruined so much.

Patches of Pride existed where growth could happen, tangling up and twisting gnarled plant-life that had no resemblance to top-side foliage, but this was not one of them. This had been artificial sod once upon a time, likely from the original builders he’d hired out for the project centuries ago.

Bringing more life to this area was going to take some doing, but he could manage well enough. “You might want to stay up on the pavement,” he called over his shoulder, not looking back to see if his advice was heeded. More likely than not, the demon would just give him a look anyway and he’d seen enough of those for the moment!

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of interrupting something like this.”

…That was a funny tone, but once again, no point in looking back and staring down a sarcastic Radio Demon.

Breathing in and out slowly, Lucifer stared down at the ground as his magic turned from red to gold. Glittering in the softened morning light, it stretched down into the charred earth, moving through the cracked soil and infusing all-too-rare life energy into every crack and crevice and grain of soil and sand.

The faint thrumming of power echoed through his connection to Ziva, where she rested on his arm. Her pale scales glowed, lighting up the fabric of his shirt sleeve, and her small head peeked out from underneath the cover of fabric to see what was happening.

The push and pull of magic continued for a while longer, lighting up the ground with a faint glow as power and life seeped back in. That would fade soon, but it was rather pretty to stare at while trying to see the transfer through…

A bit out of breath from exertion, Lucifer had to stop when the pull of magic tried to yank his presence further out - Hell reacting to angelic magic with a distant shrieking groan. He heard it, but completely ignored the call. Whatever that was could stay trapped where it belong.

“Quite a show, sire.” Having waited until the coast seemed to be clear, Alastor picked his way across the faintly glowing grass with surprisingly careful steps for a demon of his size. “I was unaware that our little sovereign was still capable of such feats.”

“Once an angel…” Lucifer’s form might have been twisted and re-shaped after his descent into the pit, but taking the divine energy out of his form was impossible without annihilating everything that he was. Hand shaking faintly, he tried to mask it while reaching out to lightly pet the scales on Ziva’s head. “It takes a lot out, though. So don’t expect me to go doing much more magic like this on a larger scale. Hell is a drain for whatever of non-native power is poured into it. It’ll suck anything dry given half a chance to.”

“Such effort for your daughter.” There was the slightly sarcastic tone again. “Do avoid letting yourself be drained for this, since I would hate to have to explain such a fate to poor Charlie.”

Looking up with an unimpressed stare as the demon’s shadow slanted over his position on the grass, Lucifer opened his mouth to retort - then stopped when he saw Alastor’s eyes on Ziva. “Don’t mind her. She’s got a connection to me.”

“Is this the same little serpent that usually perches on your silly hat?”

“Most of the time. But then she gets in her moods where she wants to cling to me. Worse than Keekee when she wants attention.” Possessed by some strange compulsion, Lucifer lifted his arm to raise Ziva closer to Alastor.

“…She’s lovely.” Was that a genuine tone? “I have to admit that I’m quite fond of the more…misunderstood creatures, the ones that most blindly fear without understanding their motivations or behaviors.”

“She’s quite nosy at times. You might see her more later once she comes out of her torpor.”

“You are quite the animal magnet, hm?” Leaning down closer to get a better look at Ziva, Alastor’s expression seemed to soften as he looked at her - just a touch, briefly, which Lucifer only noticed because they were close together for the moment.

“Former angel. Kind of comes with the territory sometimes.” Though, Lucifer’s usual companions were constructs or creatures that had been with him since the dawn of existence, but…he didn’t want to put that into words. Most creatures gave him a wide berth, especially the more Hell-bound denizens. But there were a few…at least not everything and everyone fled from his reputation in terror.

“Well, then. Shall we get back onto task now that you’ve made a wonderful slate for us to begin with?”

Hearing compliments from Alastor was like hearing the cry of an owl in the daytime - unusual, and very striking. But he didn’t call attention to it, simply lowering his arm and lightly petting Ziva’s scales to make sure that she curled back up in safety again. “Sure. We can get started and try to get as much done as possible before lunch.”

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Some of Charlie’s ordered garden supplies began to show up soon after the grass replenishment, and scattered out across the lawn all over the back expanse, as well as off to the sides of the building. There was quite a lot to be done, especially in a short time window, but magic was a decent short-cut to some of the more tedious tasks that would take too long.

Seating space opened up in the new gazebo, large enough to host a small gathering and overshadowed by the kind of tree that Lucifer would have called a weeping willow were it standing in Eden in ages past - the difference being that its long whip-like weaves were barbed, as most Hell plants were. Defenses to protect themselves in the harsh environments.

Ducking too close to a branch, he found that out the hard way when a smear of blood decorated the side of his face, cutting through the mark on his cheek. Reaching up to lightly rub at the golden blood, he made a face and used his sleeve cuff to wipe it away. At least the cut healed quickly, solving the problem and not leading to more bleeding. “Don’t wanna be out here when it’s windy…this tree could cut someone to ribbons!”

“Hm, perhaps we should stage more of them later. They would make decent defensive measures should we be assaulted on the grounds again.” Digging in what would eventually be a flower bed, Alastor looked up from his task with - dark earth smeared across his forehead, from where he’d tried to wipe away sweat.

The look was rather endearing, which- wait, what? Where had that thought come from? Flustered by his own mind, Lucifer cleared his throat before trying to speak again. “Maybe a task for later…what were you uh, planting over there again?”

“Not the carnivorous blood-roses like I wanted, but,” Alastor’s smile turned crooked. “They will still be lovely in bloom. I think the name is on those containers over there.”

Glancing at the archaic script on the label and deciding he didn’t want to play a mental game of Russian roulette picking out what demonic dialect that came from, Lucifer returned his focus to the task at hand.

Not letting his mind wander too far.

Working in this landscape came nowhere close to Eden, there would never be any comparison to be made there, though it had been quite some time since he was able to have any kind of hands on experience with natural space like this. The poor excuse for a garden back at the palace was long since overgrown, remaining untouched and unvisited for long years, so it was going to be nice to have any kind of influence at all over this garden.

“I hope the plan is to feed any of these carnivorous plants scraps from dinners and not specially…processed food.” He didn’t want to actually say corpses, not feeding into Alastor’s unique tastes and the ideas about it.

“Oh, special food would be a waste!” Looking up from his task, Alastor tilted his head to one side as his smile turned sly. “Though I make no promises if some of Charlie’s newcomers don’t learn how to behave among polite company. Sometimes the best lessons involve a bit of blood, wouldn’t you agree?”

“…” Huffing out an irritated breath, Lucifer didn’t fall for the bait. Whether it was a jab at his fall and its gruesomeness, or his former penchant for punishing those that ‘deserved it’ down here in Hell in the early millennia, he didn’t want to know. “Table scraps. There’s always a lot left when they forget their leftovers in the refrigerator and it needs to be thrown away.”

“Fine, as you wish, sire.” Sighing softly as if he was greatly put out, Alastor looked back down to the flower bed.

Soon, the two of them were done with the preliminary part of Charlie’s layout plan, and the gazebo turned out to be the perfect place to take a break.

Niffty showed up in the new structure with a picnic basket delivery, only not staying because she seemed to be in full on fixation mode with the cleaning and was whispering gleefully about needing to get back to task inside. The food she brought included sandwiches (once again divided into Lucifer’s tastes, and Alastor’s being completely separate), pasta salad and a plate of cookies (that were definitely not for Alastor, who scoffed at the sight of them).

“Thank you, dear,” Alastor praised her nonetheless, patting the top of her head and smiling indulgently when she bounced quickly on her heels before running off.

“I wish I had a quarter of the energy she has sometimes,” Lucifer commented after she had left, picking up one of the sandwiches to bite nearly half of it off in one go.

“With the price it costs to her twisted little mind, I don’t think you would.” More restrained in his eating habits, Alastor took a much more measured bite of pasta salad. “You have quite enough issues with focusing to be going on with, don’t add more to the equation!”

“Ha, ha.” Huffing out an annoyed breath, Lucifer finished off the rest of the sandwich at a bit more of a restrained pace. “Since we’re well on the way to finishing today’s timeline out here, did we want to do a session with the cards while we finish eating?”

“As always. Let’s see what they reveal today!”

Once again, the coin flip went to Alastor - at this point beginning to make Lucifer wonder whether it was being rigged, but he let the thought go while shuffling the dwindling spread of cards. No matter how chance was falling, they were getting to the point in the deck where more loaded questions could be asked between them, so it hardly mattered who made the decisions.

And the card Alastor drew for him upright this time only gave him pause when he looked at the young child represented in the Sun. This deck had been designed before Charlie was born, so it wasn’t designed after her, even though Bel had been so kind to make the card resemble Lucifer himself in a childhood he hadn’t been created to experience.

“Were you truly happy as an innocent then, relatively speaking?” When silence greeted his question, Alastor cleared his throat and motioned to the card again, as if to indicate the design. “As an…angel, I mean.”

“I thought I was.” It was difficult now, to think back on a time so long ago that was clouded by the passage of time and impossible to return to. Even thinking of himself as he was back then, before the weight of choice and consequences fell down and caused everything to cascade in a domino effect, was like imagining himself as a completely different being.

And really, he was. The twisted version of himself that was bound into the pit could never compare to the radiant Archangel that had once tried to rival the sun in brilliance - couldn’t compare to God’s favorite, who stood above almost all others and had been poised to maintain a beloved status forever had fate not stepped in.

“I didn’t…know much, compared to what I do now. So the naivete was too much for a lot of my contemporaries. Not all of them reacted well to me, especially the Elders. Whether I was happy or not, I always kind of knew that it wasn’t meant to last, and that I would lose my position before I was ever allowed to grow into it with wisdom.”

Setting the card aside when the image on it became too much to look at, Lucifer laughed without any real humor. “Maybe it was always fated to happen and baked into Creation as far as I fucking know.”

Something about Alastor’s expression made him move on quickly, reaching out to draw the card for him. The Magician reversed was a bit on the nose, so it seemed this round that the cards had chosen to mock them a little bit.

“Did you always intend to come down to Hell and gain an advantage through trickery? Or was that a side effect of the challenges you faced after arrival.”

“As I mentioned last session, certain tendencies in life followed me here. By ‘virtue’ of my skin color, I had learned that treachery was the only path forward for myself in life, so I acted in death as if it was the same rules. And more or less it was.” Alastor’s grin broadened. “The best and fastest way to climb the ladder of power was through ending those I deemed a threat to the position I wanted, and thus my reputation was cemented for me.”

Even without first-hand experience with Overlords beyond the few over the years that had come calling and trying to curry favor (or Zestial, who was surprisingly courteous for such a feared being on the streets of Doomsday), Lucifer was sure that this tracked with how their power was maintained or lost.

Not that he expected Alastor to find a reason to lie about motivations - if anyone would be proud to brag about their methods, surely it was the demon here with him now. “Sounds as if you had an easier time of making your reputation precede you than I did early on.”

“Hmm. More difficult to shake off the reputation of an angel, after all. The comparison is hardly fair!” Alastor motioned to the rest of the food still to be eaten. “Shall we? We should return to work soon and finish our outline for today. Your daughter will likely be asking after our progress later.”

Lucifer nodded. “It’s only fair, we are kind of on a time crunch.” Picking up two cookies rather than a sandwich and holding them together, he popped both into his mouth - no jaw unhinging needed. He tried not to snort at the look of disgust shot his way, since breathing crumbs was not a fun experience!

(Ask him how he knew. It was definitely not from trying to sneak forbidden snacks when Charlie was little and getting caught red-handed in the process.)

“Don’t judge me, I need the sugar!” he said in a wheezy giggle, after managing to chew without choking.

“I will judge you all I like. Eat a damn sandwich, sire.”

The childish, petulant part of him wanted to say ‘make me’. But the logical part of his mind barely overrode that verbal mis-step at the last second. Probably best not to say those words around the Radio Demon. So, he shot Alastor a look while picking up a sandwich, not missing the smug look the demon shot his way.

Red bastard.

Chapter Text

Waking up fuzzy-headed and somewhat disoriented, Lucifer briefly thought that his sleep cycles were getting fucked up again. Why else would it feel like his head was stuffed full of cotton like an overfilled pillow? He hadn’t drank anything that would-

Right. The garden and trying to sort out the grounds to make them capable of sustaining plant growth against Hell’s harsh landscape.

Most of his magic was used for showing off, summoning day to day items, storing things away safely or transformation. It had been quite some time since any serious use of his powers had happened, and while normally that would not be a factor to consider in what he was capable of, that particular kind of magic rarely ever got used.

Something something, using it like a muscle makes the use easier, disuse harder. Such was the price, but at least it had been for a good cause. Charlie’s excitement when she wandered out back to see the work he and Alastor had already accomplished was worth the price.

Even if he hoped to not have to risk the wrath of whatever eons old forces could be out there again. The looming threat of Heavenly retaliation was quite enough to be dealing with without adding in Hell specific threats, thanks very much!

Dragging himself out of bed to pull on a robe, Lucifer didn’t bother wasting time or effort in walking downstairs. Teleportation was much easier and faster, and he used the method often enough that it didn’t lend further icky feelings to the magical hangover.

Food was on the agenda before anything else, since it would make thinking easier, let alone trying to functional without seeming like a zombie.

Husk was in the kitchen for once upon Lucifer’s arrival, and the bartender’s presence outside of the bar was…strange. Unfair to think that when he didn’t live to serve drinks - even if Alastor would seem to prefer that arrangement, what with their few exchanges he’d heard.

Even stranger was the plate of eggs and slightly burnt waffles pushed over to him. Blinking one eye after the other, he looked up with a sluggish thought process and almost forgot himself to ask why.

Husk’s kindness didn’t seem as hard to win as anything remotely of the sort from Alastor, so once again, an unfair point added to his tally of thinking this morning.

“I had extra on hand,” Husk said gruffly, catching the look. “It won’t go to waste around here, sure, but you were the first one to show up so you get it.”

“…Thank you,” Lucifer settled for saying, smiling a bit tiredly as he summoned a fork.

Waving a paw, Husk brushed it off. “Need your energy to work on that mess outside. You think you and the boss are gonna get that garden project in order before Charlie’s exciting party?”

Letting the sarcastic barb go, Lucifer sighed and propped up his head with one hand as he poked at the eggs with the fork. “I hope so. Yesterday laid the groundwork to keep this stuff from dying before we can even get anyone here to visit, and I think more of the plants were supposed to show up today. The getting them in the ground party easy. Harder to agree on where they should go, let alone make everything dovetail with Charlie’s sketches…”

“Stuck inbetween two strong personalities?” Husk barked a laugh, picking up his mug from the counter to hold it with both paws. “Three counting you, but you sound like you’re second guessing on which one of them to disappoint or piss off.”

“Sin of Pride doesn’t always mean I want to bulldoze others.”

“Yeah. Gathered that seeing you dance around Boss and trying to play along with Charlie’s schtick at the same time.” Husk exhaled, taking a long drink of his coffee, his face screwing up in displeasure in the process. “…Ugh, this shit sucks without hair of the dog.”

“Not your morning drink of choice?” Lucifer smiled crookedly.

“Nyet,” Husk grumbled. “Usually need something stronger to get this old hide moving, but I gotta sober up a bit if we’re going to be behaving in front of perspectives.”

“Good man, Husker.”

That sudden voice made both Lucifer and Husk jump, even though Husk’s reaction came with some muttered choice words.

Amused, Alastor tilted his head as he regarded the pair, eyes narrowing a bit when he saw Lucifer’s plate. “Branching out into catering now?”

“…You’ve been on his case about eating, so I made some extra.” Husk didn’t meet Alastor’s gaze, which was not an unusual reaction.

“Hmm. I suppose extra help keeping our little king on the straight and narrow isn’t a horrible idea. I repeat myself, then: good man.”

“Do I really need babysitters?” Lucifer complained, not liking how they were talking about this with him right there.

“Yes,” Alastor and Husk answered at the same time, with very different tones to their voice.

“Still above my pay grade, but I hope you like your breakfast, your highness.” Seemingly not wanting to stick around any longer than he had to, Husk turned and left with the coffee cup still held in both hands.

Jabbing his fork into the edge of the top waffle, Lucifer lifted it a bit too aggressively and pulled the entire thing off the plate. Tearing a piece off with his claws, he popped it into his mouth and - felt his expression relax a bit. Even if they were a little more toasted than he’d like, there was a sweetness to the batter that was not overwhelming but added to the taste of the salted butter that had already melted into the pastry.

“Eat up, sire,” Alastor sing-songed, clearly back to mocking him a bit this morning.

Contrasted with Tzel popping up in the background and grinning broadly in that way that suggested an entirely different emotion, Lucifer pointedly ignored the whiplash. “Are you off for the day?” he asked, noting the…cane that looked like it had been badly forced back together and was being held together with the equivalent of neon green stitchwork. Right, the damned thing had probably gotten broken in the battle.

“Business elsewhere this morning,” Alastor waved a hand. “I was coming to find you to suggest we hold our drawing tonight in the gazebo. Your daughter wants to see the progress we make again if we manage more work this afternoon, so it’s convenient to stay out there and converse.”

“Sure. See you then.” More focused on his breakfast right now (because it was good, not because he had multiple people telling him to eat properly!), Lucifer went back to eating. He gave a brief smile when Tzel waved at him in parting, though the expression fell afterwards. Playing around with the shadow like this was going to lead to trouble sooner or later, especially now that he had named the thing.

Maybe he’d have to come clean at some point, but…that was a problem for a future version of himself, the poor bastard.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

With most of the others now quite busy with preparations, Lucifer tried to stay out of the way. Although he didn’t want to retreat back into his own space, there wasn’t much he could do that seemed useful - until he caught sight of Vaggie heading downstairs and towards the front door.

“Hey! Are you going out on business as well?” He moved towards her, stopping short of moving up right by her side. His daughter’s girlfriend could be a bit jumpy when snuck up on, and he didn’t want to test the reach of her knee-jerk reactions.

“Wh- oh, good morning, sir.” Vaggie looked at him, then shook her head. “I was going out onto the grounds to survey a bit. Carmine will want a list of information to make security easier to manage for the open house, so it’s best to get it done as soon as possible.”

“Right, yes.” With so much power at his fingertips usually, Lucifer had no idea what went into others’ ideas of secure locations, especially without magic and relying more on technology or specialized weapons. They could ward the hotel all they wanted, but there were ways around such things, so practical preparations needed to be in place as well… “Did you need any help?”

“I think I have an idea of what we’ll need, but,” Vaggie looked thoughtful. “I won’t say no to an extra set of eyes. My range of vision is a bit limited after all.”

Recognizing the humor in acknowledging one’s flaws, Lucifer laughed. “Fair enough, I suppose. Lead on!”

Vaggie led the way out onto the grounds, bypassing the main path from the city outskirts below and around to the side of the hotel. Her gaze darted around as they walked, eye fixing on various points around the building and grounds while looking like she was running mental calculations.

Strategy that he could recognize as having a touch of Heaven, not that he wanted to bring that up now. Her status as another fallen wasn’t secret, but they had not discussed it as of yet. That was a topic of discussion he was going to leave solely up to her, knowing how sensitive the issue could be when it was still new. She was young, that was painfully obvious to someone as old as him.

“What is your plan?” he asked after a beat of silence, assuming she might have wanted to talk things through if she’d gone to the trouble of asking him to come with her.

“Cameras on multiple points, covering the grounds and building. We don’t know how many sinners and others are going to show up to check the place out, since we all know there’s a lot of nosy people now that we drew the attention of the media so hard. We’ll need a place for monitors to be set up in the hotel to keep track of all the feeds and potential problems or threats, and I’ll figure the logistics of that out once we’re done out here. Carmine will then provide the extra security we need, since we’ve come to an…agreement after the battle.”

“Is she going to make demands of Charlie or anyone else here afterwards?”

“I doubt it. Charlie sent me to convince her for help before the battle, and she helped train me to better fight against my sis…the exorcists.” Vaggie turned to face Lucifer. “As long as we pay her fairly, I don’t think she has any motives towards us or the hotel yet, which is more than we can say about some others in the city.”

“Fair enough,” Lucifer nodded. He had to trust her knowledge of the situation, since he had very little experience dealing with any of the current generation of Overlords - except for Alastor, obviously. “Do we need any extra magical protections that would help manage the situation better?”

“Maybe increased wards. Not to the level of what el Diablo- I mean…Alastor, put on the hotel before the battle, but a little magical boost wouldn’t be a bad idea just to be sure all our bases are covered.”

“We can discuss that closer to time, then. Was there anything else you wanted to run through before you head back inside?”

“…Nothing related to the open house,” Vaggie sighed. “Sir, are you okay? You’ve been busy trying to play nice with that…”

Smiling wryly at her inability to pick an insult to settle on, Lucifer shook his head. “I’m fine. He’s not that terrible, even if his jabs and nitpicking can get really old. And I’m too old to be fighting non-stop with a demon like him, so even if it seems like a huge deal to be playing games like this, it’s not that high a price to pay for Charlie’s peace of mind.”

“I’m…glad to hear that. She really was worried about what it would mean with you two occupying the same space.” After saying that, Vaggie grimaced, as if she regretted the admission. “I mean-“

“No, it was a valid concern for her,” Lucifer waved a hand. “I’m willing to do whatever I have to to try and make things easier for her, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“She sees the best in everyone,” Vaggie huffed.

“Which is fortunate for me, because I failed her for so long that I shouldn’t even be here by rights,” Lucifer pointed out softly. “But I’m glad to see that she had someone else close by to look after her when the rest of us were failing at being there.”

“…Sir,” the girl’s face heated up with a blush. “I was just doing my best. Charlie…I owe so much to her after she found me and helped me out when no one else would.”

“And your best was enough. Charlie is good at picking the right people to cling to when it’s important.” Reaching out, Lucifer patted her shoulder, then turned away. He got the feeling that he’d pushed enough at her feelings regarding his daughter right now, so it was best to leave her to regain control of her emotions. They’d likely been stomped out of her for a long time, because that was the M.O. of Heaven’s armies.

“Wait!” Vaggie blurted out behind him. “Before you go…I just wanted to say you’re not nearly as bad as everyone makes you out to be upstairs. I heard all the horror stories, and I have to say I think they’re a bunch of bullshit now.”

“I can be bad, Vaggie. Really bad.” Lucifer glanced back at her, smiling tiredly at the way her expression twitched in shock. “You missed a lot of my worst times when everything was still fresh. But…as you’ve learned, Heaven has its own motives for making out stories the way they do, and the victors get to make the narrative whatever they want it to be.”

“…Yes, sir. I understand. I’m going to finish my rounds now. Thank you for helping me run through thoughts, it helped.”

Nodding his response, Lucifer walked back up to the main doors, then gave up and teleported himself upstairs in a swirl of red magic. It didn’t hurt nearly as much to think about Heaven’s unfairness now, since he was so far removed from it, but seeing a young angel like that still suffering from the effects made him very glad that none of the Heavenly Host seemed willing to speak with him ever again.

They wouldn’t find a nice reception if they tried anything any time soon.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Finding Alastor waiting in the gazebo that evening, Lucifer saw an opportunity when his arrival wasn’t immediately noticed.

Light from the hotel filtered down, casting the grounds with plenty of visibility, but their immediate surroundings were not so lucky. Fixing that was easier through magic, so he snapped to conjure and pin up string lights around the inside surface of the gazebo’s roof.

Their sudden lighting caught Alastor’s attention, making him jump slightly, and the way his ears had twitched when the strands of lights had been pinned in place spoke of how aware he was of his surroundings. Sneaking up on him like that had been a rather neat trick.

“…I suppose that is in payback for the number of times I’ve snuck up on you now?”

“Maybe.” Crossing his arms, Lucifer leaned against the railing next to the main stairs, claws lightly tapping against the reinforced wood. “Plus, it’s easier to see to read the cards if we have proper lighting and aren’t just relying on what the hotel facade casts off.”

“Hmm. We did miss that fact when we were spending time out here yesterday, I suppose.” Tucking his repaired staff behind his back, Alastor vanished it with a flourish of green magic. “Have you eaten yet this evening?”

“No. I was planning on ordering in tonight, I don’t think much is happening in the way of group dinner since the others seemed to be doing their own thing.” Pushing away from the railing, Lucifer moved up into the main structure, bypassing the sizable table in the center to sit down on one of the stuffed chairs on the outside periphery. “Did you finish setting up the furniture in here before I showed up?”

“It seemed to be the time, since we agreed to meet out here. And these new pieces are more comfortable than that horrible bench seating for that table.” Casting a disdainful look at the place where they had sat the day before, Alastor moved around the table to take up one of the seats closer to Lucifer.

“It’s nice out here, though.” With the lighting cast over the grounds, and now the string lights in a halo of light above, Lucifer could almost imagine himself sitting out beneath the stars, illuminated in a softer light than the glow of the pentagram seal in the night sky had ever offered… “Might end up spending some time out here catching up on some work once this party is through.”

“Ah, imagine that! A space that makes you want to work!” That was an obvious barb, but the twist of Alastor’s ever-present smile was…softer, somehow. Or was that just the lighting playing tricks on Lucifer’s vision?

No, it was clearly his mind. What was he paying attention to Alastor’s smile for? “It’s less stifling than the office I keep back at the palace. Less…lonely too, knowing there’s…what in Hell’s name just got into me? Ugh, pretend I didn’t just say any of that.”

Seeing the faint blush dusting across the king’s cheeks, Alastor’s grin sharpened briefly, but he didn’t seem to have a ready barbed response to go along with it. “You haven’t eaten yet, you’re clearly speaking out of some level of delusion. Let’s proceed with the draw, shall we?”

Taking the easy out for what it was, Lucifer cleared his throat and nodded, summoning the cards. Finally winning a coin flip again, he decided that it was time for them to draw for themselves again - it seemed like that kind of night.

When he pulled the Empress, staring down at Beelzebub’s fox-like face brought back memories of how she had laughed upon realizing that Bel had made this card on her model, even though out of the Sins she was closest to the idea and what the card represented. A further pang of loneliness shot through his chest, almost making him tear up. It had been way too long since he spoke to her, let alone any of the other Sins…he really needed to get on calling her and making plans for later in the week.

If Alastor noticed anything amiss about his expression or change in demeanor, he didn’t call attention to it as he studied the card briefly. “As you demonstrated your skill yesterday in preparing the grounds for new life, how capable of healing is your angelic magic?”

A bit taken aback at how that angle of the card was taken, Lucifer blinked. “I…heal wounds I gain almost second nature most of the time. It’s not something I usually extend to others. There hasn’t been much cause for it for a long time, no war to speak of outside of…the obvious issue every year, and I was rarely present for any of that because I didn’t want to test my luck. Finding out that a declaration of war came from healing someone that the exorcists deemed worthy of dying would have been a real shitty moment, you know?”

“I see. I suppose I should have expected that answer.” Was Alastor…holding onto the front of his shirt? No, it looked like his claws had only been adjusting the fit of the fabric, but there was a flash of something dark that he swore was staining-

“If you’ll allow me to draw, sire?”

“…Right.” Holding out the remaining cards, Lucifer shook himself out of his own thoughts. It had been a trick of the light, nothing more. Or his mind, since it seemed to be one of those kinds of days. He was shaken up a bit because of the conversation with Vaggie and thinking of Heaven’s role in everything, that was it.

The absurdity of seeing the Devil in Alastor’s hand and not his own shook off any remaining thoughts, since Belphegor’s appearance on that card as a Baphomet ages ago had startled him to the point of hysterical laughter as soon as the shock wore off.

Her simple reminder that she had the more obvious goat traits among them, in spite of Lucifer’s hooves and often-hidden ears, had been why she made the logical call. At least reversed, the card had less stinging potential to work with. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with tonight.

“Do you feel like you’ve regained control of your life, or existence, or however you want to phrase it down here in Hell now that you’re powerful enough to hold your own?”

“At present? Yes. But there’s always room for more control!” Seeing the look shot his way, Alastor’s grin sharpened briefly. “Now, don’t give me a look like that. I’m not actively seeking out more power, let alone here at the hotel. No, I maintain control of my district and everyone knows that the hotel is under my protection. If I choose to take on any more, it’s on my terms. But, I hardly feel threatened as it is now with allies on my side. More than some of my contemporaries can say for themselves!”

Content with that answer, even if he felt like there was something more behind the emphasis of ‘more control’, Lucifer didn’t pursue it. He was too mentally tired now, and in no place to tease out more answers from the resident enigma. “That’s another round down, now I should…oh.”

Stopping when Tzel suddenly popped up in front of him, holding a takeout container from- his favorite restaurant, Lucifer stopped and stared in disbelief. “How…did you know where I get my favorite food from?”

“I saw that delivery demon that went up to your quarters at the hotel early on, sire.” Alastor examined his claws. “One doesn’t reach my position without paying attention to details! Besides, who do you think told him where to go? He was simply terrified to approach anyone else, funnily enough.”

“…Fuck, I hope I gave him a big enough tip to counter whatever you said to him,” Lucifer grumbled, settling the container on his lap and pointedly ignored the chittering of Tzel and radio-static infused laughter of Alastor.

They were both fucking with him, but he didn’t care at the moment. The food was good, and the company was…company. Better than many of the sad dinners he’d taken by himself for so long.

Chapter Text

Working up the nerve to finally reach out to one of the Sins was nothing short of a miracle. The main motivation was Lucifer remembering that he’d made a promise to Vaggie, and was intent on making sure that she and Charlie had the chance to take a bit of a break away from the hotel.

Even if it meant he had to face every one of his fears of rejection head first. It had been years without any word, group chats and one on one messages going ignored, calls pushed off to silent mode or sent to voicemail - anything but facing the fact that he would rather cut himself off from the found family that had formed in Hell than deal with the mortification of anyone knowing why, or what his issues were.

Such had been his mindset when Lilith left. It was simpler to just hide away from reality, ignoring the uncomfortable truths or acknowledgment that he’d fucked up again in a big way.

…At least another fuck-up wasn’t hanging over his head just yet, since he was trying to get out again and do better by those around him. Even if it still felt like the trying wasn’t nearly enough at this point, but it was going to take time.

The ring as the dreaded call went through made Lucifer’s skin prickle from goosebumps, the chills drifting across his skin. There was an urge to reach out and hang up quickly, ignore the attempt and try again later, maybe with more coffee in his system-

But then the voice echoed from the phone’s speaker, meaning it was too late.

“…Lulu? Holy shit, is it really you??”

“Hey Bee. Yeah it’s…it’s me.”

The shrill ring of a shriek even from the other end of the phone was powerful, which was of no surprise considering how…eager Beelzebub could get. “Holy shit, Ducky, how have you been?? Wait, is that a bad question, is that insensitive because of like…everything?”

Both amused and touched by Bee’s words, Lucifer huffed softly and brought the phone closer, curling his claws around it and staring at the contact photo of a much younger Gluttony. “No, it’s…okay, it’s not all okay, but I called knowing you would ask, so I’m fine with it. It’s…been rough, but here I am. Please tell me you’ve been alright since I’ve been MIA.”

“Oh, you know me,” Bee laughed brightly, and the sounds of loud…something or other going on in the background faded out a bit. “Throwing parties, hosting ragers, getting demons fucked up in the best of ways! Everything’s cool here! But it’s all same old, I’m more interested in you right now. What’s up? You got an important reason for reaching out finally? No judgment if not.”

“…I’m tired of being lonely, Bee, and tired of being a recluse,” Lucifer admitted with a pained sigh, wincing at how quickly she got him to break down like that. But then, they had always been close - and her no judgment attitude when he needed to shut down the metric fuckton of bullshit going on in his brain with her special treats or Beelzejuice helped make it easier to open up to her.

“Oh, honey, that’s a thousand percent fair,” Bee whined on the other end of the line. “Do you need me to come to you? I can, if you give me like, about ten minutes to make sure Tex-a-doodle can keep an eye on the fest going on here!”

“No, no! You don’t have to drop everything! It’s just…nice to hear your voice right now. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Ducky! That’s why I’m totally willing to drop everything, you just gotta give me the word and I’ll be up there in a hurry.”

“There’s a lot going on up here right now,” Lucifer sighed, rubbing his temple with his free hand. “I’m not against a visit, but I was actually calling for a…favor, if it’s possible. See, Charlie and her girlfriend have been really working hard on the hotel project for the past….six months? Longer? My brain’s fuzzy on the details. And, I might have promised the girlfriend…Vaggie, an outing with Charlie so they can get a break for a day.”

“Sure, our little Apple Pie deserves a chance to get out and have fun too,” Be agreed readily. “What’d you have in mind and how can I help?”

“To save us both the awkwardness, Charlie cannot cook, and I haven’t had time to help her out with her so busy. And Vaggie wants to see her get lessons, so I figured if anyone could maybe help my not-so-little girl out…”

Bee laughed again, the sound even brighter than the one before, if that were possible. “Okay, okay, I get the gist. One day of cooking lessons coming up! And maybe a spa sesh after, take them to get their hair and nails did because you know girls like that. When were we thinking about arranging this?”

“I know it’s short notice, but maybe three days from now…there’s about to be an open house here, and I wanted to be sure they were able to relax a bit before all that happens.” Lucifer held his breath a bit, anticipating the answer might be a no.

“I can clear something up, yeah!” Bee immediately proved him wrong. “Besides, if Charlie is holding a party, I need to talk to her and see if she wants any help!”

“I’ll let you talk to her and Vaggie about all that, because this was all her idea and it’s her baby.”

“Sure. I’ll see you then, Ducky? Let me know if you need a little happy Queen Bee mojo before then and I’ll totes be right there!”

“…Thanks, Bee. I’m sorry about-“

“Ducky. Don’t start apologizing for things that weren’t in your control. Family is messy, yeah? We all know that, and I’m not mad. I still love you, you little goober, and I’d rather you be in charge than our pissy lizard!”

Snorting out a startled laugh at that description of Satan, Lucifer clapped his free hand over his mouth. “You haven’t called him that in years…”

“Yeah, well, you missed a fucking doozy of a trial date while you were MIA. I’ll give you deets on that later,” Bee scoffed loudly. “I’ll see you in three days! Love you!”

“Love you too, Bee.”

Waiting for the call to disconnect on her end, Lucifer stared in silence at his blank phone screen for a long moment, then flopped backwards onto the bed. After that conversation and the mental gymnastics it put his brain through, he was going to need a moment - or six - before he went about the day’s plans.

Bee was a lot. He looked forward to seeing her, but that was going to be an endeavor that required mental preparation all the same.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Heading downstairs for lunch, Lucifer slipped into the kitchen and hoped for the moment that no one else was around. At the very least, there was no sign of Alastor or his sneaky shadow, so no one to yell at him for questionable meal decisions.

Today, inspired by his conversation with Bee, he was in the mood for sweets. There was a leftover batch of cinnamon rolls from someone's takeout craving, and warming them in the microwave freshened the pastries up so they were almost as good as fresh again.

Cutting into the first roll with the edge of his fork, he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, tasting the air in anticipation.

Before he could get the first bite into his mouth, the kitchen door swung open with force, accompanied by rapid fire chatting. Blinking, Lucifer looked up to see Angel and- his friend? The other cyclops girl with one eye.

"-Told you we were gonna have to take care of the idiot sooner or later, Angie. Did he get a good hit in on you?"

"Nah. It was a small cut, even if it looked like a lot of blood! Not a very good hit- oh, hey short king!"

Still holding his fork in midair, Lucifer smiled weakly and hoped he didn't look as mortified as he felt. "Hey Angel, and…"

"Cherri Bomb, but you can call me Cherri," the girl said, smirking with a hand cocked on her hip. "So, this is the king! Angie here has been bragging about knowing you lately."

"Ah, psh, just 'cause of how you're not like anyone expects," Angel grinned nervously. "I wasn't name-droppin', I swear!"

Amused by the sinner's expression, Lucifer shook his head and finally took a bite of the cinnamon roll. "It's fine," he said after chewing, not wanting to let Angel sweat too long. "You can if you want to. Not like it gets you very far with most people.” Facts were facts, and he was well aware of what his reputation was with most sinners nowadays. One could only hide away from reality for so long.

“Yeah, weren’t you basically a shut in for a long time?” Cherri asked curiously.

“Cher,” Angel hissed through his teeth. “Stop!”

“No, she’s right. May as well admit the truth.” Setting his fork down for the moment, Lucifer nodded at the seats across the table to indicate they could join if they wanted. “Weren’t you two needing help with drink ideas for the open house?”

“Yeah, we were. We’ve got ideas, but,” Angel gave a one-sided shrug. “Doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion! ‘Specially something like this, Charlie’s tastes are…”

Cherri looked like she was going to say something, until she got elbowed by one of Angel’s lower arms.

“Well, it’s probably not a good idea to let everyone who shows up here get drunk either,” Lucifer pointed out. He understood Charlie’s reasoning, having thrown more than his fair share of fetes and high-society events. Once alcohol was mixed in, behaviors were a mixed bag - even moreso with those of the lower classes that took Hell’s ‘do as you like’ attitude to heart early on.

“…Guess you’re right,” Angel sighed. “Didn’t think about it that way. So yeah, we could use your help figurin’ out some gimmicky kind of stuff that your kid would approve of, since she’s…a whole lot like you. Did you clone her or something?”

“And you called me rude for questioning his recluse status,” Cherri scoffed. “He’s royalty, Angie, you should know how that kinda thing works from history lessons on Earth!”

Clearing his throat, Lucifer decided to sidestep the question entirely. “Either of you want one of these?” He motioned to the cinnamon rolls.

“Oh hey, you found the order Vaggie made last night,” Angel grinned. “They looked good, but she said we weren’t allowed to eat any of ‘em until you had a shot.”

“…Did she?” Lucifer blinked slowly. “Huh. Everyone’s getting in on this ‘look out for me’ thing, aren’t they?”

It was Angel’s turn to look away, totally not suspiciously. “ANYWAY! Yeah, I’ll take one, are they good warmed up?”

“Better than sex,” Lucifer dropped his voice to whisper, just in case anyone else was lurking around, making Angel and Cherri both gasp and then cackle.

“Okay shit, gimme-“

“ME FIRST ANGIE, YOU RUDE BITCH!”

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

One mini-scrum over cinnamon rolls later, with even Niffty showing up due to the commotion and demanding a treat as well, and after they were completely demolished, the topic of conversation turned to the little project.

Recipe names that were pun-ny were easy enough for Lucifer, so he was able to come up with a good number of options as the other two sorted through ingredient lists and possible substitutions they could use to mimic the taste of various cocktails.

There was quite a mess to be cleaned up in the kitchen once they were done, but none of them seemed too concerned with that for the moment.

“Hey Ang, you got a little…red everywhere. Is that the food coloring, or from that cut you mentioned?”

“Ah? No, that’s the food colorin’. Did we ever settle on how much was too much for this drink?”

“If it’s not staining your bloody teeth, what’s the point?”

“Cherri, it ain’t Halloween, who wants to look like they have bloody teeth?”

“It was a figure of…” Cherri sighed heavily. “Never mind. How’s it comin’ with that list, your uh…majesty?”

Coming out of a bout of focus that was a bit hard to shake, Lucifer stared for a moment without seeing, then finally blinked and smiled sheepishly. “There’s probably way too many options here, but I wanted to give you guys a little variety.”

Passing the notebook he’d conjured to Angel, Lucifer tried not to grimace at the way the sinner’s face broke out into a wide grin.

“Shit, you’re all about dad jokes, aren’t ya? These are hilarious!”

“I had a lot of time to mull over wordplay for a while there. Had it in my head to write plays and stage acts, not that I ever did anything with any of it.”

“Really?” Angel tilted his head. “Hell could use a proper theater district. Ever think about makin’ something like that reality?”

“Not after the entertainment district rose up,” Lucifer shook his head, twirling his pen between his claws. “Plus…I’m not exactly writing the material that most sinners want to see in front of them live. It’s a lot less…lewd? Than most of the films and shows made down here.”

“Don’t hurt to have more variety in what we see down here,” Angel pointed out with a shrug. “If ya ever reconsider it, just lemme know because I’d be interested in takin’ part in some form.”

“Nerds,” Cherri commented with a grin, nudging Angel in the side with her elbow. “We gonna start comparing notes and get these drinks named, or do you two wanna talk more about theater?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s compare notes and get this list going…”

There was playful bickering to follow while they collectively tried to get their own ideas to work out - Angel being shouted down on two sides when he wanted a varation of ‘sex on the beach’, which was very thematic but centered in the wrong Ring, and not something that Charlie would approve of.

The mock apple-cider sour was immediately named the Pride Ring Zing, both because of its appropriateness and how it rolled off the tongue, as well as the fact that all present were proud of Pride despite all its issues. Only had one home in Hell, after all.

There was a little bit more difficulty explaining the Shirley Temple to Lucifer, who hadn’t seen many period pieces from that time on Earth and didn’t understand who the little girl had been - but it was simple enough to get him to agree that the Charlie Cherry Cheer was an appropriate substitute name with more obvious connotations to the hotel.

Faux pina colada became the Beel-zy Bounty, since both Cherri and Angel both understood the sin of gluttony’s reach even here in Pride. Strawberry daiqiri was a bit more difficult to make thematic - and Angel's suggestion of 'Strawberry Pimp' went loudly denied.

"What about Second Chance Sunrise…sounds like somethin' Charlie herself would name," Angel suggested after a pause.

"Oh, that sounds corny as fuck," Cherri laughed. "On brand, yeah?"

"…She did get her sense of naming from me," Lucifer winced. "Wasn't this place the 'Happy Hotel' at some point?"

"Yeah," Angel cackled. "Can you imagine us tryin' to advertise a place like that to the rest of Hell? We'd be laughed out of the ring!"

Some of them already were laughingstocks and didn't need help on that front. Lucifer was silently glad that the name had changed.

"So, what you thinking for the mint mojito, Devil Daddy?"

"…Angel," Lucifer hissed through his teeth, face turning brilliantly gold from the force of his blushing.

"Took him long enough to spring that one on you," Cherri wheezed, leaning against the edge of the table in an apparent attempt to not collapse in laughter.

"Been holdin' myself back," Angel preened, looking proud of himself.

"…Ugh. Fine. I'll let that one pass, but only if we go with Mint to Be for the mojito."

"Oh my god, that one's so bad!” Angel groaned loudly, but his expression was twisted in amusement. “Let's do it!"

Several other drinks were named without as much bickering after more discussion, and the little project notes and drink details marked down on new pages in the planning notebook so they could be passed along later.

"Whiskers is gonna hate saying some of this shit," Angel giggled, "I can't wait to see his face."

"You just wanna see his face again because you're a thirsty bitch," Cherri teased him. "Admit it, Angie."

"Hey, the truth is the truth. Not like any of us don't know that!" Shrugging his upper set of shoulders, Angel glanced across the table at Lucifer and suddenly changed the subject when a thought crossed his mind. "So, you got another round of questions with Smiles tonight, short king?"

“Yes, we’re still doing that,” Lucifer answered without looking up, missing the look that Angel was giving him. “We’re down to eight cards left to be drawn, so the questions are getting more in-depth.”

“Uh huh.” Looking at Cherri with a shit-eating grin, Angel reached out to drag the notebook away from a pen that was doodling along the margins of pages. “So have you started to get anything more interesting from-“

“I still can’t tell you anything, Angel.”

“I know! Just curious!” Angel held up all four of his hands at once in a conciliatory gesture.

“Are you talking about the fucking Radio Demon right now?” Cherri looked between the pair, her eyebrow lifting towards her hairline. “This is new gossip.”

“It’s new because I can’t keep my mouth shut when I should, but I didn’t have time to get around to tellin’ you this.” Even though he looked a little bit embarrassed that Cherri had started to dig into this, Angel pressed on. “Original bestie, meet hopefully new bestie when he realizes I want him to branch out in his socializing! It’s not a bad thing, short king!”

Even though he was getting distracted now, social interactions still wearing at him when new parties were involved, Lucifer lifted his gaze with a sigh. “Angel is just hung up on this because Alastor and myself have been fighting since we met. Not always physical, but…there was an incident recently that went too far and Charlie finally had enough.”

“She told ‘em off, it sounded impressive even second-hand,” Angel laughed. “Kinda like you when you get mad about…you know who and how he treats me.”

Reaching out, Cherri patted one of Angel’s arms at the wrist. “So after all that fighting, what’s changed? What did Miss Perky make you two do?”

“We came to the agreement ourselves. Draw major Arcana tarot cards to use their meanings to base questions around. It’s a once a day thing, so we can’t overwhelm each other too much.”

“Recluse meet tall dark and mysterious. Them making progress is a lot as it is.” Angel nodded sagely. “’Course, I wish I knew more about what Smiles was revealing, but I’m pretty sure he’d eat me and not in a fun way.”

“Don’t make cannibalism one of your kinks again,” Cherri scoffed. “The way you say shit!”

“Hey, that was a great script even if the execution sucked!”

Deciding he didn’t want to know what they were talking about, Lucifer pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “There’s a few things I need to take care of before my meeting later. Are you two okay with what we put together today?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for your help, short king!” Angel waved, then turned back to Cherri, dropping his voice and whispering furiously to her.

Leaving them to their discussion that was hard to make out, Lucifer slipped out of the kitchen to head back upstairs.

Chapter Text

Afternoon was already falling by the time Lucifer made it out back to the work in progress garden. Rolling up his sleeves to his elbows, he set right back to task on the space he’d been in last, wanting to finish up the last touches. Magic still felt like a cop-out, especially when working the earth by hand and getting dirty in the process felt…natural. Second nature.

Lucifer hadn’t been among those who manually worked the Earth in Eden, let alone taking part in its Creation because he wasn’t among the trusted numbers of God’s chosen angels for the task, but he had gotten hands on time while visiting Eden before the fall. Adam had learned much on his own, through hands on experience and gentle coaching, but even the first man had asked for help.

Had that been the beginning of the downfall? Lucifer still wondered at times, even now so many years on. Not that fate could be changed, it was far too late to fix the course of some of the wrongs still present in life today. But sometimes he wondered how different the course of history might have been if he’d simply left humanity to the Plan in Eden…

Pushing those thoughts away to avoid falling down a mental rabbit hole, Lucifer closed his eyes and sat in silence for a moment. Releasing a held breath slowly, he opened his eyes again to get back to work-

And startled back when he realized glowing green eyes were floating less than a foot from his face.

"Tzel," he hissed out, throwing his hands behind himself to catch his weight. "Don't…do that so close!"

Tzel's ears drooped and made the shadow look like a kicked puppy, which was a rather neat trick from an eldritch shadow creature.

"You can get close, just…not when I'm not expecting it, please?" Waiting for his heart to stop rabbiting against his ribs, Lucifer exhaled forcefully. "It's a good thing it's physically impossible for a being like me to have a heart attack from that kind of surprise."

Floating closer, Tzel stretched out a spectral hand to touch his cheek. The chittering noise it made this time was inquisitive, though the turn of its expression was…concern? Oh, Father, he was learning how to read the expressions. He was screwed once Alastor realized.

But, might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. Lucifer was just starved enough for affection that he would even be willing to continue accepting it from an eldritch manifestation of power until the situation inevitably blew up, and turned his face to ‘lean into’ the ghostly touch. “I appreciate you coming out here with me. Are you being sent on a check-up mission?”

Tzel shook its head in answer, patting his cheek with a- huh, that felt like an actual touch for a moment, before the shadow was pulling its hand away. It nodded afterwards, motioning to the dirt that Lucifer had been working in.

Taking the miming to mean that the critter wanted to see what he was doing, Lucifer sighed softly in amusement. “Okay, okay. You can stay and watch me work, since it doesn’t seem like your master is going to show up any time soon.”

Grin broadening as it rose up further away from the ground, Tzel clapped its hands together in silent appreciation, then swept back down to hover close to the ground.

Subconsciously while he worked, Lucifer kept talking quietly. After years of being along for long stretches of unbroken time, he was quite used to talking to himself - let alone inanimate objects such as his vast collection of ducks. So even if he still didn’t know whether or not his words got directly back to Alastor through his connection to his shadow, he was going to humor Tzel and involve him in the task at hand.

It was only fair, especially when Ziva decided to peek out from underneath his sleeve where she continued to rest. Her activity was still hit or miss, sluggish today after a rather large meal the night before, though her eyes were quick to follow Tzel’s movements.

The moment Tzel noticed her, Lucifer saw its ears go flat, then perk right back up ramrod straight in the air. Green eyes fixed on the small snake’s head, sweeping across the gold and white scales that could be seen.

“She won’t hurt you,” Lucifer pointed out with a soft smile, lifting his hand briefly to brush across the top of Ziva’s head. “I don’t think she could even if she tried.”

Chattering softly, Tzel got right up in Lucifer’s space, shadowy head bent low to get a better look at the little snake.

Under such close scrutiny, Ziva shifted further out from under the cover of Lucifer’s sleeve, head lifting briefly and tongue darting out to taste the air close to the shadow.

There was a small spark of magic, a flash of green and red when her tongue actually touched Tzel’s head, and both creatures drew back a bit.

“…What was that?” Lucifer whispered, shivering from the cold rush of air that shot through the space surrounding them suddenly. Of course, neither of them could answer him, nor did they seem to understand what had happened either.

Hell was strange, and magic reacted in very strange ways at times. It was likely just his power and influence over Ziva reacting to the same in Tzel thanks to Alastor. Nothing to think too hard about, they did have that deal. “You two behave,” he said quietly, returning to the task at hand.

Neither seemed keen to investigate each other too closely after that, though they did seem to be keeping an eye on each other.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Elbow-deep in re-potting the miniature trees that were meant to line the eventual walkway to the gazebo, Lucifer heard the subtle sound of footfalls on grass that warned him of approach. “I can hear you this time.”

“So you’re beginning to learn. Old angels can learn new tricks!” The canned laughter sound effect was clever, a jab that wasn’t nearly as sharp as it might have been in the recent past. “I was beginning to wonder if you would ever stop falling for it.”

“Why take your fun away so soon?” Lucifer shot back, glancing back over his shoulder. The sight that greeted him was already a bit unusual.

Alastor, without his ubiquitous coat, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. The gradient of darkened skin to fur was rather stark, but he did his best to not stare. Such a reaction would likely lead to not seeing such a sight again. The demon was rather jumpy that way.

Catching the look, Alastor tilted his head. “If you were planning on making any comments about this being like seeing a Victorian woman’s ankles-“

“I wasn’t!” Lucifer huffed, digging his claws a bit more deeply into the dirt he was still working in the pot in front of him. “It’s just- you’re always covered up.”

“We have been working a lot of dark earth.” Securing the button of his second cuff to where it wouldn’t move, Alastor also reached up to tie his hair back with- was that a hair tie?

Mouth going dry, Lucifer turned his gaze away. “Afraid of stains. Got it. I’m sure your dry cleaning bill must be insane, what with all the bloodstains and gore.”

“Now you understand!” Cackling in brief amusement, the demon set to work nearby. “Lessons learned from previous experience. It’s why I’m quite surprised that you wear white at almost all times.”

“I mostly clean my clothes with magic.” Not putting into words how many times that had been an impossibility and entire outfits had to be replaced wholesale, Lucifer glanced down at his pants and noticed- right, they were already getting smeared with dirt. Ugh. He could live with a little unkempt-ness, not wanting to set an example for seeming…what was the word? Prissy.

High maintenance was another. Either way, neither was a look he wanted for himself, not in front of present company in particular! Dirt was embedded under his claws, not that such could be easily seen, and he was definitely not above being out here and getting a little dirty!

“So it’s not some statement on purity compared to those around you, hmm?”

Not sure what that tone was about, he shot the demon a look. “My soul has been tainted for millennia, let alone anything else about my being.”

“Just making sure! Since we are still in the process of breaking down illusions about each other.” Giving a shrug, Alastor went right back to his task - weighing out some substance that was being used as fertilizer (that neither of them had been eager to investigate too closely due to its…questionable sourcing from Wrath).

“No more than I assume your wardrobe was chosen with the idea of trying to make bloodstains less visible.”

Snorting loudly with a bit of radio feedback to boost it, Alastor waved one clawed hand. “Point granted. Is your little scaly friend with you today, by chance?”

“She was earlier, after…” deciding he didn’t want to talk about the oddness of Tzel and Ziva’s interaction just yet, Lucifer trailed off as if he’d lost his thought. Surely it wouldn’t be that unusual from him, since it had happened before.

Alastor didn’t press the point, going quiet for several long moments. “…If she went missing after whatever you were speaking about, I’m fairly certain she’s gotten away from you.”

“Why do you say that?”

Clearing his throat insistently, Alastor held up his arm to show off the pale snake body that had coiled and wrapped around his forearm. “Unless there are other serpents with this appearance around here?” The rhetoric question came out incredibly dry.

“…Ziva,” Lucifer tried not to sound exasperated, dusting his hands off before resting them on his thighs. “She normally doesn’t do this, she sticks close to me most of the time.”

“I often was attracted to the creatures that were misunderstood when I was young.” Reaching out with clawed fingers, Alastor ran the tip of one claw along the snake’s scales, being surprisingly gentle. And more surprisingly, Ziva remained still to accept this attention. “Sometimes the compulsion still remains. She’s hardly bothering me.”

Though the little construct was intelligent in her own ways, Lucifer hadn’t been able to infuse as much power and intelligence as he would have wanted to during her creation. It had been a dreadful time after the fall, when wounds were still fresh - as such, he knew better that she likely wasn’t being manipulative or smug with him, even if he imagined such an emotion radiating off of the snake at this moment.

As far as he was concerned, she could stay right where she was for the moment. “As long as she doesn’t bother you or get in your way, she can stay then.”

“Wonderful! It’s only fair considering how fond my shadow is becoming of you.”

As if summoned by the faint stinging jab, Tzel rose up from the ground, arms crossed as its eyes roamed over its master and the snake coiled around his arm like an oversized bangle. It looked…highly put out, and floated closer to Lucifer and made a soft chittering sound at him.

“Yes, you can join me.” Assuming what was going on here, Lucifer almost reached out to pet the critter’s ears before he caught himself - maybe not the best idea to constantly fall to that urge when Alastor still seemed to get annoyed by the shadow begging for attention.

Fair was fair now that he was getting a bit put out by his former grace’s actions. Such was the problem with stubbornness out of an extension of one’s self.

With Tzel watching, Lucifer went back to work. Quiet fell over the garden space, broken only by the soft sounds of objects being moved, plants being shifted and put into the ground, and the occasional distant noise or snatched bit of conversation or song coming from the hotel. It sounded like some of the residents were out on the top floor patio space, possibly having a bit of a party.

Likely the newcomers, who tended to get louder than the core residents.

“I hope that isn’t a taste of what we’re going to be dealing with in a few days.”

The immediate laugh that met Lucifer’s comment was loud, briefly loud enough to drown out the sounds from above. “Oh, sire, I’m sure we will be dealing with worse. These sinners are used to being here and our rules. Others are not.”

“…That’s what I’m afraid of.” Groaning and brushing excess dirt off of his hands, Lucifer sat back on his heels. “Nothing is ever perfect, I just hope Charlie hasn’t gotten in over her head with this idea.”

“A few simple ground rules will suffice.” Talking as if he’d already thought about this - which, Overlords and contingency plans, so very likely - Alastor sounded confident, and maybe a little bit menacing with an undercurrent of something dark. “I ensured that your daughter and her paramour printed out instructions on those ridiculous pamphlets they wanted to hand out. If anyone sets one hoof out of line, they will only be asking for what happens to them.”

And this was likely why Charlie trusted Alastor and his planning. “When are they supposed to be handing those out?”

“Tomorrow. They’ve recruited Husker, Angel Dust and his friend, but refrained from suggesting we take part as well. I think they were aware that I would have refused regardless!”

“Yeah, and I’d just look ridiculous begging sinners to come to this event.” Snorting loudly at the mental image of how that kind of situation would go for him, Lucifer shook his head. “Guess they probably want us to keep an eye on the place while they’re out too.”

“Hmm, very likely. Though they needn’t worry, our current crop of degenerates knows better than to try anything while I’m lurking around.”

Impressed by the layered menace in that statement, Lucifer grinned and reached for the trowel to start prying the tree out from its temporary pot. “You never know when someone will try something stupid.”

“And if they do, I WILL SIMPLY DEVOUR THEM WHOLE.”

… Deciding to not offer a response to that, Lucifer tapped the trowel against the side of the planter. “How you uh…doing with those, what were those, spider lilies this time?”

They were not the true Earth variants, but at some point someone who could go top-side and return must have smuggled in some Earth plants that had mutated down here. Spider lilies, with their association to death, were a perfect fit for the Hellish realm.

After all, this was the place with the most dead human souls in residence, as even without knowing the number of winners up in Heaven, the Devil was sure that there was no real comparison to be made. Especially not considering the number of souls that had been ended twice thanks to Heaven’s interferences…

“Oh, it is going quite well, thank you!” Dusting fertilizer off of his arms with quick motions (being careful not to shake Ziva where she was still resting), Alastor stood and snatched up something that he tucked away behind his back.

Not straining his neck to see what that was about, Lucifer exchanged a quick look with Tzel, who promptly melded back into the grass. “Are you done for now?”

“Yes. I was thinking it was time we do another of our drawings. We will have ample time to finish up the remaining tasks out here over the next handful of days, no need to rush.”

More than glad to be done with the planting for the moment, Lucifer nodded and stood, dusting dirt off of his pants which…left some staining that he handled with a snap of quick magic.

They took up residence in the gazebo again, since the light from the strings pinned above provided ample viewing ambiance. This space was actually quickly becoming a favorite spot for Lucifer, who could picture himself coming out here to read, or work on simple projects. He only hoped that Charlie ended up appreciating the space as much.

The traditional coin flip went to Lucifer, who decided that they should draw their own cards today. With the still shrinking number of cards left, it was much easier to fan them out for selection.

Drawing out Death for himself, especially in a reversed position, meant this was likely to be a doozy of a question. His heart rate sped up at the way Alastor sat in silence for several long moments studying the card, but he could do nothing but wait it out.

Sensing his discomfort, Ziva uncoiled herself from the demon’s arm and crawled down his body to make her way back over to Lucifer. Lowering his arm down to lift her from the wooden floor of the gazebo, he scooped her up and tucked her against his own arm to allow her to coil up there if she wanted to.

“Is there a change in your life that you fear to allow to proceed?” Still looking at the design on the card, Alastor didn’t look up to make eye contact over the question. “Beyond the fear you had of putting yourself out there again and taking action alongside your daughter, that is. I already know that one.”

Sure enough, that was a very loaded question. There was much here that Lucifer could admit to, even more that he had to unpack in the quiet of his own mind.

After so long spent as a recluse, refusing to take charge of his own kingdom and subjects, he was afraid of what reception he would receive when he needed to act on actually important matters rather than allowing the other Sins or the Ars Goetia to pick up the slack in the chain of command. He didn’t know what would have to be done, or how to proceed, and trying to figure that out brought out a lot of the buried fears that had once plagued him before the fall.

The same level of uncertainty and fear of misstep when no one saw fit to tell him what he was ever doing wrong - or why it would be wrong.

But that wasn’t the admission that came out of his mouth before he managed to get his thoughts fully together.

“I’ve been afraid of letting go of my wife.”

…Ah, shit. There it was. Seeing the strange look crossing Alastor’s face, Lucifer felt his face heat up against his control.

“I didn’t…I meant that as in…she left me, years ago, and she’s not coming back. But…here I am, after hiding myself away in misery for years…afraid to let go when she couldn’t even care to-” These words shouldn’t be coming out of his mouth like this, not in present company - not even when he hadn’t told any of this to Charlie yet, terrified of letting her down with the knowledge that he’d given up on his marriage, unable to proceed knowing that Lilith would never come back to him after everything that had been said-

“Sire. You’re hyperventilating. Breathe slowly.”

…When had Alastor gotten so close to him? It was ridiculous, recognizing the signs of the panic attack in a body that didn’t even strictly need to breathe, but kept up the habit to appear more human and approachable- wasn’t THAT funny now?

The spiral had to stop before it got truly ugly. The skin around his forehead itched, the curve of his horns threatening to burst free out of his skin, and the blur in his vision told Lucifer that he was crying. That was the truly mortifying part, losing control of himself in front of the Radio Demon.

Surely it would lead to mockery later, or some level of vitriol.

That was an issue for later, when he wasn’t being coaxed into breathing more calmly, bringing himself down from a complete meltdown with the help of someone that…shouldn’t know how to do this, right? Probably not.

And yet a clawed hand patted his shoulder lightly before drawing back, moving out of his space enough that he could brush at the tear tracks staining his face.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” he mumbled, voice coming out far more watery than he would like.

“I’m simply surprised you’ve held yourself together so well for this long.” Was that an edge of teasing to Alastor’s voice? “Do try not to lose control of those rain clouds that just rolled in. I doubt our newly planted friends outside would appreciate getting burned by your emotions.” Never mind, there was the jab.

Holding up both middle fingers, Lucifer was mildly gratified by the startled cackle that pulled out of the other demon.

They proceeded as if nothing had happened, Alastor drawing out the Hanged Man in reversed. Staring at Asmodeus’ tall form represented on the card, Lucifer held out a hand to take it. “Have you ever felt as if you’re stalled or stuck in a situation since you’ve been in Hell? I mean, significantly, not minor issues.”

“There have been a few times.” Alastor’s ever-present smile twisted a bit, curling closer to a crooked grin. “Such as watching Charlie attempt to get this place off the ground after opening, when no one around wanted to give her a chance. And there was only so much I could do without stepping on her vision, so I waited it out.”

That seemed a safe sort of answer, but after his outburst, Lucifer could understand why and had decided not to press-

“And now, honestly, I find myself considering the way forward with our…situation here, as well.”

…Wait, what?

“…Uh. Do you mean that…huh?” Lucifer asked eloquently.

He stared, dumbfounded, as Alastor reached behind his back and twirled a- oh, had he picked a spider lily earlier when getting up? Said flower stem was handed over to him - pressed into his hand, actually, as if he would refuse such a gesture if expected to take it on his own.

“Consider it a gift for pushing you into a near panic attack,” Alastor said simply. “I had intended to gift this one to Niffty, but I dare say you need it more at the moment. My twisted little maid can wait until the others start to open and bloom.”

“Okay, but are you going to say what you meant about-“

“You are getting under my skin.” That was a very blunt statement. “I do not open up well to others, and even though we were forced into this arrangement, I find myself…not hating it. You keep things interesting, as much as I would have been loathed to admit that to the version of myself that existed just a few short weeks ago. So, consider that my way of saying I would be amenable to continuing these little meetings after we make it through these next three drawings.”

“Are we going to amend that deal…?”

“Yes, I dare say we will have to!” Standing from his seat, Alastor summoned his radio cane, the poor thing still looking half fallen apart with how it was twisted in the middle. “Which we will discuss after we make it through this open house nightmare. Now, I have pushed you more than enough for one evening, I think! If my dear shadow would like to stay and comfort you, I am amenable to allowing it. But for now, I have dinner preparations to see to. Shall I bring something up for you later, or do you think you’ll be able to pull yourself together for group dinner?”

“…I doubt it,” Lucifer swallowed hard at the thought.

“Then I will see you later this evening with a meal. Until then, sire.” Melting down into shadows, Alastor vanished.

Leaving Lucifer behind in a long bout of stunned silence until he could get himself together enough to teleport back to the tower. And promptly collapsed onto his bed to curl up with several plushies, a concerned snake and a shadow that seemed even more clingy than usual.

(Magic saved the spider lily from being crumpled up in his attempts to meld with the bed, depositing it in a glass display case on the fireplace mantel to preserve it.) 

Chapter Text

If not for knowing that there was a knock expected at his door at some point that evening, Lucifer would have cast a sound-dampening spell on the entire room and remained hiding away from everyone and everything.

Funny how it turned out that revisiting the ruin that was his marriage and actually admitting to someone else that it was actually over might make him spiral. Who could have expected this turn of events? Not him in his own lack of awareness!

Still curled up on his bed where he’d retreated after coming back to the room, he was distantly aware that time was passing - with the change of the lighting in the room from the movement of the sun, hard to miss when he didn’t even have the energy to pull the bed curtains in place to block it out and refused to open his eyes.

Tzel was…still next to him. Shadowy claws worked through his hair for a while, providing a grounding comfort through a faintly chilled touch, but they had gone still at some point as if the eldritch critter thought that he had fallen asleep. Despite not offering the physical manifestation of comfort any longer (as Alastor suggested it should) it had refused to leave afterward.

That was touching in an odd way, though Lucifer was resigned to the fact that the manifestation of Alastor’s power was definitely attached to him now in a way that neither of them would be able to break very easily. Leave it to him to end up in a situation like this, where he was still half convinced that the demon was playing some long game against him, to find some information to use against the Devil before turning on him.

He wouldn’t be the first…and definitely not the last, not with how pathetic Lucifer felt now. This was the kind of treatment he deserved after so many years of failure. Couldn’t serve properly as King of Hell, couldn’t face most of the sinners that he still felt were terrible manifestations of his pride come back to haunt him, couldn’t keep a relationship with his only daughter going even as his wife turned against him, finally fed up with years of bullshit…

Breath hitching in his throat, Lucifer realized he’d given himself away when he heard a whine- Tzel started petting his hair again, and somehow the touch was more insistent despite the mostly intangible nature of the creature. Forcing his eyes open, he looked up to see the worried looking green eyes fixed on him and-

“I’m okay, cute thing,” he whispered, unable to muster the energy to raise his voice any higher. “Just…had a bit of a bad time for a while there.” Mostly of his own doing, making it worse.

Bobbing its head in a nod, Tzel pulled its claws away from his head, reaching out instead to pull the plush toys closer. It had caught on to the fact that they seemed to bring some kind of comfort to Lucifer, and seemed to be trying to increase that comfort.

That was enough to make Lucifer tear up again, though he didn’t dissolve into the same kind of crying fit from earlier. That had been embarrassing as hell, and he was still expecting to be mocked for that outburst sooner or later. Maybe Alastor would give him another day or two before it came up again, if he was given any amount of time to recover from the episode.

Reaching out to pull the large floppy duck closer to his body, Lucifer curled on his side and held it close. The least he could do was show appreciation, since the sweet shadow was trying so hard. At least something seemed to have some kind of unquestioned sense of care towards his well-being, a rare commodity at this point in his life.

“Man, I really hope I don’t fuck this up, because I don’t know what I’d do if your master kept you away from me now…”

Likely spiral in a new and interesting way, but he didn’t want to put that into words. Best to not dwell on the possibility when he was already struggling with figuring out how to pull himself out of this mindset before company joined him later.

Seemed that would be a much quicker reality than he’d been expecting - the knock on the door was loud and insistent enough to echo through the room. Startled by the sound, Lucifer sat up quickly, making Tzel back up in turn. The shadow looked at Lucifer in a pleading way, before melting away into the bedding to go rejoin the person that opened the door seconds later.

“I see you kept the willful construct in here this whole time,” Alastor commented, pushing the tower door shut behind him with a soft click. “Was it at least useful in calming you down?”

“It was,” Lucifer rasped out in answer, wincing at how his voice sounded now. Even if the crying had stopped, lying here in misery had taken a toll on its own and left obvious signs.

“Good. I would hate for it to be that much of a nuisance otherwise when you can hardly deal with such things!” Moving further into the room, Alastor stepped closer to the bed and motioned with the basket settled in the crook of his arm. “As promised, dinner. Personal service this evening. Shall we take this meal near the fireplace?”

“…Are you staying in here with me?”

“I did cause quite a kerfluffle earlier.” Despite the statement, Alastor’s normal expression didn’t change other than one of his eyebrows lifting. “And I do recall saying that you were getting under my skin, sire. That includes a predisposition to spending time with you. I know you aren’t used to this kind of thing now, but I believe this is the kind of thing friendly acquaintances do on occasion, yes?”

Reaching up to rub his forehead and try to hide the twitching of his expression from the absurdity of all this, Lucifer took a moment to answer. “Yes, okay, point taken…” Getting up off the bed, he motioned across the room. “I’ll join you over there in a few minutes, I want to wash up and wash my face before eating.”

He also needed a moment before facing Alastor again properly, but that went unspoken as he crossed to the en suite and closed the door behind him.

Avoiding staring too closely at his reflection in the mirror, Lucifer cleaned up the remnants of digging in the garden, since he hadn’t had the capacity to deal with the task earlier. Dark earth had been buried under the junctions of his claws, as well as generally just smeared across his arms from digging - and that symbolism was nothing he wanted to explore, simply scrubbing at the evidence with a cloth, a bit harshly but- it was one of those kinds of days now.

He didn’t want to look like he couldn’t care for himself, not when revealing such weakness was worse than the slip up from earlier in the day.

Dried tear tracks were cleaned away from his cheeks with more care, leaving his skin looking washed out even for his usual deathly paleness. Using a bit of magic to touch up the rosy spots with more color, he studied the effect in the mirror. “…Still look like shit, but it’s as good as we’re getting right now,” he muttered to himself, turning away from the mirror.

Heading back out into the main room revealed quick preparations had taken place. The side table next to the two armchairs had been rearranged, trinkets moved to make space for covered plates.

Standing with his back to Lucifer, Alastor was studying the new arrival on the mantel - glass covering the spider lily in its magic infused vase. “Intending to keep this one long term, hmm?”

“The symbolism of them is nice.” Feeling under scrutiny for his choice to display the flower, Lucifer couldn’t stand what would probably happen if he got rid of it though, so he held out on the urge to magically vanish the display.

“Hell is rather appropriate for a field of these,” Alastor agreed, turning around to face Lucifer. “I’m supposing the idea never came up when it comes to your palace for other reasons?”

“Not realistic. Lilith had…a grove of fruit trees at one point, and that took up most of the space we had available for natural resources. Once it fell fallow without her maintenance of them some years back, I didn’t want to be bothered with clearing the space out to do anything else with it.”

“A task for later, perhaps.” Not pressing for the moment, Alastor motioned to the table. “I hope this was a suitable space for us to use?”

“Yes, it looks nice. Thank you.” Falling back on manners to sidestep any lingering awkwardness, Lucifer cleared his throat and crossed the space to take up his usual seat. “I hope this wasn’t much trouble.”

“Nonsense.” Settling in the other seat, Alastor waved a hand dismissively. “Half the time, group dinners are more troublesome than this, especially when someone has ridiculous requests.” The scoff was derisive in the same way Lucifer remembered had once been directed at him. “Much simpler to cook when an eating partner seems amenable to trying new things.”

Wondering who had pissed the demon off recently, Lucifer decided not to ask and build up a rant. It didn’t seem like a good time for such things, not with good smells coming from beneath the still-covered plates. “Should I provide drinks?”

“Perhaps wine would be nice with this dish,” Alastor suggested, reaching out to remove the covers from both of the plates.

The portions set out on said plates was quite large, pasta and shrimp and - cut up sausage? - making a melange of textures. “Another New Orleans dish?”

“Yes. This was a favored recipe among the friend circle my mother maintained. Cajun pasta, featuring shrimp and andouille sausage.”

Nodding, Lucifer summoned long-stemmed glasses and one of his private collection wine bottles. The vintage was definitely from before Charlie was born, but the cryptic writing on the label had faded from time. Pouring them both a glass, he set the bottle off to the side on another small side table he waved closer with a burst of magic.

Taking his glass to taste the wine, Alastor’s smile twisted a bit at the edges when he lowered the glass. “You’ve had this one for quite some time, yes?”

“A good number of years, yeah. It’s probably older than you.”

…Wasn’t that an odd thought? It was easy, after so many long and drawn out years of life, to forget that humans had such short lifespans, and that many of the sinners that remained down here in Hell were younger than his daughter. But that was a kind of existential crisis he didn’t need to add to the current mental list of them, thanks!

“Quite the vintage! To a good meal.”

Lifting his glass to clink them together, Lucifer took a measured sip of his wine. “Thank you for this, I was…not feeling like I could deal with the others, still.” On some level, he hated admitting to this when he was trying to escape his own worst tendencies and become more social, but changing from night to day behavior patterns overnight was hard.

“That’s perfectly acceptable. I wasn’t much feeling like hearing their reiterated conversations again.” Despite his words, Alastor’s smile twisted to be a little bit crooked like he was joking.

…Huh. Was he beginning to learn how to read the Radio Demon? They had been spending a fair bit of time together, more than Lucifer had ever expected to happen. Such came with proximity to people after a while.

Pushing the thought away, he picked his fork up and pulled his plate closer to twist pasta and toppings together. The first bite was a definite mouthful, the rich flavor of seasonings and the natural taste of meat bursting on Lucifer’s tongue. Rich dishes tended to upset his system when he got out of sorts like this mentally, but something about this was…comforting. Almost like a warm hug.

Was this what some humans called comfort food? He didn’t want to ask and sound rude, so that thought went unvoiced.

“Well?” Alastor pressed, not eating yet and clearly waiting for a reaction to his cooking.

“It’s really good,” Lucifer said with a smile - it wasn’t nearly as bright as he’d like, but he was trying to not look so morose. And with good food in front of him, that task of pretending was a little bit easier.

Maybe the better mood would stick with time and some more of the wine.

Looking as if he was preening a bit, Alastor inclined his head. “Wonderful. I managed to impress the Devil with my mother’s cooking. What an opportunity that I never would have thought possible in life!”

“Most people wouldn’t think of such things as a possibility, let alone something they would want to achieve.”

Lucifer was not unaware of his reputation among the humans, knowing full well what Heaven had written about his actions through their prophets and religious leaders. Many rightfully hated him for what the stories told, and what he represented was the very antithesis of the patterns of behavior that those Upstairs wanted to promote to gain new souls after death.

There had always been a push and pull between the two realms, and that was not likely to change for as long as time marched on for Earth. Thus, it would remain a set fact that much of humanity that didn’t seek to act on their terrible sinful compulsions on Earth would not think highly of the Devil’s opinion.

Finally lifting his fork to start eating, Alastor shot Lucifer a mild look for that comment, but didn’t immediately offer a response. They both were content to enjoy the dish for a bit, with the only sound in the room being the soft clink of silverware against the porcelain plates and the crackle of the fire burning in the fireplace next to them.

When soft music started echoing through the room, Lucifer looked up and blinked slowly in surprise. He didn’t recognize the artist, but the tone of the song was soothing. A glance to the side said it wasn’t his own turntable being used, which meant-

Alastor was using his control of the radio waves themselves to achieve the sound.

He had an old cathedral radio nearby, and a quick glance at it made it obvious where the music was actually coming from. Anyone else taking control of any of his personal technology might have annoyed him, but right now it was a nice touch. “…Thank you. That radio sees a lot of use, but I didn’t think about putting anything on for us to listen to tonight.”

“Evening meals are always improved with a little music,” Alastor noted and glanced over again. “You have a very good quality radio there. None of this newfangled Voxtek nonsense, or I would have to play music directly through the airwaves.”

“That was a gift from a former friend.” It had been some time since he’d actively though about Frederich. After Charlie and Seviathan had broken up, the interactions between the two of them had fallen away to nothing with no excuse through their children. At one point it had hurt to think that even someone like the Von Eldritch patriarch couldn’t be bothered to check in on a friend when nothing was in it for him or his reputation anymore, but now it was all water under the metaphoric bridge.

The radio and the photo pinned up in his workshop at home were the only lingering reminders of a connection that had fallen away to nothing.

Mercifully, Alastor didn’t ask who the other party had been. “Good taste regardless. Now…” Lifting his wine glass, the demon looked at Lucifer over the rim of the glass. “Are you quite alright after earlier? I was unaware that my question would lead to…the answer you gave me.”

In truth, Lucifer hadn’t anticipated that result, either. But the words had tumbled out of him before he fully realized what had happened. The side effect of not having anyone to really expound on his personal relationship issues with for so long. If anyone knew how bottling emotions up tended to lead to an explosive conclusion when they finally came out, it was him.

“I’m not…entirely fine right now. There hasn’t been a lot of time or space to deal with…everything around her leaving. It was easier to hide away from it all. But, I’ll get over it. I always do.”

There was always someone new to come into his life and end up leaving, so what was the use of getting overly attached most of the time? Some hurt more than others - the connection between him and his ex-wife had stretched on for ten thousand years, so of course it was going to be difficult to deal with that.

The side glance he received for that answer seemed to be suspicious. “If you say so, sire.”

“Thousands of years of disappointments and pain has given me a Hell of a coping mechanism,” Lucifer sighed. “I’m not going to mope around you if that’s what you’re concerned about, I know you don’t abide by such things-“

“Out of insignificant people, no,” Alastor interrupted him pointedly. “We are…I’m not sure I would use the full term friend between us yet, but as long as you don’t find some new or interesting way to push me away, I would be amenable to revisiting that issue of semantics at a later date.”

Stomach twisting up in knots at the idea, Lucifer swallowed hard. He didn’t- want to set himself up for disappointment again, not when…this could very well be a ploy. Was he falling for some power play out of the Radio Demon, who could be trying to force some connection to get what he wanted before dumping him?

Maybe it was like Frederick all over again. Once his issues returned and made him difficult to deal with, the effort would be not worth the downsides and he would be back to awkwardly lingering on the fringes.

“…Sire. Your expressions are quite loud when you get lost in thought,” Alastor sounded exasperated. “If you are digging for some reason as to why I might be making a power play-“

“I wasn’t thinking that!”

“You were with that tone of voice.” Scoffing, Alastor set his glass down with a bit of force. “It is in both of our best interests to get along better for your daughter’s sake, is it not? She is the reason we are both in this position now. So, what use is it for me to act as if I want to be friendly with you, only to turn around and potentially betray you later? I’m fairly certain that would lead to a very bad outcome for me!”

“…I have issues,” Lucifer said quietly, voice a bit strained. He didn’t want to get upset again, not after the episode from earlier already replaying in his mind, mortification making his face heat up. “It’s just…I don’t know how to accept that anyone might…”

“See you as more than a means to an end?” Alastor asked shrewdly, eyes narrowed and fixed on Lucifer’s face. “Is that how your wife saw you towards the end of your relationship?”

“…” Unable to answer that verbally, Lucifer ducked his head in a nod.

“Once again, I never thought I would be in a position to outdo the Queen of Hell. This is quite ridiculous on her part!” Leaning forward in his seat, Alastor made the Devil meet his gaze head on. “I make no promises that I will be able to constantly abide all the niceties that a friendship might offer between us. Most of my more positive relationships are towards the fairer sex. But…I am quite glad to show up those who tried to use you for their own ends. What fools.”

“I’ll remember that when you get tired of my…everything,” Lucifer laughed wetly, annoyed at how his mood was twisting and turning all over again. But this was…a lot to take in, and accept! Out of all turns of events, this was not one he even pretended to consider back after that fateful incident in the kitchen.

“At most I will tell you to stop being a fool,” Alastor rolled his eyes, tapping the table with two claws. “You are an enigma in many ways to me, even as you give me more answers and learn more about me in turn. To gain my interest, you have to be eternally interesting. Who else fits that criteria other than the Devil himself? God’s former favorite as they say, cast down to oversee the damned.”

“A fucking great job I’ve done of that,” Lucifer muttered darkly. Seeing the look, he held up a hand. “I’m not…about to spiral over that. But…I’ll try to continue being interesting, so we can avoid disappointing Charlie even more than we would have if this never worked.”

“Wonderful.” Alastor’s ever-present grin sharpened. “You owe me more information after our little card drawing ends, especially now that you’ve made Tzel grow attached to you, the spoiled little shit.”

“…How did you figure out that I named it?” Realizing he’d been caught, Lucifer whined.

“It is an extension of me, sire.” Alastor barked a sharp laugh. “I’ve known since it happened, but as you didn’t seem inclined to explain how that happened or why, I didn’t bother pressing about it.”

That made sense, but he didn’t have to like it! “So I’m starved for positive interaction and I got fulfillment out of befriending your shadow. Friends deserve names.”

“It is an extension of my power, but due to our growing positive relationship, I have to reluctantly allow this silliness to continue. You are fortunate that you didn’t try this stunt back when I was ready to eat you for insolence!”

“You would have had to catch me first,” Lucifer shot back, eyes briefly inverting to red.

Alastor’s eyes flashed as well, lighting up virulent green to match his magic. “Oh, is that a challenge? Shall we test our abilities against each other at some point?”

“…No property damage, remember?”

“Tch. Your daughter is lucky that I am reluctantly fond of her and her methods as well!”

Caught up in the ridiculousness of how quickly the conversation had turned around, Lucifer laughed - earning him another look from Alastor, before the demon gave in and laughed as well.

Not the unhinged, demented sound that most likely heard from the Radio Demon before their souls were stolen away, or they were eaten whole, but- something fond, approaching soft.

Sure that he was still in the category of interaction that would get him bitten if he pointed that out, Lucifer kept the observation to himself. But it made his heart feel a little bit lighter in his chest.

Even if this did fail down the road, despite what had been said between them, he could try and keep this as a more fond memory.

Chapter Text

Rain fell overnight, accompanying dark dreams that Lucifer didn’t dare try to think about too hard or relive when morning finally broke. Still hearing the tapping raindrops against the roof of the tower, he heaved a sigh and scrubbed a hand across his face. So much for being back at 100% after last night…

Hopefully none of the plants out back had been ruined, since a setback now would seriously screw up schedules. There were only a few days left until the open house.

…Way to unlock new anxieties first thing in the morning. Done with himself and his thought processes, he went and stood under the hot spray of the shower until some of the tense knots in his back were loosened up.

Redressing in pajamas without a care for how that looked, he headed downstairs with silent hopes that the kitchen wasn’t crowded out. Surely, he didn’t look at his best and he didn’t want to field questions about that.

‘Oh yeah, just thinking about my MIA ex-wife, you know how it is.’

No one wanted to hear about that. Even Angel would tell him to pick a different subject.

…No, that was unfair when Angel wasn’t likely to say that. His brain was just being difficult today, and most of his thoughts had been quite calm for some time, so it was about time for one of these episodes.

At least he was still able to get out of bed and try to move, unlike the periods where burrowing under the covers and staying hidden away was the only option. Pushing the door open to the kitchen, running a mental list of what he could pull out and eat that wasn’t simply sugary cereal or baked goods again, Lucifer nearly smacked right into someone else and-

“…Charlie,” he smiled weakly up at his daughter. “I thought you would have already been up and at it at this time of morning.”

“I was waiting for you, dad,” Charlie smiled at him, though her expression seemed to be tinged with concern. “Are you…okay? It was storming last night.”

Turned out there was a downside to being known for controlling the weather patterns in one’s Ring of residence.

“You’re not going to take a simple ‘yes’ for an answer, are you?”

“Not unless it’s true.” Charlie gave him a look that was so reminiscent of Lilith for a moment that it was difficult to breathe properly.

“…Sweetie, I don’t want to upset both of us right now, not with the open house coming up in a few days,” Lucifer wheezed out. “Just…I’ll tell you later? I promise, okay?”

“Dad…I worry about you. You seem to be doing fine, then something happens and…” trailing off, Charlie gave up on words for the moment and reached out, tugging her father into her arms.

Feeling particularly small - and extra terrible - at the fact that his daughter felt the need to comfort him when it should have been the opposite way around, Lucifer still leaned into the embrace, the fingers of one hand clutching at Charlie’s sleeve as if afraid she was going to vanish right out of his grip.

“I’m not going anywhere, dad,” Charlie whispered, as if she was keying right into his fears. “Not now, not after everything.”

“I know. Neither am I.”

After everything. Such a simple way to phrase failure to connect, to exist in a family relationship that wasn’t forced, to be there when it mattered the most…or ever. Thinking about Lilith leaving didn’t hurt, not nearly as much as the knowledge that he’d let his daughter down so many times, had fucked it up so badly just like the poor excuse of a parental figure he swore he would never be like-

Charlie held on tighter, and the grounding touch brought him out of his own mind. “I’m okay,” he whispered, patting her arm.

She didn’t seem convinced when she pulled back, but let the matter go for now. “Okay…come on, I want to make you breakfast for once. I’ve got time before I have to check in on the others and their projects!”

To Charlie’s credit, she was focused enough that the pancakes were only slightly scorched - and nothing could have tasted better.

She piled up chocolate chips and whipped cream on hers, just like she had when she was a child, and the sight warmed Lucifer’s heart. Some things never changed, and while there was still a long road for them to rebuild what had been lost, maybe it wasn’t so impossible for them to move forward and build something new.

—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—✶—

Returning upstairs after breakfast (and more conversation with Charlie that settled some of his nerves), Lucifer eyed his violin on the wall after a while of trying to read. The focus was not there for such a task right now, and he needed to let loose in some way.

But without any tasks that he wanted to do in the garden just yet (not willing to look at whatever damage had been done overnight that would need to be fixed), there were no pressing issues preventing him from playing a bit.

Being upstairs on the top floor had the benefit of not disturbing anyone else on the lower levels, since he knew better than to expect that most would appreciate his instrument of choice when modern music was…far removed from classical sounds. And it had been some time since he played at that, so who knew how rusty he would actually be?

Setting the bow to the strings, Lucifer exhaled and closed his eyes, not needing to look at the instrument to know what to do. Muscle memory had been built over centuries of practice, and the motions were second nature. Making music was as simple as breathing at this point in existence - had once been one of his greatest talents up in the Heavenly Choir, outside of his voice.

Without anyone to sing for, though, he usually refrained. Disney Princess random singing was not on the Devil’s list of approved activities most of the time, since he got self conscious if anyone caught him at the task. Contradiction, thy name as always was Lucifer.

He barely noticed the extra attention of the shadow, even if he was aware when Tzel showed up to observe. Maybe it wanted some extra attention now that he had (more or less) tacit agreement that it was alright. Mostly, surely there would be some point in the near future where he would get bitched at.

But that was a problem for a future version of himself, not the one in the present putting on a show for an audience of one. “Did you enjoy that melody?” he asked softly, once the floating composition had faded out.

Tzel, for its part, made a show of clapping without sound and grinning in approval.

It was foolish to blush over such a show, but better to enjoy the appreciation sent his way when it came. “Thank you for keeping me company again. Is your master still busy?”

Still and silent for a moment as if reaching out through whatever shared connection tethered them, Tzel nodded and mimed- actions that he couldn’t place, but likely indicated some kind of Overlord duty or other. Hopefully not a fight or anything else violent, not that it was any of his business…

“Okay, well, do you want to stay up here with me until he gets back later? He can’t complain at either of us this way.”

More eager now with the knowledge that Lucifer’s focus would be on itself, Tzel’s grin broadened even more than Alastor’s was capable of and swooped closer, lowering its head and beckoning for its ears to be petted.

“…How am I supposed to resist an invitation like this?” Lucifer asked rhetorically, sighing and shaking his head fondly. Temptation was not his strong suit, which- duh. So he gave in and reached out, settling his claws on the ephemeral ears that immediately began twitching under his touch.

Huh. It still begged the question on whether or not that was the kind of thing that Alastor would be able to feel because of the connection…one of these days, he was going to find the nerve to ask that question, without wasting one of the tarot draws on it.

Surely it wouldn’t go that badly, now that they were both under agreement that a friendlier angle to their relationship wasn’t against either of their desires.

Rustling against the fabric of his pants alerted Lucifer to another presence, and he glanced down to see Ziva slithering her way up his leg, past his boot now. “Oh, dear. Am I not paying you enough attention either, darling?”

Flicking her tongue out with a vicious fluorish, the snake answered that question with a pretty pointed stare that a lesser snake wouldn’t be capable of.

Laughing despite himself, he lowered his other hand to scoop her up, lifting her up off of his leg and letting her wrap her scaled body around his wrist instead. “I’m sorry, dear. This is why I have two hands…”

Put out, Tzel made a chittering noise that was very obviously full of complaint, stopping short of pulling back but it did stick out a vibrantly green tongue in protest, narrowed eyes glaring at the offending party halving Lucifer’s attention.

“…Both of you are being entirely ridiculous right now. Come on, I can give both of you affection! Don’t start fighting over me, it’s silly.”

That did little to quell the looks between the powered shadow and grace construct, but he did manage to push them into a truce. Settled in his usual armchair by the fire, Lucifer allowed the shadow to hover at his side, leaning into him like a ghostly puppy and continued to pet those twitchy ears for quite a while.

Miss Jealous settled in his lap, coiled up as if a challenge to the construct infringing on her space - but unable to touch due to that incident that had hit both of them before.

That was still something that Lucifer needed to investigate, prodding at it with magic because it would likely lead to some kind of answer…there wasn’t much that could stump his Phenominal Cosmic Power.

“Well! Isn’t this a sight.”

Jumping a bit at Alastor’s sudden appearance in the center of the floor, Lucifer bit back the urge to scowl. He supposed that increased friendliness with shadow-traveling demons meant that these random appearances were far more likely now as well. “They’re jealous of each other, if you can’t tell.”

“That’s hardly surprising. That one,” Alastor crooked a claw at Tzel, who glared back with a surprising amount of insolence, “Will get territorial when the mood strikes. Even with me.”

It seemed the willful extensions of power were just meant to have moments where they acted like over-spoiled children, since they both had to deal with it. “What does it do when there’s just the two of you?”

“Unless I am being quite stern, Tzel is very willful. Enjoys finding trouble to go stir up, much like my shadow imps. I suppose it must be a universal trait of my magic that I haven’t quite figured out how to stamp out fully.”

“Ziva used to wander a lot.” Lightly stroking pale scales, Lucifer smiled at the way her little head butted up against his hand almost like a cat. She did enjoy spending time with Keekee, so it was clear that some of those habits had stuck at some point. “Still does, but it’s been a while. She’d much rather find somewhere warm and soft to settle down in, or hiding away in dark spots where it’s quiet.”

“If only mine would do that more often,” Alastor huffed, giving the willful shadow a stern stare. “Pick up the snake’s habit, won’t you?”

Blowing a silent raspberry, Tzel disappeared rather than stay for more of such commentary. It seemed quite offended before it vanished, which…yeah, okay, Lucifer was definitely reading into its actions now with no certainty that it was accurate.

“Ziva is more lazy than yours. She doesn’t have the same kind of connection to my power as Tzel does to you, so it’s not exactly fair to compare the two.”

“I feel as if there’s more to her than you want to admit, sire.” Alastor’s expression was shrewd as he cast a glance down at the curled up snake. “She’s far more willful than a pet. Intelligent, too.”

“If I gave all of my secrets away at once, you’d grow bored of me,” Lucifer commented quietly, half jokingly. “Don’t think I’m ready to do that quite yet.”

“Oh, and so soon after we agreed to make an amendment to our deal?” Eyes glittering, Alastor crossed the floor to take up residence in the other armchair, perching there as if it solely belong to him now. Rude, but…fair, considering that no one else had bothered to visit up here beyond Charlie as of yet.

“Right, yes. We need to figure out the specifics of that soon, don’t we?” Though it wouldn’t be nearly as fraught as it had been in the immediate aftermath of their…incident, Lucifer wasn’t sure why he was more nervous about the idea now. Maybe it was the knowledge that it had done something wonderful for their connection, whether that was accidental or deliberate.

“Ideally before we get caught up in the ridiculousness of that open house.” Even with a mild jab, Alastor simply seemed like he was commenting on the weather. Surely, it just involved the concept of so many new people being up in this space. It wasn’t as if the Radio Demon seemed like much of a social butterfly, not with his attitude towards so many demons being indifference at best, hostility at worst. But he was quite obviously territorial, and defensive over the space, so that was going to be a thing.

“Maybe after we do the next round of cards?” Lucifer suggested. To get his mind off of earlier struggling, he wanted to have something else to think about. Anything would be better than getting sucked back into the mire of thoughts around… her, and everything that had gone wrong.

“Now is as good a time as any, I suppose. Bring forth the cards!” Seemed that Alastor was now relaxed enough to make (joking) commands.

The snort it drew from Lucifer came with a fair amount of startled humor. Most demons or Hellborn he came into contact with were rarely ever insolent enough to behave that way even jokingly. Some still feared his reputation as the Devil. Others…probably just didn’t give enough of a shit to care. “Alright, let’s get this next round going and see what the cards make us reveal.”

The shuffle was much simpler with only six cards left, closer to the actual hand drawn for an actual in-detail reading. Mentally running through a checklist of cards that were left to be revealed, Lucifer silently hoped that what remained wouldn’t lead to a meltdown on his part.

Alastor won the coin toss, deeming that they should draw cards for each other and immediately reached out for the spread of six.

A knot settled in the Devil’s chest when the World stared back at him in the other demon’s hand, position reversed. So much for not willing bad juju, karma…whatever else esoteric concept of bad fate into existence by thinking about needing a better outcome. He supposed that was what he deserved.

For a long moment, Alastor was silent, as if he needed the time to properly think of a question at this point. Maybe he was trying to figure out how to soften another blow, but Hell if Lucifer could glean that information just from reading a demon that still had an impressive poker face.

“What about your past haunts you the most?” Seeing the change in the Devil’s expression, Alastor sighed. “I apologize, but you are already somewhat upset, and don’t tell me otherwise because your daughter already ratted you out. As they say…pull off the bandage quickly, yes?”

Maybe it would be easier to deal with now, especially considering the fact that Charlie had already thrown him under the bus. She was concerned…he could forgive it, knowing that he would do his best to send Vaggie after her to…comfort her…

Not that his daughter’s girlfriend and Alastor were comparable to each other on that level! No, that had to be Charlie keeping up with the ‘getting along’ crusade she’d demanded. That was all.

Back to the matter at hand! Less crushing possibility came from dwelling on the worst when he had to pick an option, no ‘all of the above’ allowed in the metaphoric test bubbles. Or, whatever mediums they used for those ridiculous human standardized tests nowadays. “Yeah, I guess it’s best this way. Well…”

What was the point closest to the full truth, without completely trauma dumping on the demon across from him? What would he have been willing to go back and see alternate timelines (were the impossible actually possible) and what might have come from the possibilities of alternate choices?

“I’m not mainly haunted by falling, or my choice in giving humanity free will. For good or ill, that ship sailed a long time ago and I wouldn’t want to see anyone be zombified in the interest of Heaven’s one true path. But…the possibility of…not turning myself into this.” Not fully putting what he meant into words yet, Lucifer bit his lip and realized how that might have sounded. “…Not the demon traits, just the…I know it’s my own fault that I’ve become this depressed hermit that couldn’t even deal with his wife leaving him behind, rightfully so. But the being I was before all that…”

Even what he had been early in Hell’s history, back when there was still endless time and energy to spend shaping Hell into the society it eventually became. Before the branching choices and consequences of those choices stacked up and made any other paths impossible to consider. “This is going to sound ridiculous. I’m haunted by…not retaining more of that spark of who I was as that young angel, naive and ready to charge at existence itself headfirst with no heed for pitfalls or struggles along the way.”

“You were that different, hm?” There was…something soft, and not in volume, in how Alastor asked that question. “I’m not asking for a literal answer to that, by the way. I simply find it interesting that the Sin of Pride would be so willing to go back and retain something of who he was before. Especially with everything that Heaven represents.”

“I never fit in properly with Heaven and everything they represent,” Lucifer pointed out with a muted sigh. Thinking about that was dangerous, knowing that he could never again be that angel even in part. In personality, perhaps if he got some of his issues under control, but in every other sense… “Not that it matters. Father ensured that I would never again represent what I did back then. I disappointed him the most with my actions, so I had to pay for that permanently.”

“Shall I ask about that more later?” There was some kind of undercurrent to Alastor’s words that Lucifer couldn’t place.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that was about at the moment. “Yes, that’s a conversation for another day. Now for your card…”

Strength upright was an interesting card, and for a moment it stumped Lucifer just as his card had seemingly stumped Alastor. Compassion as a concept did not fit in with the front that the demon put forward, especially to those of lower standing than him, but bravery… here he was, playing a high stakes game of twenty-two questions with the Devil and barely flinching at a single moment of it.

“Where does your sense of fearlessness come from? You’ll go head to head with anyone, and I have to admit that I…admire that quality in you.”

Though Alastor seemed a bit surprised by the added commentary at the end of that question, the rest of it he seemed to take in stride. “Fighting and clawing for every right and privilege I ever possessed in life made it obvious that I would have to keep to that if I ever made it anywhere in the afterlife. And I refused to fall under someone else’s sway when I first arrived, so I learned to put that front forward from the very beginning.”

When Lucifer opened his mouth again, Alastor held up a finger. “I know what you’re probably going for, and no, I’m not going to tell you about what I really feel under this mask. We are not at that point in this yet.” He motioned between them, looking irritated in a flash of emotion, though the expression did smooth back out into the usual smile rather quickly.

And then an olive branch was extended. “Shall we listen to more music before we part for the day?”

“That sounds like a plan,” Lucifer agreed, settling back in his seat as his radio was once again manipulated to echo soundwaves. Though he still didn’t recognize the music (it sounded like an Earth tune from a time frame he checked out on), it felt like a small window into Alastor’s world.

If the Radio Demon deigned to play music, it had to be worthy of him to listen to personally. And that meant it was a glimpse into what he was like as a person.

Lucifer was resolved to share his own tastes now, but…later, when his nerves were no longer so raw. And frayed. There was time, now that they had agreed to revisit the deal. Surely they could come up with something mutually beneficial for both of them.