Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lucifer considered himself a very patient man.

He was patient when Lilith decided she needed space, patient as he waited for Charlie to call him, and patient as he watched Charlie grow into her role as the new ruler of hell.

That being said, Lucifer found his patience wearing thin as of late.

“With whom?” you may ask.

Well the answer was very simple.

Charlotte “Charlie” Morningstar.

Now, Lucifer loves his daughter more than anyone in Hell, Heaven, and Earth. He was so proud of her for accomplishing something that he could only hope to accomplish. She actually reasoned with Heaven and after they killed Adam, the exorcists backed off. Lucifer was riding the high of killing God’s favorite toy for weeks after the fact. Maybe he should call up Eve for a little reunion now that he was thinking about it.

That was besides the point.

As much as he loves his daughter, lately he’s begun to doubt some things. Charlie has been making some rather… questionable decisions lately. Ever since the new and improved hotel opened its doors and welcomed more sinners inside, Charlie has been struggling in every sense of the word. Even with Vaggie’s assistance, Charlie has fallen down a hole and the hole seems to get deeper and deeper everyday.

Lucifer tried his best to try and help dig her out, but he can only do so much. Charlie should be able to stand on her own, but she was proving that she wasn’t ready for that. She was the new ruler of Hell. She shouldn’t need to use daddy as a crutch in order to get things done. Perhaps this all was too big of a responsibility for her to handle.

She was clearly in over her head so Lucifer, being the wonderful father he is, decided that it was time to step in.

It was difficult convincing Charlie to take a break, but he and Vaggie wore her down. He offered to make tea for the three of them, neglecting to tell them where this tea came from. He had gone out to the Sloth Ring to grab a special tea blend for his sweet little ducky and her angel paramore. Vaggie wouldn’t let Lucifer take Charlie willingly, so he planned to bring her with. The teahouse owner said even just one teabag was sure to bring about a full eight hours of deep sleep.

Lucifer uses two for Charlie’s and Vaggie’s and a normal teabag for his own.

It took only five minutes for the tea to set in. Lucifer listened to Charlie chat away until there was a noticeable change in her posture. She looked more sluggish, her eyes fluttering a bit as she tried to sit herself up straighter. Beside her, Vaggie wasn’t doing much better. The poor angel was practically falling asleep sitting up, but she fought to keep awake.

For a moment, their eyes met. Yellow met red and Lucifer gave a friendly little smile. Vaggie looked like she was about to say something; her eyes practically screamed “What did you do?!”, but before she could do anything, Vaggie sunk back into the couch and drifted off to sleep.

Charlie was next up. She was holding out better than Vaggie; he’ll give her that, but he could tell she wasn’t going to be able to resist for much longer. She struggled up and off the couch onto shaky legs. She looked as graceful as a newborn fawn as she stumbled a short distance and started to fall. Lucifer caught her before she hit the ground, gently scooping her up into his arms. She squirmed for a few moments before going boneless in his grasp.

“D-Daaa-ad…” Charlie slurred out, looking up at him with such tired confusion that Lucifer almost doubted his decision.

Lucifer gently hushed her like she was nothing more than a fussy infant. “It’s okay, Charlie. Daddy’s got you now…”

He watched her eyes flutter close as she finally succumbed to the siren call of slumber.

Getting the girls back to his mansion wasn’t too hard all things considered. Charlie’s friends were pretty easily fooled by Lucifer saying that Charlie and Vaggie were going to be sleeping over at his place for a few days to help Charlie relax. Angel Dust put up some fight, seeming nervous over the fact that they were already asleep, but Husker was quick to pacify him. Lucifer is Charlie's dad after all. He would never do anything to hurt her.

Chapter Text

It’s hours later when Charlie begins to stir. She awakes to the feeling of silk sheets under her body and the smell of vanilla in the air. The vanilla reminded her of the scented candles her father used to light in her room when she was younger. He said it’d help her focus while she did her schoolwork.

Wait…

Charlie’s eyes felt up and she bolted up right… in a bed? Looking around, she noticed the familiar pastel pink room from her childhood. Complete with a chest full of her old toys, posters of cartoons, animes, and bands alike, and her old writing desk still cluttered with drawings and pieces of writing. The only big difference was that the bed was bigger now, still garbed in childish bedding, and there was something draped in a table cloth off in the corner next to her wardrobe.

She took stock of herself, eyes widening as she noticed that she was completely naked. As she went to put her knees up to her chest to try to hide her shame, her right ankle met resistance. A metal shackle was clasped tight around her ankle, its chain attached to the new bed’s sturdy frame. A few sharp tugs proved that the chain wouldn’t break easy.

She didn’t understand what was happening.

What happened to her earlier? Why did she suddenly pass out like that? Where was her dad? Vaggie? Why was she chained to a bed in her old room naked?

She could remember much of what happened before she passed out except Lucifer giving her tea to calm her down. Even now, her brain still felt foggy when she tried to recall anything beyond drinking the tea. 

Before she could think further, her door opened.

Charlie quickly pulled the blanket up and over her nude body and watched as her dad stepped in. He was dressed casually in a soft brown sweater and blue pajama pants covered in rubber ducks. He carried a tray in his hands as he came in and seemed to be concentrating on not spilling its contents. He was smiling to himself and lightly humming.

The sight should have been comforting. Lucifer has done stuff like this before in the past. He always took such good care of her in Lilith’s stead and she always appreciated it, but something felt… off. His smile seemed a bit sharper than it should have been and his demeanor overall seemed to carry some sort of weird energy that she wouldn’t associate with her loving dad. 

Even so, Charlie tried to relax. This was her dad after all. There was nothing to be afraid of even if things seemed kinda scary. The way his smile brightened upon seeing her only served to reassure her further.

“Evening, Charlie!” Lucifer said happily as he stepped all the way in and closed the door behind him. He gently sat the tray in her lap. “Brought you up some food since I figured you’d be awake soon. Freshly made cinnamon rolls and some warm milk; just like how you mom used to make ‘em.”

Charlie looked back at the tray to see a plate of two cinnamon rolls and a mug of what seemed to be milk. The two cinnamon rolls seemed fresh and toasty with melty glaze drizzled all over the tops of them, making them glisten a bit. The trails of semi-translucent liquid carried particles of brown sugar and cinnamon with them as they raced to pool on the plate. The milk was practically steaming inside the little purple mug, but some other liquid swirled within. It was pale peach in color and for a moment, Charlie hesitated to even touch the mug, but it was probably some sort of flavoring to enhance the milk’s flavor. Her stomach made a gurgling sound and an uncomfortable hunger pain hit her stomach. Everything smelled and looked so good.

Lucifer laughed fondly, holding out a fork. “Eat up! I doubt you’ve taken time out of your day to eat earlier.” 

Charlie blushed sheepishly at that. He hit it right on the head. Charlie completely skipped breakfast this morning and would have skipped lunch if Vaggie hadn’t forced her to eat a piece of fruit. It was a habit that Charlie had settled into as pressure mounted from having to deal with Vox and the exceptions of the hotel.

She accepted the fork with a small “thank you” and dug in. The cinnamon rolls were amazing; they were flaky, warm, buttery, and sweet without being overly sweet. Lucifer must have grabbed out Lilith’s old cookbook to make these. No offense to him, but he was rather hit or miss with cooking sometimes. He’s even managed to burn chicken noodle soup once somehow.

Charlie liked the cinnamon rolls, but the milk was kinda strange tasting. Not in a bad way; just strange tasting. The warm, smooth, slightest sweet milk was mixed with this odd floral taste. It’s like Lucifer had dumped a bunch of wild flowers in her mug, but she didn’t feel any change in texture while she drank it. In the end, Charlie didn’t question Lucifer about it. It was most likely some sort of healing potion or something to that effect.

“Good girl… You finished your food without having to be told twice.” Lucifer cooed at her like she was a child that needed to be coddled. “You must have been pretty hungry. You poor thing… but don’t worry. I’m going to make some dinner here in another hour or two.”

Charlie let him take the tray before finally speaking up.

“Thanks, dad. It was all really good, but…” Charlie tried to word the words. “What’s going on? Why am I here, like this?” She looked down at her naked body under the blanket.

“Oh, well for the past few days things have been… hectic. Tensions are running high and sinner and hellborn alike are looking to anyone to keep them afloat.” Lucifer sighed quietly, fiddling with his sleeves. “Their king and queen have been MIA for a fair bit while their lovely princess has had to take over in their place.”

He sat down on the bed next to her, looking apologetic. “You’ve been stretched thin trying to fit into the role of ruler and it shows. That’s on me though… I should have never left this responsibility to you before I knew if you could handle it or not. I’m sorry, Charlie…”

“What? No, don’t apologize, dad. When mom left, it hurt both of us so I can’t fully blame you for leaving like you did…” Charlie tried to comfort him, but Lucifer didn’t seem to fully believe her.

“No, it’s not alright. Because of me leaving all this to you, things have only gotten worse. The hotel has lost a bunch of residents, you’re folding under the weight of having to keep everything in check, and it seems that hellborn citizens all over hell are feeling… snubbed in all this.”

“Snubbed..? Also, I’m not folding under the pressure, dad! I’m fine!” Charlie protested.

Lucifer fixed her with a look that told her he doubted her. “Charlie, your girlfriend said that you haven’t slept more than an hour in the last couple of days and you’ve completely neglected taking care of yourself.”

He continued, not waiting for a response. “And yes, they feel snubbed. Sinners have been getting all the attention from you lately and it’s starting to cause animosity from hellborn towards sinners. Unless we want a whole new type of war within hell itself, it’s best to nip it in the bud early.”

“What does that have to do with…” Charlie gestured to herself. 

“I was getting to that…” Lucifer said hesitantly. He knew she wouldn’t take this well, but it was necessary. “Now, I wanna preface this with the fact that I’m proud of you for what you’ve done so far. You stopped heaven’s senseless killings and that I will always be proud of you for that. However… I’m afraid that given the social climate and the rising tension reaching its boiling point that I can’t keep waiting. Hell needs a leader and if their princess can’t lead them properly, then their king needs to step back into the saddle.”

Charlie looked stunned at that. He didn’t mean that, did he? She knew that she was neglecting her duties outside Pentagram City lately due to focusing on the hotel, but surely she couldn’t be doing that terrible.

“Dad, I think you're overexaggerating! I can lead them properly. I’ve been trying to be fair to everyone, but the sinners need our help the most! I just need time to fix things and get everything under control.”

“I’ve been waiting for that since we reopened the new hotel, Charlie.” Lucifer’s tone was sharper, firmer. “I know you want to help sinners get redeemed. I know it’s important to you, but… all of hell needs a ruler to keep order. I’ve tried to hold off to give you a chance to take control, but so far all it’s done is lead to more chaos.”

With a deep sigh, Lucifer looked at Charlie with a very serious look. It looked wrong on her goofy, lovable dad. It was like she was looking at someone else, someone darker and much more ruthless. It left a pit in the stomach that quickly began to fill with dread.

“I’m gonna have to take over from here, Charlie. We can find someone else to run the hotel, but I feel you belong at home with me where it’s safer.”

“Y-You can’t just decide that!” Charlie shouted, her own voice loud to her ears. “I’m not a little kid anymore so you can’t just make huge decisions like this for me!”

“Actually… I can and I will. You are part of the royal family and I am your father so I can make decisions for you if I feel you are unfit for the role as ruler.” Lucifer said matter-of-factly. 

“Vaggie won’t let this happen! Sh-she’ll find out that I’m gone and come looking for me!” That Charlie had faith in.

No matter what she might have to do, Vaggie would stop at nothing to save her.

“Vaggie…? Oh, yes, your “girlfriend”.” Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, giving a dismissive hand gesture. “I already thought of that. She’d be a lot of trouble if I just took you back home so…” 

Lucifer walked over to the cloth-covered thing next to her wardrobe. When Lucifer ripped the cloth off, what Charlie saw shocked her to her core.

It was Vaggie. She was chained up to some sort of X-shaped device, completely naked like she was. What really drew her attention was the bulky metal collar around her neck and the color of said collar and restraints. It was a pretty light silver that gleamed under the low lighting of her room. It didn’t take long to realize what it was made of.

At that exact moment, Vaggie awoke with a loud shriek.

Suddenly, the angel was a blur of movement as she pulled at the chains keeping her in place. The manacles that bound her wrists and ankles and the collar around her neck kept her locked in a bout of burning agony. Charlie could see the grey skin underneath starting to turn an irritated dark gold. Vaggie was in so much pain and Charlie couldn’t stand by while her girlfriend suffered.

Tearing the blanket off, Charlie lunged forward to try to rush to Vaggie’s rescue. She didn’t yelp as her ankle twisted under her own restraint and was followed up by an awful crunching sound. Broken ankle be damned, she had one goal in mind; save Vaggie. Her little rescue attempt was thwarted by strong arms scooping her up and pinning her down onto her bed.

“Charlie! Calm down, Charlie!” Lucifer’s voice was a vague murmur compared to her own heart beat thundering in her ears. She thrashed against his hold as Vaggie’s pained cries spurred her on.

“ENOUGH!”

The room fell silent as Charlie and Vaggie fell still and quiet. The loud command cut through the panic and Charlie went limp under Lucifer. At the same moment, Vaggie’s cries dwelled to labored breathing as she stared Charlie and Lucifer down. Lucifer’s command completely dominated the room in that moment and he used that to his advantage. He slammed Charlie’s left arm down and locked another cuff around it. Charlie was effectively pinned in place now, unable to even sit up.

“Now then, calm down, Charlie. Look, she’s no longer thrashing.” Lucifer said, gesturing to Vaggie.

True to his word, Vaggie was still. She was still conscious, thankfully, but it seems she realized that she was making Charlie freak out. She was breathing hard as she tried to reign in her whimpers. The angelic steel was still burning her skin -Charlie knew it had to be- but Vaggie seemed to be trying to put Charlie more at ease. Leave it to Vaggie to prioritize Charlie’s wellbeing over her own.

Charlie winced and gasped as Lucifer touched her ankle. It had bruised pretty badly and was already starting to swell. The only saving grace was that her leg bone wasn’t broken too. She had fucked it up bad moving the way she did. Lucifer sighed, looking worried.

“It’s definitely broken… Just relax while I go get the first aid kit, a healing potion, and some pain meds.” 

Charlie watched Lucifer walk away before her eyes met Vaggie’s. The angel gave her a strained smile, but didn’t speak. She was probably still trying to recover from her rough awakening. Charlie did her best to smile back though it was a bit forced as the pain from her ankle started hitting. Their earlier fighting no longer mattered to them. They were just thankful to have each other right now. 

This was a bad situation, but at least they were here together.