Chapter Text
By the time Lucifer pried his eyes open, the brighter red tones of Hell’s daylight were shining through the curtains fluttering in the breeze. He didn’t remember opening the doors to his joint balcony but he also couldn’t remember the last time he slept so soundly. He felt well-rested, the kind that made his bones feel heavy as the warmth of his bed beckoned him back to sleep. His fluttered shut, content to do just that when the reason he woke up in the first place cut through the silence a second time.
Lucifer groaned as he rubbed the dried drool off his chin, calling for whoever was knocking to come in. The door opened and he sat up in his bed to watch Charlie enter. He smiled tiredly, noting the plate of food in her hand with confusion. He took it when offered regardless but she managed to read his expression.
“You missed breakfast, I just wanted to make sure you ate.” Charlie moved away to the seating area with her own cup of coffee that he hadn’t noticed. Lucifer, on the other hand, nearly dropped the plate at her words. He scrambled out of bed, placing it down on the table nearby so he could put both hands on her shoulders.
“I am so so so sorry, Charlie! I-I didn’t mean to oversleep.” He moved away from her to pace nervously around his room. “It wasn’t too bad, right? I know my little fit yesterday probably made it awkward and, oh hells, they didn’t try to do anything while I was gone, did they? What was I thinking?”
His breaths came out in uneven wheezes and he gripped his chest as if that would help the regulation. Then, as if his last thought finally registered in his brain, he turned onto his daughter, hands fluttering around her to see if there were any injuries. She looked fine at the very least but his examination only stopped when she grabbed his upper arms and shook him slightly.
“Dad! I’m fine, and it’s okay!” She smiled reassuringly. “Breakfast was…good, I guess. I could tell they wanted to ask about you but it got tense last night after you left.” Lucifer felt his heart sink and he finally took a seat across from her. Charlie pushed the plate closer to him as a silent command for him to eat. He picked up the spoon to poke at the yogurt.
“I shouldn’t have said what I did yesterday. I’m supposed to be supporting you but if anything, I’m just making you look bad. I’m sorry, I really am, and I’ll do better from now on.” Lucifer glanced up at her, noting the frown on her face as she looked at him. He turned his attention back on the food, slowly putting in some crumbled granola and strawberries into the yogurt to add more flavor. The first bite made him realize how hungry he actually was.
The silence that followed was uncomfortable. Lucifer busied himself with eating the food she brought; pancakes, yogurt, sausage, and orange juice that was left over from yesterday’s breakfast. Charlie had finished her coffee already, gaze trained on the table as she bit her lip. She wanted to ask him something and he felt shame roil in his gut at the fact she wasn’t sure if it would be well received.
“What’s on your mind, duckie?” He asked uncertainty, setting the now empty bowl to the side so he could focus on the rest. Lucifer and food were always an interesting mix. Some days, he’d be able to eat whatever was put in front of him. Other times, there would only be very specific foods he could even think about stomaching. Today seemed to be that and luckily, pancakes were one of those ‘safe foods’ he remembered hearing Angel Dust call it once.
Her eyes flickered back up to meet him. There was another bout of hesitation before she steeled her expression with determination and cleared her throat.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had siblings?” Lucifer should have expected that question. He should have expected how hurt she looked over him keeping something like that from her. He sighed, frowning down at his half-eaten plate as he thought. The truth is what she wanted, he just wasn’t sure how much of that he was able to give.
“The last time we saw each other wasn’t exactly pleasant.” Is what he settled on, setting down the fork as to not ruin yet another utensil when his anger got the best of him.
“Yeah, I got that much.” Charlie spoke softly and Lucifer had to close his eyes so he couldn’t see the love and concern on her face. It only made him feel worse. “Bad enough to not talk to them for 10,000 years.”
“I tried. After so many ignored messages, I gave up.” Lucifer crossed his arms, digging his claws into his biceps. The gloves were still firmly in place and the only things keeping him from shredding his skin entirely.
Charlie’s frown only deepened and her stare felt like she was peering right into his very soul. Did angels have souls? Lucifer wasn’t sure, to be honest. He stubbornly kept her gaze no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel. Then, her features softened impossibly more.
“What did they do to you, dad?” The air was knocked clean out of his lungs and he ignored his earlier resolve as a spike of pain radiated up his arm. Charlie looked so sad and Lucifer couldn’t—he couldn’t handle it.
“Charlie, I love you, I really do, but I can’t-” He screwed his eyes shut as the breath that left him stuttered in his lungs. Charlie must’ve moved at some point, a gentle arm wrapping around his shoulders in a pleasant side hug. Lucifer melted into the embrace.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, Lucifer desperately trying to push away the nausea he felt and control his erratic heart. His daughter didn’t say anything as she rubbed his arm comfortingly. Lucifer couldn’t help but think how disquieting the whole thing was. Bringing him down from a near panic isn’t a responsibility Charlie should have.
Lucifer sighed, bringing up a hand to run through his messy hair. He opened his eyes once the idea of facing the world wasn’t so daunting. Charlie was looking at him with so much undeserved concern but her face lit up in a smile, one he managed to give back at only a fraction of the brightness.
“I’ll tell you after their visit. I just—I can’t while they’re here.” Thankfully, she only nodded in acceptance. It wasn’t the only thing on her mind and after a few moments of considering the half empty plate on the table, she pulled him up from his chair and moved towards the bed. They sat down side by side, Charlie turning slightly to face him while he remained looking forwards.
“I won’t pry but are you…anticipating that they aren’t here for what they say they are?” Lucifer furrowed his brows at that, head rolling to the side so he could see his daughter better.
“What gave you that impression?” Charlie raised a brow, her expression looking vaguely amused at his own confusion.
“You do realize Vaggie would’ve told me about the necklace, right?” No, actually, it hadn’t crossed his mind that his daughter’s girlfriend would have informed her about her sudden inheritance to Lucifer’s power, and not just by marrying said daughter.
It’s not like he would ever ask for Vaggie to keep something like that from Charlie, but he did wish she waited more than a few hours to do so. Give him time to prepare a better way to evade the question. Then again, he really needed to start being completely truthful with Charlie if he wanted to keep rebuilding their relationship.
“I’m not anticipating that they’re here to kill me.” It wasn’t fully the truth but it wasn’t a lie either. “You have to understand, sweetie, that I have a lot of enemies both in Heaven and Hell. I’ve had preparations in place for millennia in the off chance that I do get uh…” He trailed off at the pained expression Charlie had at the idea of him being permanently killed.
“I-I’m not saying it’s gonna happen, Charlie!” He waved his hands frantically in his sad attempt at reassurance. “But it would be very very bad if I were to die and Hell was left without any plans and—please don’t cry Charlie!” Lucifer lurched forward to drag her into a bone crushing embrace that was returned rather quickly.
“Sorry, Dad!” She hiccuped, wiping her eyes the best she could in their hug. “You’re right, I know you are.” Charlie’s grip on him tightened as she buried her face in his shoulder. It couldn’t have been comfortable for her, what with their height difference and all, but he ran his claws gently against her scalp in the way she loved as a kid.
“I guess the idea of losing you terrifies me. Especially after mom.” Charlie pulled back but her hands never left his shoulders and she leaned into his own touch on her arms. “I don’t know how humans do it.”
He brought up his hand to rest against her cheek, lightly wiping away the tears with his thumb. The smile she gave him didn’t quite reach her eyes but he figured talking about the possible death of a parent wasn’t a fun subject for any child.
“I didn’t give Vaggie that pendant because I think my siblings are here to murder me.” He assured, putting as much conviction he can into his voice. “It really was coincidental; I was going to ask that of her regardless. Someone needs to protect you when I can’t and…I want to make sure she’ll be safe if I’m gone, too.”
That particular line earned him an even more suffocating embrace as a new wave of tears, happy ones, overtook his daughter. He wheezed out the air in his lungs and patted her back awkwardly.
“I’m so happy you approve of Vaggie! I mean, I would never break up with her if you asked me to but I still really want you guys to get along.” Lucifer chuckled as best he could with what little oxygen he had in his chest but he eventually used just an ounce of angelic strength to push Charlie away so he could smile up at her.
“Are you kidding? I love Vaggie! All I could ever ask in a partner for you is someone that cherishes you the way you deserve. As far as I’m concerned, she’s checked that box several times over.” Charlie blushed with a giggle, clearly thinking of ways to gush about her girlfriend before she seemed to remember something.
“Oh! I forgot why I even came up here!” She adjusted slightly on the bed, pulling her leg up so she was more comfortable. “I have a bonding activity planned today for everyone, including the ambassadors, and I was really hoping you’d join us.”
That was the last thing he wanted to do, quite frankly. Facing his siblings after the disaster of a dinner last night was not high on the list of things Lucifer was keen to do but he also refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing the full depth of his discomfort. Charlie, for her part, had already deployed her patented puppy dog eyes and Lucifer knew he was done for.
“I’ll join. Just give me a few minutes to get ready, duckie.” With a whoop, she pulled him into one final hug before darting from the room to get whatever she had planned ready. His shoulders drooped as soon as she was gone.
Lucifer stood there for a minute, hyping himself up for the inevitable sh*t show the day would turn out to be. With a snap of his fingers to replace his clothes and a bright smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, Lucifer left the confines of his bedroom to meet everyone else downstairs.
All current residents of the hotel were gathered in the foyer, watching as Charlie placed a table in the middle of the luscious space. Lucifer hadn’t yet joined them, opting to just stand at the top of the stairs. No one had noticed his presence yet and he hoped it would stay that way for a moment longer.
His estranged siblings were standing with each other, Michael and Gabriel conversing quietly as Azrael remained silent. Emily was talking to Angel and Husk and it appeared not to be anything damning as she looked decidedly not grossed out. Lucifer was glad to see that the p*rn star was remaining PG as of right now.
Alastor, the bastard that he was, did notice him and spun on his heel with a flourish.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty! I’m elated to see you’ve decided to bless us simpletons with your presence this fine day.” Lucifer shot him a scowl, willing that f*cking smirk to wipe off his face. It only grew.
He didn’t dignify him with a response but everyone’s attention was back on him so, with his head held high, he descended the stairs with all the grace of a royal. Lucifer smiled brightly as Charlie greeted him and he came to a stop next to Vaggie.
“Okay, everyone’s here!” Charlie clapped her hands together before urging everyone to gather around the table. “Today I thought we would start out simple with a dice game! I haven’t quite thought of a name yet but I know there’s a lot of uh…tension so something where we work as teams would be beneficial for that!”
She procured two pairs of dice in each of her hands placing one set on the table along both sides of the long edges. Lucifer peered at them curiously but for all he could tell, they were regular six-faced dice.
“There’ll be two teams that I delegate here in a moment but the rules are simple. The people at that corner of the table will roll the dice until they roll doubles and pass it to the next person, so on and so forth. The team that gets to the end first wins.” Charlie finished with too much enthusiasm, throwing her hands up excitedly.
“Oooh, what’s the prize, sugar?” Angel asked with a devious smile, top set of arms pressed on the table as he leaned forward. Husk rolled his eyes though it was far more fond than he probably intended it to be.
“Uhm…bragging rights?” Charlie smiled dubiously and the p*rn star deflated briefly before standing straight again.
“At least put me on a team against Cherri, I wanna rub it in ‘er face when I kick ‘er ass.” Angel shoved his lower elbow into her side and she immediately whipped around with a sharp smile directed at him.
“Oh, you are on, bitch!” Cherri jumped up slightly to throw an arm around Angel’s neck and drag him down to her level for a noogie. He shoved her away playfully, sticking out his tongue like a rueful child.
“I can definitely do that! On that note, here are teams; Team One will be me, Azrael, Gabriel, Husk, Nifty, and Cherri and everyone else will be on Team Two!” They quickly split off into their teams and after a reminder of no cheating (with a very pointed look at Lucifer, Alastor, and Husk), they started delegating who would go where in the line.
Which unfortunately had Lucifer sandwiched between Michael and Alastor. Vaggie and Emily were starting the row while Angel brought up the end. He tried silently begging his future daughter-in-law to switch places but Charlie really wanted to start against her so all she did was smile apologetically. Instead, he was left to lean more comfortably towards Alastor to put as much space between him and his brother without actually touching the sinner. A closeness that hadn’t gone unnoticed by said demon either.
Before he could say anything, though, Charlie indicated for the game to start and she went up against her girlfriend to roll doubles first. To her credit, her activity did exactly what it set out to do. Lucifer didn’t know how something as simple as this became extremely competitive but his daughter was always full of surprises.
Of course, much of that could be attributed to Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb, both of which were tossing insults at each other and yelling at their teammates to hurry up. Their energy was infectious for even Husk to join in the taunting from where he was between Gabriel and Azrael. Nifty wasn’t really sure why they were screaming but she joined nonetheless and after a while, Lucifer felt his own muscles loosening, enough of that competitive fire that caused him to urge Michael into rolling doubles.
“HA! Suck it, Cherri!” Angel whopped when he rolled a matching pair just as she got the dice herself. The arsonist threw them down with an irritated shout, leaning over the table to point a finger at Charlie.
“We’re goin’ again!” Cherri all but demanded, Charlie laughing brightly as the dice were passed back up to her and Vaggie. The next round started, just as loud as the previous and everyone had joined in the yelling save for Alastor, Michael, and Azrael who were much more subdued. This one ended with the other team winning so it was clear that a tie breaker round was needed.
Which was, somehow, even more lively than the previous two. The insults between the two best friends was turned up a notch, the dice having gotten stuck at both Emily and Nifty who couldn’t seem to roll doubles for the life of them, until Lucifer hastily shoved the dice in front of Alastor once he did his part, only for Cherri to erupt in triumph at her victory.
“Take that, you f*ckin’ dickhe*d!” Cherri reached across the table to shove lightly at Angel’s shoulder. Lucifer watched with a smile as everyone, even Michael, seemed to be in much higher spirits than before they started. Charlie was apologizing profusely to Vaggie who only looked amused, Cherri had managed to drag Nifty and Husk into teasing the living hell out of Alastor and Angel while Emily, bless her heart, only congratulated the other team.
Then, they turned to each other to celebrate their victory. That’s when the spider demon somehow managed to corral all of team two to the bar, glancing back at the others before lowering his voice into a conspiratorially whisper.
“We ain’t takin’ this loss layin’ down. I say we get revenge.” He slung his lower set of arms around Lucifer and Vaggie’s shoulders, leaning in towards the other three with a broad smile. Alastor’s own grew ever so slightly, causing the fallen angel to narrow his eyes at the implication.
“What kind of ‘revenge’ do you have in mind?” Vaggie asked skeptically, arms crossed over her chest to squint up at him. The spider rolled his eyes, patting the top of her head with one of his other hands.
“Nothin’ bad, toots. Just a fun, but annoyin’ prank. Like, oh!” His eyes sparkled mischievously. “We could replace all the booze with water an’ juice! That’ll sure ruffle some feathers.” Angel snickered at his own joke.
“That’s basically retaliating just against Husk.” Lucifer paused. “And Cherri.” Angel hummed an affirmative sound though the disappointment was hard to miss in his expression.
He opened his mouth to say something else when they were interrupted by Charlie calling for them again. The p*rn star looked over his shoulder in alarm before dragging their group of six closer in the impromptu huddle.
“Okay, let’s just meet back ‘ere when they all f*ck off ta bed.” Michael straightened up with a polite smile, hands clasped behind his back as he regarded the group before him.
“I’m afraid I shall sit this one out. Good luck on your revenge.” With a short bow, he made his way over to everyone else.
Lucifer, on the other hand, felt like the wind got knocked out of him when he realized Michael had been standing shoulder to shoulder with him the entire time. Not only had he not noticed, but he hadn’t minded either. He had liked the close proximity.
Curse the touch starvation that had come with seven years of self-inflicted isolation.
And curse Charlie’s game working so well in breaking the tension, even if Lucifer felt it return tenfold once his own thoughts caught up in his brain.
He remembers agreeing to Angel’s plan before his mind drifted for the rest of the day.
~~~
Lucifer, despite not being all there mentally, was thankful there wasn’t any other meaningful interactions with any of his siblings for the rest of the day. After Charlie briefed them on the importance of playing group bonding activities like that dice game, Lucifer had all but forced Alastor into letting him help make dinner (read: he refused to leave until the Radio Demon realized he would shut up if he got to assist him).
Gabriel had been shooting looks at him the entire afternoon that he steadfastly ignored. It was easy to create his own barrier by simply ensuring he wasn’t able to be caught alone by the man. Much of that was spent with Angel and Husk, listening in on their arguments that he had no real frame of reference to partake in. They hadn’t actually tried to involve him which he greatly appreciated. Despite his gruff appearances, Husk was very perceptive to other’s emotions so it wouldn’t surprise Lucifer if he had noticed him dissociating.
He was thankful that after dinner, when everyone was winding down for the night, the attachment between mind and body slowly returned to him. In his experience, the separation was even worse when you were by yourself with no indication of the time that passed. It’s been a while since the last time he felt like this; all the responsibilities he took up the past month made it hard for his brain to find that opportunity.
Or maybe he had, thinking back on the days where he couldn’t remember what happened between lunch and sleep, only that he had finished what was on his schedule for that time. Part of him wished he still had all that work to do despite how stressed it made him feel. At least it kept away all the negative thoughts that came with chronic depression, both figuratively and literally. Now he understood why Lilith took so many responsibilities upon herself. Maybe it was the only way she could cope with the life she was thrust into because of Lucifer.
Perhaps it was the only way she could deal with a husband that was slowly drifting away from their family, no matter how hard she tried to prevent it.
Lucifer still wasn’t fully there but he was aware enough that he could follow along to the quiet conversation in the foyer with the members of Team Two sans Michael. Mostly. They had been going back and forth on what prank they wanted to pull, most getting vetoed by Vaggie as it appeared Angel was bolstered by the fact that the eldest seraph wasn’t there. He still kept it away from his usual sex-favorable ones if only to not make Emily uncomfortable.
“How about we turn the foyer into a ball pit?” Lucifer remembered piping in at some point, staring at a spot on the carpet that looks vaguely like a face if you squint hard enough. With the amount of sinners that came in to wreak havoc, it could very well be the outline of one that had unfortunately perished at the hands of Alastor. The entire thing was meant as a joke but both Angel and Emily’s eyes lit up at the suggestion.
“That sounds like fun!” She squeaked, throwing her arms up excitedly at the prospect of having a giant ass ball pit in the hotel. Even if it would only be for a morning.
“Why don’t we take it a step further and turn this entire place into a fun room.” Angel suggested with a gleaming eye and for once, he hadn’t meant it in a sexual manner. He was looking out at the foyer now, deep in thought of what they could add or change.
“Hmmm, it doesn’t quite scream ‘revenge.’” Alastor finally piped up as he placed his microphone in front of him. “I think some bear traps scattered throughout the floor would be quite amusing!” That got Lucifer’s attention, his hazy mind snapping right back into focus just so he can level the deer with a fierce glare.
“Absolutely not. Debilitating and possibly permanent maiming is not a harmless prank.” Lucifer didn’t miss the way Emily’s wings drooped ever so slightly at Alastor’s suggestion and he really did not want something like that to happen just for it to be reported back to Sera. He was done dealing with her for the next several lifetimes.
Alastor smiled, “what kind of revenge plot is harmless? Besides, can’t you, as our mighty King, simply heal the wounds? Or is that not something within your repertoire?” It was entirely mocking and a reminder of what happened between them a few days prior. Lucifer faltered, brows knitting together to figure out why in the hell Alastor would hint at such a thing; he assumed the demon would want nothing more than to never speak of that again.
Only to realize that he had grown wildly uncomfortable at the reminder. And Alastor noticed, his grin sharpening dangerously. It could easily be misconstrued as him relishing in the fact he caused the King of Hell to waver. But there was something behind that smile, something that told him he knew more than he was letting on. Lucifer blanched slightly, his next breath stuttering in his chest as it all came crashing down on him.
Alastor knew that Lucifer knew about his deal.
And Alastor knows just how lonely and depressed he’s been since Lilith’s disappearance (not to give him too much credit, it’s not like Lucifer himself was subtle about that fact).
Bastard.
Lucifer was going to kill him one of these days.
“Add bear traps and see what happens.” Lucifer growled past the discomfort, shoving the apple of his cane into the man’s chest as a reminder. “I’m warning you, a fight with the Devil is not one you want to pick.”
“Ugh, can you two jus’ get a room already?” Angel cut in before it could get serious, hip co*cked to one side with a teasing smirk. Alastor’s eye twitched at the innuendo but, wisely, did not push any further than he already had.
“No worries, my good chum! It is just too easy riling up His Majesty.” His tone was far too innocent for someone who just rubbed it in Lucifer’s face that he had a connection to his missing wife.
“Sometimes I forget how much of a psychopath you are.” Lucifer grumbles, wiping down the non-existent wrinkles in his suit. “At least you’re picking the smart option for once, Alexa. That’s far more than I expected from you.”
Lucifer clapped his hands together, cutting off whatever the Radio Demon was going to say in favor of spinning on his heels until he faced Angel, Emily, and Vaggie.
“Now then! Tell me whatcha want me to do, I am at your service.” He bowed with a flourish, smiling at the fond eye-roll of Vaggie’s as the p*rn star immediately took him up on his offer and directed him on where to work his magic.
Emily watched in awe as Lucifer miracled things into existence, the light of Creation flowing through his fingertips as if it were nothing. And for him, it really wasn’t. His siblings and Sera were all fairly equal in the power they were granted when they were first Created but each of them excelled in different aspects of their abilities.
What Lucifer could do was vast, far more than he knew what to do with most of the time, but he had always been the best at Creation.
He wondered if Emily possessed any of these skills. The first seraphims were created to be near indestructible. The only beings powerful enough to harm them were the other elder seraphs and God herself. After the rebellion Lucifer had inadvertently caused, Heaven realized how much of a mistake that was. Hindsight is 20/20 and it took thousands of years for them to properly expel the angels that sided with him because of that. As far as he knew, the other high ranking angels that were Created after weren’t as invincible as the previous, though their durability was nothing to scoff at.
Lucifer wasn’t sure how much of that translated into the powers they were granted by God. Maybe he’d ask Emily about it one day.
Either way, as Lucifer put in the final touches of the new foyer (he turned the stairs into a tube slide and no, Alastor, you are never too old to enjoy simple things such as slides in life), he felt himself preen under the words of praise he was given for his work. It felt good to tap into the powers he rarely used nowadays and be rewarded for it by kind words. If he had let his wings manifest, the feathers would’ve puffed out at the compliments.
Despite it being one in the morning, Lucifer’s mind felt more awake than it had since the conversation with Charlie when she woke him up.
And a few hours later, when he came downstairs to several raucous peels of laughter at the glorified jungle gym they made, Lucifer felt a genuine smile nearly split his face in two as he watched Charlie drag Vaggie and Emily into the deeper part of the ball pit. Perhaps he wasn’t failing as much at this ‘dad’ thing if something he did made his daughter as joyous as that.
With the other residents of the hotel by his side, ones that seemed to support him for whatever reason, maybe the prospect of dealing with his siblings wasn’t as daunting as it needed to be.
Wasn’t that a concept?
