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Alastor clapped enthusiastically as Niftys little cockroach jazz band wrapped up their song on the hotel bar. Someone was at least doing something interesting while he was gone. The little demoness preened at his rave review, asking if she could let the little creatures play for a segment on his show before running off to wreak more havoc on the not so lucky vermin of the hotel.
Precious.
He swivels in his chair to face the lobby as they wait for their princess to come back. Lucifer paces nervously behind the couch, eyes flitting to and from the door as Vaggie flies around the place trying to convince sinners not to leave. Clearly the place was a disaster without their hotelier!
The king had rescued him in a bid to win his daughter’s favor back after his disastrous postering to intimidate the media overlords. Alastor had witnessed the whole thing from behind the curtains on the little monitor backstage. If the shut-in had bothered to leave his room he would have realized the radio demon had already ended the slander against his daughter with the deal of his capture with Vox switching to concentrating on martyrizing Lilith and villainizing Heaven. His eyes cut to the other angel as she tries to practically beg the sinners heading to the door. It seemed Vaggie could be just as manipulative as him, Husk informed him she was the one to sick the king on the Vee's in the first place.
Now all of Hell knew Lucifer could not kill sinners and this opened up a whole new angle for the demon to exploit! But for now he needed to continue with his scheme and would have to head back to the media demons tower as a captive. He had been sure to phrase his deal carefully, leaving the definition of captive in their partnership with the Vee's so that he could be “rescued.” Not that anyone seemed keen on picking him up anytime soon, the little ingrates, but he had a favor with Charlie to call in if he ever needed it. Vox had been so excited to just get his sleazy hands on the radio host that he had completely missed the blatant loop holes in their deal.
Still an imbecile that needed others to gain power.
His shadow had been left behind tied in the chair as a decoy and he would make the slip back when he got to see the utter fallout once Charlie got home! How entertaining! Would the princess crumble and whine, both Morningstar's a puddle of tears as they tried to explain their own fault in this disastrous plan? Would she ignore her father completely, the ol’ cold shoulder, and he could watch Lucifer grovel and beg for forgiveness? To see such a man reduced to nothing more than a pitiful tortured soul like the rest of them! Or would Charlie perhaps pitch a fit like a spoiled brat? So many possibilities it made his sadistic glee soar!
Suddenly the door flew off the handles and he swiveled his chair towards the noise, snapping some popcorn into existence as the show began! What a twist! The princess angry and in full demonic regalia. He had missed the opportunity to see her in her glory at the battle so he is delighted to see her as a proper Hell spawn! And my, my, who would have guessed this holy fury?
“Where the fuck is my dad?!”
Charlie floats above a wave of fire that fills the hall, her girlfriend has to cover her face from the heat as the other woman floats in. With red horns and a barbed tail she looks like the images he saw of Lucifer during his performance at Vox's rally, yet still not as impressive. If the other man had not already known of the King’s “clipped wings” it would have had all of those sinners running back to the holes they came from. The Devil Alastor had always imagined.
“What?” Vaggie looks horrified for a second, she has possibly never seen her lover like this.
Alastor tosses a handful of popcorn in his mouth. You should always go into a scheme ready to face the consequences little angel! He knows rule number one is to prepare yourself to endure if you're going to meddle in other’s affairs. But even he could not have guessed how much of the blame the princess was clearly going to throw on her father! Had she missed how badly the angels fucked up their little apology? Oh this was going to be a family scrap for the books. Lucifer is going to probably turn into one of those ducks to cutely try to wiggle out of this one!
When he turns to look at the other man he has seemingly disappeared however. Alastor's ears perk up and he hears a shuffle behind the couch and catches Lucifer now hiding behind the furniture! His grin widens at the sight. Well his size certainly helps him to tuck down beside the arm of the chair!
“Dad! I know you're here!”
Before the fun can even begin Charlie’s demonic features melt away, making her much less intimidating. But the pinched eyebrows and frown stays in place. Why, he has never seen the princess so angry! Even after her failed meeting with Heaven and Adam’s attempted slaughter of her friends! Surely the little angel will jump to the king’s defense since it was at her behest he went to the rally in the first place. Alastor can only imagine how this will affect their relationship. Maybe he can take her to Rosie again for some advice since it worked so well the first time and it will convince the owner of his soul to fix his blasted staff for a job well done.
“Uh, no, no I'm not.” A farce of a voice squeaks from behind the couch.
Lucifer peeks over the couch, eyes wide at his daughter's apparent anger then curls in on himself, making him somehow even smaller as he tries to hide! The mighty King of Hell reduced to a whimpering pup by his own off spring! The radio demon has to bite his lip to not burst out laughing and expose his presence at the bar. He had been instructed to wait right here so he could show the man's daughter how good he was that he fetched her hotelier without needing to be asked but that didn't mean he was going to make it easier on the serpent. He had been tied to a chair for weeks after all. Then he could lay out his plan for all to bask in his genius before returning to his post, the self sacrificing hero once again and better father figure just to mess with his Majesty a bit more!
“Dad, what the fuck were you thinking?”
Ha! Alastor has never heard Charlie say “fuck” so many times in one day! He will have to add a few tallies to his “Make the princess cuss by annoying her” board.
A sharp blip of static hiccups from his internal radio in surprise when Charlie flips the whole couch out of the way to get to her father. Woah, he didn't think violence or a show of force would be one of her go-tos. His eyes jerk back to Vaggie and he sees her eyebrow pinched in concern but she makes no move forward. Lucifer flips on to his back, crawling backwards from the other woman who looms over him now, fists clenched and threatening as she advances with one finger accusingly pointed down at the man on the floor.
Wait.
This was not entertaining…
A chair breaks as a large man hurls it across the small living room floor barely missing the child sitting in front of the radio by the fireplace.
“You threatened Vox?!”
Alastor's lip pulls up into a snarl as Lucifer placatingly holds up his hands, an instinctual submissive gesture to show you are not a threat. He truly does look small like this, especially since Charlie has apparently inherited her mother’s height. With her shoulders hunched and demeanor fierce Lucifer looks like the scared child in this scenario. Not at all the hilarious groveling and begging the radio demon thought he would witness.
“Sweetie, I promise I was just trying to help. Okay?”
A woman screams as she is slapped to the floor, the large man towering over her as he rants about dinner not being ready. They had gotten caught up at the store where there was a sale so the lines had been long but they had gotten so much more than they could normally afford. But it's seen as an excuse, a lie, just another thing to make his hell here with them worse. The child curls his arms around his knees, trying to make himself as small and unseen as possible before the anger is turned on him, before he can be used as a thing to threaten his mother with.
The king holds a hand up between them as he rolls on his side to get up. Like he is trying to keep her calm, trying to deescalate the situation before it can get worse. Alastor's brows furrow. Lucifer is the parent here, the living aspect of the infinite, the near god as he so proclaimed to Vox. Where's all that bravado now? Who did Charlie learn this behavior from? She has always seemed like someone who wouldn't hurt a fly.
Lucifer stands and rushes to explain, shoulders still hunched and trying to appear small as Charlie's snarl never wavers from him, “You see, Vavnu over there told me you were having trouble with this guy and–”
“I'm sorry, what?!” Charlie's attention is finally drawn away from the other as she snaps it towards Vaggie, the catalyst of this little incident.
Looking down guilty at the ground the fallen angel kicks his foot and tucks his arms behind him like a scolded child. Alastor's ears pin back as the princesses hands turn into fists, she would not actually strike either angel would she?
A quiet whimper escapes the child's lips as he cradles his arm. Bruises bloom on his darker skin tone, much easier to hide than the Irish boy’s at school marks left by his father. There's no room for mistakes, they can play house and try to be picture perfect but it doesn't help when the anger is so unpredictable. When the blame is shoved on them even if it's not their fault.
“Wait, hold on, what happened?” Vaggie finally speaks up, putting her hands up as well as she approaches slowly.
But Charlie's finger and ire turns back to the fallen angel immediately and a growl starts to rumble in the demon’s throat, “He ruined everything is what happened!”
Lucifer looks away in shame, flinching when his daughter gets in his face but keeping his eyes on the floor. Afraid to look defiant, like he isn't sorry, to fuel more anger or worse towards him.
Don't make eye contact, don't be loud, be small, play nice, don't give him an excuse to take it out on you.
“T̸̹͓͌̑̀̌h̴̖̻̣̹͇̠̞́̈́̎̓̓͐̍͌͛̃̅ą̵̦̹̲̙̳͎̫̇́̔̂̆̇̋̕͜t̴̡̜͓̰̿'̵̦̗̟̺̩͂̃š̶̳̻̹͙̲̼̟͖͂̈̽ ̶̢̡͉̼͎̣̩̿͜ḗ̶̛̛̦̙̯̠͇͇̼̰͗̈̍̚n̴̠̟͠͝ở̶̧̡̧̡̨̼̹͉̥́͝ų̶̡̲̳̝͓̯͔̇̀̾̇̀́̔g̶̺̳̭̜̮͉̙̬̗̘̔h̷͔̮̟̹̩̉̏͆̍́͂̌.” ̷̝͕͓̠̑͋
Alastor's body manifests between the two Morningstar's, rising from the shadows and putting the king behind him.
“Alastor?! When-”
“I believe you need time to clear your head before you do something you will regret, Princess.” The radio demon smiles, teeth lighting up with his words as it comes out like a radio broadcast. He glares down at the finger almost poking him in the chest that was pointed at her father.
“What?” Charlie takes a step back, hand tucking back to her body like she didn't realize it was raised this whole time, “I wouldn't-”
His gaze cuts to the broken couch in a heap on the floor and he raises an eyebrow at her. The message hits home and the tall woman takes another step back, eyes widening as her actions catch up to her.
“Your father and I need to discuss our plans for Vox. We are leaving.”
Without another word he turns towards the shocked man behind him, swirling them both in shadow and moving them from the lobby. In the distance he can hear the Princess turn on her girlfriend to continue the fight about the hotel, but he is past caring.
They melt back from his shadow into his room on their joint floor at the top of the hotel. The crickets and frogs from his bayou go silent as his static cackles in anger. Lucifer stumbles back from him, eyes flitting around the room as he takes in the environment he has been dragged into. The radio demon stands still, folding his arms behind his back and breathing slowly to calm down and not spook the other.
“Why did you? You didn't have to interfere!” The fallen angel’s eyes flare red and his lips pull back into a snarl, white fangs on display defensively.
But Alastor doesn't rise to the challenge, he can see the way the other man's hands that are clenched by his sides are still shaking. How his own height still towers over the much smaller being. The mind can stay stuck in flight or fight for some time, Lucifer might confuse him as another threat. He is not good at soothing others and he knows there are times when words are not helpful. When a creature feels cornered it is much more likely to bite the hand that reaches out.
So he stands still, letting the other man flare up his imaginary wings as he tries to look bigger, stronger. It had taken years for the boy in the bayou to get big enough to fight back, to feel brave enough to dare. The king deflates quickly however, arms coming up to wrap around himself and his eyes dropping to the ground. It's not what he wants to see but it's better than crawling away with old fear in his eyes.
The radio demon sighs and walks past the other, noting that he still flinches away even though he takes care not to touch him. It's bringing back memories he would rather forget, but he couldn't just idly sit by and watch. There's no way to know if it's a fear response due to his trauma from heaven or if the love story as old as time was not as happy as it has been portrayed. He can feel the devil’s eyes on him as he walks through the room and to his pocket dimension, snapping his fingers for a teapot and cups to appear on his iron wrought table.
“Has Miss Charlotte always had such an explosive temper?” He asks carefully, pouring some tea in each cup with his back turned from the other.
“What? No! I mean-not that I've seen! All this must be really weighing on her…” Lucifer walks slowly towards the tea set, biting his lip as he tries to come up with something to defend his daughter, “I-I'm sure she didn't mean to. She was ugh, little when her Mom took her from the palace.”
“Hmmm.” Alastor waits until the king sits in the chair across from him, cradling the tea in his shaky hands to keep it from spilling, “And was Lilith as quick to anger when you co-habituated?”
“Excuse me?!” Flames burst from between two red horns that rise from porcelain skin but it doesn't surprise the demon.
How many times had he deflected questions from concerned neighbors, wore long sleeves with his buttons done up to his neck in the summer, or spit acid at anyone who wondered why his mother didn't just leave?
“Go ahead and laugh, sinner.” Lucifer growls standing from the table and stomping over to the pond of water, “Tell me how pathetic it is for the King of Hell to cower behind a couch, how the Devil deserves what's coming to him for condemning mankind with free will,” the small man squats down on the grass to look at his reflection, scratching at the surface to dissipate the imagine of his fallen form, “That it's my fault you ended up down here…”
That last statement comes out in a whisper, like it isn't directed at him and more like something the fallen angel is repeating. Something someone has blamed him for over and over. The demonic features slowly recede and Lucifer conjures a rubber duck in his hand, staring into its black beady eyes for a moment, before letting out a soft whine and placing it in the water.
The little duck bobs back and forth with the ripples, its head unsteady in the moving water, before tipping forward and flipping upside down. The king stares at it lost in thought and Alastor wonders what other words are ringing in his head. He remembers how long it took to train out the reactions to loud bangs or voices, to teach himself not to flinch and steel his nerves long after his father was dead in the ground. For 16 years he lived with a nightmare, how long had the condemned angel lived with an angry partner? That his muscle memory still pushed him to hide and submit in the face of danger. What did you do when the one you fell for suddenly turns into your punishment?
Alastor himself had inherited his fathers anger and violence, who had Charlie inherited hers from?
Lucifer's eyes lift as the rubber duck is suddenly dragged under water. Water splashes as it pops up again with a squeak, landing up right on the surface before starting to move. The little duck weaves around water lilies, bobbing its head back and forth as it dances on the surface of the water. A tentacle pops up holding the toy and squeezes it again for a little quack before being deposited on a lily pad where it won't turn over again. The king jumps when Alastor sits down beside him, watching the water and listening to the insects and frogs come back to life.
“I have lived with someone’s else's anger.” He says quietly, offering a piece of himself no one in Hell has ever seen, “At some point I thought to myself ‘No one deserves this,’ and that included me.”
For a moment he lets his guard down and faces the other, letting the angel see into his soul through his eyes to the scared little boy that still lingers there, even after all this time. He can see when Lucifer comprehends his meaning, when his own defenses drop and he no longer needs to pretend everything is ok. A gloved claw comes up to wipe away the stray tear the smaller man doesn't seem to realize is rolling down his cheek.
His mother knows. She knows he has finally killed his father. That they are safe and that horrid man will never lay a hand on them again. And she never says anything, just loves her son even more fiercely as an apology for his ruined childhood.
Lucifer blinks, drawing in a shaky breath, “What did you do?” He whispers, like he could shatter the private world they are sitting in.
“Well I killed the man as soon as I was big enough to drive a knife into his heart!” Alastor grins wickedly, licking the salty tear from his claw and winking.
He laughs at the horrified look as the angel rears back from the sinner. Alastor continues to laugh, it's much easier than laying your heart in the devil's hand and hoping he doesn't use it against you. He snaps his fingers so the tea cups from earlier appear in their hands.
“But I don't think you want that.” The radio demon takes a dainty sip from his cup, directing his attention back to the water to let the other man gather his pride, “Your daughter is always preaching the merits of therapy, if you wish to speak of it…”
Lucifer looks at the radio demon like he is mad, well more mad then he already is, but a small smile splits his lips. He cradles the cup in his hands, looking down at the tea like it holds all the answers. They sit in comfortable silence for a bit drinking their tea and watching the lightning bugs slowly drift to the pond to dance above the surface. In life the swamp had been his sanctuary for many nights his father had thrown him out. It's where he learned to be a good hunter, where he plotted to kill his own demon, and where he decided to be the man that would one day end up in Hell sitting by the Devil himself.
“It was beautiful once, our life together…” Lucifer finally speaks, taking off his boots to dip his hooves in the water, “But she began to resent me. Humans were made to change, to grow, angels are not. She was becoming another person and I tried to love each version, but she started to blame me for her damnation.”
He can picture it almost achingly clear. The small king trying to please the woman he gave up heaven for as her eyes turned cold. The much larger woman pinning him to the wall as she screamed at him. Household furniture being thrown like Charlie had done earlier while he cowers in confusion. A child hearing commotion from her room as her parents fight once again. An angel unable to harm sinners and believing it is his punishment to accept every blow the first human decides he deserves.
“I thought it would be better if she took Charlie, at least then she wouldn't be around the festering hatred, they could live happily away from the one that had dragged them down here…”
Alastor's hand hovers over the small one in the grass between them. He has never liked touch, touch meant pain, touch meant trust. And you couldn't trust anyone in Hell.
His mother hums a lullaby as she rubs herbal salve over the welts on his back. Her fingers gently brush through his curly hair as they lay in his bed with the door locked. She holds his hand under the table while his father eats dinner.
“The day they left I just stood in my office, watching the door, happy to wait for the day they would come back. Still…for hours, weeks…like if I moved it would suddenly become reality. Light, then dark, light and dark, the days slip by quickly when there's eternity…” the words fill the bayou like a sad confession.
How long did it take for him to realize they weren't coming back?
Lucifer jumps when a much larger hand covers his own, warm and gentle, a touch he has craved for decades.
“Not even the Devil himself deserves to be mistreated by the ones who should love him.”
Alastor keeps his eyes on the little rubber duck resting on the lily pad. He tries not to draw attention to the wobble of the other man's lip or the way his claws sink into the earth like he is holding someone's hand tightly. Lucifer doesn't speak about anything else or ask the radio demon about his own experience, just watches the glowing lights blink in and out as silent tears rolling down his rosy cheeks.
He should get back to the Vee’s tower, the little imp robot that was watching his shadow will be summoned back by Valentino at some point and Vox will switch his cameras on. But he can't bring himself to abandon the little angel. Like everyone else in his eternal life.
When the tears stop falling and the king wipes his face with the back of his hand the demon finally stands. He stretches and pops his back, when the movement doesn't startle the other or make him flinch Alastor offers a hand. Lucifer looks up at him, eyes puffy and red, cheeks streaked with tear trails, heart breakingly beautiful as only an angel can be. Hesitantly his hand comes up and lightly lays in the larger one before him.
“So, why don't we discuss how to approach the topic with your daughter.” The taller man pulls the fallen angel up on his feet, fretting at the dirt on his coat and lightly dusting him off, “She is awfully fond of talk therapy after all so some family counseling should be reasonable!”
The radio demon leads Lucifer to the chairs in front of the fire, snapping his fingers for some whiskey and plopping down like it is a normal occurrence for him to offer his precious time and company. Lucifer snaps his own fingers and switches his suit and hat for a duck head band and large pink sweater with matching striped pants. Small rubber ducks fall from the too large sweater and his tentacle gathers and deposits them in the pond with their friend, he now has his own little flock. His shadow will be thrilled with the new chew toys when they return to the hotel.
They drink and talk until the small man curls up and falls asleep in the chair. Likely using his demonic powers to put on a show at the rally and then the emotional event after have drained him. Alastor sighs and picks the king up from the chair, not having his shadow to do it for him. He is surprisingly light, maybe he has hollow bones like a bird? Luckily they are the only two on this floor so the trek to the other’s room is short. The new sign on the door that has been added in his absence makes the demon snort. He sent his shadow in here a few times to move some things around, just enough so the other man would know it was happening but have no way to prove it.
But there are no barriers actually keeping him from entering, just another rise to get a reaction out of him so they can trade tit for tat. The room is a nightmare, swimming in rubber ducks and an eye sore of a bed in the center with a duck head board. Not that he has room to talk with a dead deer carcass usually gracing his table and obsessively out of date decor from his era. The large bed practically swallows the little devil. He wonders how a creature that was likely created with a flock deals with sleeping alone, how the years of loneliness had worn on the light being.
When he turns to leave a small whimper pins his ears back. Lucifer scrunches himself into a ball, making himself smaller and gripping the blanket around him protectively. The event of the day has likely triggered a flashback or a nightmare. It had taken years for the young serial killer to stop waking in the night, fearful his father was still alive.
It is almost morning already, a little bit longer surely won't hurt anything. The Vee's have a tendency to work or party late and he is sure the celebration to their success likely will have them sleep late into the day. So Alastor climbs into the bed like his mother used to and lays down beside the king over the covers. Lucifer reaches for him immediately, drawn to the warmth and comfort of another person, and smooshes his face against the radio demon's chest when he lifts an arm to allow him closer.
When the fallen angel settles into peaceful dreams he will leave and continue his plot to free himself of his own chains. Hopefully Charlie will come to her senses and apologize to her father tomorrow, they can discuss some of the things he and the king spoke about family trauma.
For now Alastor listens to Lucifer's breathing even out and feels his fingers grip his shirt tightly. The Devil is more than fire and brimstone, pride and hate, a divine being that has endured Hell longer than anyone can conceive. His hand wraps itself around the tiny being, knowing he is more of an angel then any of those that judged him in Heaven.
Because the finest souls are those who have gulped pain and avoided making others taste it.