Archive of Our Own

Before we start this little tale, it should be noted that in the most ironic twist of fate one could ever imagine, Charlie Morningstar - Princess of Hell, Ms Rainbow and Sunshine, CEO of Positivity and Optimism, Romantic Extraordinaire, Bisexual Icon, Unquestionable Queen of all things Mushy and Feely in Hell, the only one to truly believe in sinners deserving a second chance at a better afterlife - hates to concept of soulmates. She hates the idea with a passion that none could understand the origins of.

She did not have a soulmate so as to be bitter because of the doings of one specific person.

She could not even be surrounded by bad examples of a soulmate ideology ruining people's lives while growing up because hellborn do not have souls capable of such a bond, despite Lucifer's best attempts when he'd been building and shaping Hell with the other Sins.

She could not even base this hatred on her parents' separation, for she had hated the idea of soulmates long before Lilith had taken her and left Lucifer alone in the palace to wait for any scrap of attention his family would grant him.

In fact, her parents weren't even soulmates!

Lilith didn't even have a soulmate, was completely incapable of it, for she had been the cause for introducing the concept to humanity when she had rejected Adam and Heaven had thought humans deficient for not understanding a bond angels hold most holy besides their bond with God.

The concept of soulmates dates to far away, long ago, in a time before time, in a state before even memory existed to be remembered, before Heaven was ever created, when God had first created the First Angels, the Old Guard, the beings later known as Archangel Seraphim before they were forgotten. God had been lonely before they had come into existence, his Light and his Might First among them, and to spare His new 'children' from ever facing that same loneliness, He'd marked each of them with a unique sigil that would one day appear on another being's form, thus making the first soulmate pairings in Creation long before those pairings could ever meet.

Eons would pass, many more beings of light would be made before the first pairing would meet and show everyone what it meant to have a soulmate, thus dubbing that bond sacred.

Humans were originally not made to have souls capable of such a bond. Lilith and Adam were completely independent and separate from each other. When Lilith refused to tie her fate with Adam as the Parents of Humanity, Eve was created and a bond similar to that of angelic soulmates manifested between her and Adam. As Adam's original equal, Lilith had had the same potential to develop a soul bond, but when she and Lucifer gave Eve that Apple, she was forever cursed. Ten thousand years later, she is still the only human soul to have never once been blessed with a soulmark branding her skin to help her find her one and only.

As such, Lilith had never had much care or reverence for soulmates, nor had she envied them or been bothered by them. She considered herself free of bonds she hadn't chosen and some of her attitude had rubbed off on Charlie when she was young. However, both their opinions had twisted when Lucifer's mark had come to life and with it Lucifer himself after decades of depression. Up until that point, Lilith had never taken much notice of the serpent coiled around half an apple, six seeds showing, with protruding antlers where the stem would have been. It was black, a lovely contrast to Lucifer's ivory skin, and it looked like a tattoo so she hadn't cared at all. Plus, Lucifer rarely showed anyone his bare back, even her, it was just an angel thing to keep the slits that marked the location of their wings hidden and safe.

However, on the first of January in 1900, Lucifer's mark sparked to life, changing from black to the loveliest magenta Lilith had ever seen, appearing blood red in darkness but revealing its true unique color when hit by the light.

Lucifer would not stop talking about it for years and that's when Lilith checked out of their marriage.

Because neither she nor Charlie ever understood that the point of a soulmate is not strictly romance, that was not even the kind of love the First Angels and God even knew of when the concept was bestowed upon them before the Beginning. Rather, just as God had intended, a soulmate is someone who will never leave their counterparts' side. Wherever life may lead them, whatever path they may choose, one way or another, through hardship or bliss, the two would come together and See that they helped the other become the best version of themselves. A soulmate is not someone you will want to romance or fuck, it is someone whose presence brings you peace, gives you a place to call home and not in the physical, literal way, but rather just a person with whom you belong. A soulmate is someone who will understand you, who won't hide from you, who will accept you no matter how many mistakes you make or how long it takes you to realize you're in the wrong.

A soulmate is someone whose existence never lets you feel lonely, even if you are not together. Even if you're on opposite sides of Creation. It is a bond beyond words meant for comfort and camaraderie, something God had not had until he made His Firsts, something He had wanted to give them all so they'd never know the feeling of being completely alone.

Someone who was incapable of having a soulmate could never hope to understand.

It's why Lucifer never begrudged either of them, no matter how Lilith leaving and taking Charlie with her hurt. No matter how much Charlie blaming his soulmark on their seperation and not yet official divorce hurt. It's not like he'd cheated, he'd only ever been excited to meet the person meant to be his for eternity, whatever capacity their relationship might've taken. For years, he'd been alone, barely seeing his 'wife' and his daughter, barely hearing from them. He withdrew into himself, stopped answering calls from the Sins or summons to the Court or balls or any and all of his Kingly duties. Lilith happily established herself as the ruler, even as the Sins did not accept her, nor followed her creed.

Years and years passed. One hundred twenty and a half years, actually, to be precise.

Then Charlie called one nice hellish day in May and Lucifer met his soulmate for the first time, even if they hadn't yet realized it yet.

And with that intense, contestant first meeting, a new era in Hell began without anyone being the wiser.

It was only after an idiotic, megalomaniac of a TV head failed to start a holy war and the two were left to tend to their wounds by themselves because everyone else was too busy celebrating did they find out.

But that is enough of the context you might need to understand this tale, so let's get on with the current events!

00000

Charlie was so excited! Six months have passed since she first heard from her mom after eight years and now she was finally coming back home!

And on Valentines Daaaaay~!

Oh, Charlie couldn't wait to see the look on her dad's face when her mom walked through the doors of the hotel, no doubt looking as elegant and beautiful as ever! Charlie heard people can fall in love with their partners all over again after certain events or during certain times and she was sure she would see it right on her dad's face when he sees his estranged wife again.

So she'd decked out the hotel to the fullest. Pink, red and white hearts, the most beautiful and fragrant flowers one can find in Hell, including these really pretty pink roses from Cannibal Town. Chocolates in all forms, because her dad was as much of a sugar addict as she was and even her mom liked dark chocolate, so she made sure there were those options, too. Candies, giftcards, plush hearts and teddy bears, cushions with cheesy love messages. Scented candles, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks at the bar dubbed in accordance to the holiday and she'd even bought glasses and straws decorated with or forming hearts! She had turned a deaf ear to Angel's - who'd only recently come back to the hotel after Alastor and Husk teamed up to aggressively kindly persuade Valentino to release Angel's contract - laments at the heart-shaped pizzas and pasta and she'd ignored Niffty having to be held back from driving a knife through her back when she'd ordered heart-shaped sushi. She'd even asked Baxter to make her something that released heart-shaped bubbles and while the frog-thing wasn;t exactly appealing to the eye, its bubbles were perfectly heart-shaped! There were rugs and curtains with hearts, shawls and covers were placed over all beds and couches in the building, the table spread had a subtle heart design while all the silverware had bold hearts engraved on the handles. The spoon heads were even shaped like a heart! Sure, it made eating soup a bit more difficult, but it was totally worth it!

The only places in the hotel not touched by the Valentines theme were the top floor where her dad and host lived and the kitchen, where Alastor threatened to burn the whole building down if she so much as entered the space on a good day, let alone if she tried to redecorate it for the 'silly consumerism holiday meant to bleed your wallet dry because you've forgotten to be a good partner the rest of the year'. That's okay, though, she knows he comes from a rough time so she doesn't begrudge him not understanding the magic of Valentines Day! She'll just decorate her dad's room later, or maybe he and her mom will do it together!

"Vaggi, this is going to be so great! Can you imagine? The original love story, reprise! And we'll get to see it with our very own eyes!" Charlie squealed the evening before the big day, bouncing on their bed in their bedroom after a long day of decorating, therapy sessions and stopping Alastor, Niffty and Angel from destroying the heart-shaped foods on various occasions. "Dad's coming back tonight from some Goetia retrial thing in the Wrath Ring, so he's all set! And mom's coming back first thing in the morning! She must be so excited to see us again! I'll be surprised if sparks don't fly the second their eyes meet, like in one of those soap operas!"

"That was a cartoon, babe," Vaggi corrected with that cute snort of hers and Charlie melted with love as she watched her girlfriend of soon to be four years change into something casual so they could just relax a little in the lobby with the original crew before turning in early to be ready for the big day ahead.

Charlie had it all planned out. Morning to noon, her parents will have all to themselves to catch up and sort out all the things left unsaid from the past, rekindling their love, interest and knowledge of each other after nearly a decade apart. Then they'd have lunch at the hotel; Charlie just has to convince Alastor to cook something her mom likes, no matter how much he turns his nose up at 'such bland, tasteless food, get that recipe out of my kitchen before I go on strike and you all eat cardboard-spaghetti for the rest of the month!'. Then they could go out on a date in the Lust Ring for the afternoon before meeting her and Vaggi at Ozzie's for a double date so her mom could get to know Vaggi and maybe her dad could finally learn her name!

Oh, it's going to be perfect!

Hopefully her mom won't mind that Vaggi's a former Exorcist. She'd told her upfront, of course, but that's not the same as seeing one of the angels that had killed their people for seven years being so lovey dovey with her only daughter. Sure, dad had accepted Vaggi with open arms, but dad had never cared about the sinners much anyway, so his opinion on the matter is ultimately invalid in this case.

"But it was great, right!? Ugh, until they brought in the soulmate subplot," she complained and Vaggi went stiff. Charlie never understood why Vaggi cared so much about all that soulmate nonsense, or why anyone among the sinners even bothered. They were in Hell now, no one could force them to be with someone! Was it a leftover reflex from when they were alive to chase their soulmates?

What is even the point? Why tie yourself to someone you've only just met, someone who could turn out to be abusive or a serial cheater? Her mom had always compared soulmates to a cosmic arranged marriage and had always thanked her lucky stars to have never been saddled with one. Charlie was of the same opinion: what was the point of free will if you have to end up with someone predestined for you? Her dad had never seen the contradiction in his beliefs and Charlie had given up trying to explain to him that you can't have both.

It was her belief that a mark on your skin that may never even mean anything shouldn't dictate your fate, let alone whom you love! It's why she asked all guests upon signing into the hotel to cover their marks. The hotel is a place of safety and freedom, no one was going to force them into a relationship they didn't want if their supposed soulmate walked through the door.

Angels also had soulmarks, she knew that, but Vaggi's has always been in a somewhat inconvenient place for sexy fun times, right underneath her bosom. Charlie rarely got to pay special attention to that area without Vaggi getting kind of uncomfortable and the special band they'd ordered for her at the start of their romantic relationship could also get in the way.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to just spring this on your dad out of the blue?" Vaggi asked as she'd finally gotten ready and Charlie lamented being lost in her own thoughts for she had missed most of the show for all that her eyes hadn't strayed from her super sexy, smart, loving, amazing girlfriend. "Won't it be a big shock?"

"But that would ruin the surprise, Vaggi! And mom also agreed it would be best not to tell dad until she arrives! Just trust me on this, it's going to be great!"

Vaggi narrowed her eye but agreed and they headed down to the bar where their friends were having a drink. Smooth jazz played from the radio behind the bar, meaning Alastor had a broadcast. Oh, maybe she could ask him to play some romantic music tomorrow! A lot of jazz songs were about love or desire, anyway, so he must know a few really good ones!

"Hey, kid. Boss said he'll be busy tonight after the broadcast and that he has a full day tomorrow. Wanted me to let you know so you don't decide to do anything crazy while he's out," Husk said as they approached and Charlie groaned because she knew that was Alastor's way of both being a worrywart and insulting the redemption exercises after one had blown the biggest hole the hotel had ever seen besides Adam's ray of holy light during the Last Extermination. All because Charlie had thought a fun little science lesson with Baxter would help interest sinners into new hobbies that didn't involve violence, death or explosions, only for Charlie herself to mess up the very clear instructions Baxter had given her and cause the said damage. Alastor had had a right fit, all shadowy tentacles, tall as the hotel, radio staticy rage because they'd gotten debris into his gumbo.

Niffty had had a field day cleaning out that room from not only the mess caused by the explosion, but the biological messes caused by the sinners out of sheer fear that the bloodthirsty, infamous, dangerous Overlord's anger had caused.

Dad had fixed it, of course, and had even procured all the ingredients needed from Earth so Alastor can make the dish again. Charlie was sad that she'd been reduced to carbon-tasting conjured chicken nuggets as her punishment for being so careless in the improvised lab. Baxter had also received a portion of gumbo but mixed with the same chicken nuggets instead of the shrimp and sausage. Apparently the heavy seasoning had been enough to drown out the cardboard flavor so he hadn't minded and had even asked for seconds.

Weird guy, but for some reason Niffty adored him even more, calling him a bad boy for daring to eat the cardboard tasting food.

Her dad always insisted they were lying about the cardboard taste of conjured food but he never dared argue as much to Alastor's face lest he be banned from home cooked meals and stuck with his own conjured food.

"Well, at least he warned us he won't be available this time," Vaggi huffed as they ordered some cocktails and waited for Husk to make them.

"So, any plans for tomorrow for yous twos crazy kids?" Angel asked, already nursing a Harder Daddy that was probably not his first glass.

"Oh, yes, absolutely! In fact, I needed to talk to my dad, has he come back yet?"

Speak of the Devil and he shall indeed appear! Right out of a portal that Charlie swore led to Lust and she thinks she heard her Uncle Ozzie shouting something after her dad before he closed the portal with a laugh. He beamed when he saw her and rushed over to give her one of his bone-crushing hugs. "Charlie! It's so good to see you! Sorry I've been absent so much these days, sweetie, but I've been feeling inspired to get some work done so I figured I should use it while it lasts. How was your day? Any new guests? Any new, uh, redeemed souls?"

Charlie did her best not to let it sting that she has, in fact, not yet repeated Sir Pentious' success and instead focused on the fact that her dad seems to be in a great mood and that it seems to be holding. Which is great, because it means he probably won't fall into one of his unfortunate depressive episodes by tomorrow, probably. She thinks he's been taking some meds from her Auntie Bel, in which case, all the better! Depression is a serious thing and should be treated accordingly, skipping meds is not an option! She's so glad he's been doing better, it was great seeing him so energetic. She'd been worried he'd run off to the palace and isolate himself again after that whole Vox thing, which would have made tomorrow so much more difficult to plan, so she's thanking her lucky stars that it seems the exact opposite had happened. He's around sinners more often, he and Alastor seem to have resorted to a friendly rivalry with daily bicker-fests instead of throwing outright vitriol at each other and he's taken to actually ruling Hell again!

Mom will undoubtedly see his progress and realize that she'd been too hasty to judge him uncaring of their people because he did care ... somewhat ... Okay, maybe not for sinners all that much, but that was perfectly understandable in light of recent events! Her mom will surely understand!

"It was good, dad. We, uh, lost one guest because they apparently ... found their soulmate while out on the town and they've decided they don't want to leave Hell just yet ... But other than that, everything has been running smoothly!" She barreled on, ignoring the genuinely happy smile her father displayed at the mention of the soulmates. It had to be some weird angel thing that had them all twisted about this soulmate thing, it was just some angel thing. "But on a completely unrelated note, would Vaggi be able to travel through the Rings? For say, a date? Tomorrow, specifically?"

Her dad blined at her. "Uh, sure? She's not a sinner and she's a fallen Exorcist, so none of the wards in place would hold her back. And even if there is some issue, just call me and I'll fix it like wap bap boom alakazam!"

She beamed and hugged him. "Thanks dad! Oh and be sure to be here tomorrow first thing in the morning, okay? I've got a big surprise for you!"

"Uh, yeah, sure, okay, Char-Char. I can't wait! Oh!" He released from the hug. "I do have to warn you that I'll probably be busy tomorrow, especially in the evening! Ozzie asked me for help with something in Lust, something about a stolen Asmodean Crystal being used to traffic drugs from Earth that are really messing up hellborn? It's pretty urgent, even Bel is getting antsy, so I might not be around much."

Charlie's whole mood crumbled. "But dad! You have to be here tomorrow! It's super important!"

"Hon," Vaggi grabbed her arm, dragging her attention away from her increasingly uncomfortable looking father. "Maybe you can move the surprise for the evening? His Majesty can meet us in Lust and we can later all go back together. Is that alright with you, Sir?"

Her dad wagged a scolding finger at Vaggi, expression playful. "Now, now! I told you to call me Lu! Or at least Lucifer. No need for all these formalities, you're practically family, kiddo!" Charlie couldn't help but melt at that while her girlfriend was glowing gold like a lighthouse in embarrassment. "And yeah, sure, that works! Just give me the time and place and I'll pick you gals up!"

While it messes with some of her plans, she's sure mom will understand the need to fix an issue that's endangering their people. She might even see how mature dad has gotten in regards to running Hell and be impressed that he wasn't running away from his responsibilities anymore! "Well, I guess we can arrange for it that way."

Her dad beamed at her, gave her a goodnight kiss and waved at everyone else before disappearing in a puff of red stardust.

Charlie and Vaggi left soon after, her head already stuck on ways to rearrange the day in case her dad seeing her mom isn't enough to make him change his mind or at least bring her along on this case so they can deal with it like the power couple that they are that she completely missed Angel Dust's damning comment, nor Husk's answer.

"You think Short King has a hot date?"

"I ain't touchin' that topic with a thousand foot pole, Legs. I don't want my soul torn apart and my screams broadcast for all to hear, damn it."

"Boo, you're no fun, Whiskers."

"But I am alive."

00000

Lucifer landed in Alastor's room just as his deer pulled off his shirt to get changed in his red and black striped pajamas. He couldn't help but purr his approval, startling the red sinner but not enough for the eldritch horrors to come out. "Aww, are you putting on a lil show just for me? It's not Valentine's yet, baby!"

"Don't call me that," Alastor replied with a roll of his eyes as he quickly shrugged on his pajama top. "And you won't get your Valentine's present at all if you don't behave, Lu."

"Aww, come one, Bambi, don't be like that," he pouted, more for play than as an actual disappointment, enjoying this new version of banter that has existed between them for six months now. He supposes it's bound to happen when you bond with someone not only over being kidnapped by a crybaby TV-headed loser (even if one of them was there more willingly than the other), but also over how everyone who's supposed to be 'on your team' completely overlooks you in the aftermath of a failed holy war despite your visibly bleeding injuries or the fact that you can barely stand on your own two feet.

Finding out they were soulmates while they reluctantly helped patch each other up - including some angelic healing for the angelic steel caused wound - was just a bonus for them to reconsider their previous interactions and see if they were doing something wrong. Alastor had been far more reluctant, at first, unsure how to act with someone meant to always have his back this way or that, but Lucifer had been earnest in his desire just to not be alone anymore. He hadn't cared what capacity their bond would manifest as. All he knew is that he finally had an explanation why it was also so easy to be present and grounded when the annoying bellhop was around. And Alastor himself finally had an explanation why Lucifer's touch didn't bother him despite him being a man who had more power and influence than him and a complete stranger by his standards of people allowed to touch him without losing a hand.

Things were awkward at first, with Lucifer eager to fix their first impressions and Alastor reluctant to be so vulnerable, but they grew bored of not annoying each other so they sat down, had a relatively mature discussion and agreed to see where it all goes.

Now, half a year later, they had progressed from reluctant respect, to genuinely pleasant acquaintanceship, to friendship, to a love they had both barely dared admit to themselves, let alone each other. And despite six months being less than the blink of an eye for an immortal, timeless being such as Lucifer, he was glad that they had taken such a relatively glacial pace because now they felt secure in what they really wanted from this relationship.

When it had turned romantic three months ago, they had sat down again and had another discussion, such as Alastor's complete inexperience and almost nonexistent regard for sex and Lucifer's unfortunate tendencies to either get lost in a project or sink into a depressive episode. They found ways around it, to help each other or just be there for each other and agreed to find ways to communicate when any such or other problems may occur. They also talked about Lilith and Vox, one a now official ex-wife and the other a thorn in Alastor's side they won't get rid of until the man is double-dead and how to deal with them now that they have become an exclusive couple.

They also agreed to tell Charlie only after they've settled a little, after they got used to sharing a bed and a morning routine. Just recently, they even had sex for the first time ever and Lucifer swears he will never forget that night.

He also fears he will never get over how close to feral he feels whenever he sees the veritable would-be womb tattoo that is actually their shared soulmark. It is far too early in their relationship to get baby fever, but he can't help it, his partner looks so sexy with it on full display. Which is usually why Alastor rarely changes in front of him, knowing Lucifer is not very good with resisting temptation. Not that Lucifer would ever cross his boundaries, but at least Alastor is considerate enough not to accidentally torture him.

But speaking of sexy, torture, Valentine's Day and telling Charlie ...

"Hey, Al, I just want to give you a heads up that our date tomorrow is going to be in Lust. Ozzie's is the most exclusive, most romantic and most classy joint in Hell. He even tones it down on Valentine's Day with all the sexy acts and instead makes it all mushy because not even the Lust Ring can survive a year round orgy, or at least that's what he says."

He watched with amusement - and growing cute-aggression - as Alastor scrunched his nose up and his ears pressed against his head. "Crass."

He just grins. "So, yeah, anyway, the most it will be tomorrow is cabarete night, so lots of jazz, some classy if risque entertainment and good food and drinks, along with the good company of yours truly! And most importantly, it's not too loud, not too crowded and there are no voyuristick, stalkerish drones or creeps since Ozzie takes consent very seriously so security is pretty tight and strict on that."

The deer demon gave him a genuine smile, showcasing his interest and pleasure in all the thought put behind the date to accommodate his sensibilities. "That sounds lovely, mon cher. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time." Lucifer beamed, pleased he had satisfied his mate with his choice for their first official date. Alastor just laughed as he shielded his eyes because Lucifer really was living up to his name and actually beaming light out of his body. "I'm honestly surprised that you didn't try to make it a surprise considering you're carting me off to Lust. I would have certainly never imagined we'd be leaving the Pride Ring for the occasion."

"Oh, I thought about it," he admitted with a shrug. "But considering how touchy you can be with this type of thing, don't like feeling like you're not in control of the situation you find yourself in and the fact that not everyone likes surprises, I thought it would be best to tell you upfront so you can brace yourself, just in case. Lust can be ... a lot, no matter how respectful they are of boundaries. Even I can get overwhelmed, so I didn't want to just dump that on you and especially not for our first date. Besides, meeting Ozzie might already be asking too much."

The Sins, once Lucifer had finally deigned to tell them what had him in such a good mood as to actually go back to ruling Hell after years of isolation and avoidance, had been skeptical about his 'supposed' soulmate and all but outright demanded that they meet him. Lucifer, however, was not about to expose Alastor to that bag of rabid raccoons in a bag and instead told them he'd be introducing them one by one by visiting their Rings during dates. That way, their interacton period would be short but enough for some first impressions to be made and Alastor was one charming fucker, so he'd have at least half of them eating out of his hand within minutes. And even if they don't like him, they'll have an eternity to get used to him because Alastor was here to stay, something both Lucifer and the man himself agreed about, regardless of how their relationship might develop further.

So, yeah, Lucifer wanted to show off the rest of his kingdom to his soulmate, sue him.

And he'd had to make a choice where to take him first. Gluttony would have been better to perhaps help satiate Alastor's cannibalistic hunger, but Bee would not fit Alastor's 'vibe', not with the raves and parties she hosted or the music she preferred. Ozzie was more in line with Alastor's preferences since Blues was his favorite genre of music, anyways, and Ozzie isn't as in your face enthusiastic and high on energy the way Bee gets.

So, yeah, in order to properly introduce Alastor to the Sins, Ozzie or Bel would have been ideal and since this was a date, Ozzie it was!

Lucifer hopes it will go well, because he really can't imagine a life without Alastor in it anymore.

Alastor arched an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

"No! Uh, maybe?" He backtracked. "But, uh, not necessarily because of Ozzie, I don't think. He's the most chill out of the Sins besides Bel, because you literally can't get more chill then her, but he's been in a committed relationship for years now with an imp so he's very understanding of literally anything involving genuine romance or desire and is the best at reading a vibe, especially where all things lust are concerned, so even if he does make you uncomfortable at first, he'll dial it back before you can even squirm."

"I don't squirm."

Lucifer bit back the contradiction at the very tip of his tongue about how Alastor had very much squirmed, and quite a bit, for Lucifer, because he doesn't actually want to aggravate his partner right now considering the potential bomb he's dropping. "Anyway, yeah, no, Ozzie's cool. It's, uh ... It's Charlie, actually."

The taller man finally turned fully towards Lucifer, giving him his full attention. "Oh?" There was no accusation or dread in his tone, only inquisitive.

"Yeah, I ... I think we should tell her. Tomorrow. You see, she wants to take Vaggarooni-"

"Vaggi."

"Right, that's what I said! Anywho, they want to go on a date in Lust and Charlie asked whether Vaggi can even go there. They offered to meet us up after we're all done so we can go home together. Well, meet up with me. They don't know I'm taking you out on the best date of your life and afterlife!"

The redhead gave him an indulgent smile as he approached to hold that tiny waist that has honestly been stuck in his mind since that first day when he'd grabbed it during their song duel. He sometimes still can't believe he's privileged enough to hold it every day unless Alastor has a really bad touch day when he can only endure Lucifer's touch if he's shapeshifted into some animal, or the touch of Lucifer's wings and tail. Humanish skin on humanish skin, though, was a big no no on such days and Lucifer was slowly learning how to predict them before ever laying a hand on Alastor.

"It's the first date of my life and afterlife."

"All the more reason for it to be special! Though I do admit that I have no idea how Charlie will react. She's a little ... touchy regarding soulmates and I don't think she understands that her mother and I are very much divorced, even if there's, like, no paper to make it official in that sense and that I just need her around to make it so the realm doesn't recognize her as my wife and Queen. I mean, I haven't worn my ring since we found our marks and she still hasn't noticed!"

A calculating frown graced Alastor's sharp features, despite his ever present smile. "Don't you think that this revelation, us," he gestured in between the small space left between their bodies. "Might not be the best topic to bring up on Valentine's Day? And after what we can only hope will be our successful dates? It might ruin the mood. Well, for everyone else. I quite frankly don't care for the opinions of others on my private affairs. But you, my dear, might be crushed if she reacts negatively."

Lucifer barely managed to detect a tiny hint of uncertainty in Alastor's tone at the end there before it was gone and he frowned, displeased by the discomfort his soulmate felt at the idea. "Alastor, regardless of her reaction, things aren't going to change between us unless it's something the two of us agree on. There is no force in Heaven, Hell or on Earth, or the rest of Creation, for that matter, that will make me change my mind about you. Not even God, if He deigned to interfere with something He put into motion. Soulmates are kind of like His opus magne in regards to angels because He never wanted us to be lonely like He was, so not even He would try to meddle or disapprove. And Charlie's a big girl now, she can handle it like an adult even if she doesn't approve for some reason. But I think she will. Remember, Al, we used to fight a lot. She'll be thrilled that we're on such good terms, now!"

His partner sent him a wryly amused look. "Good terms, is that what we are, hmm?"

Lucifer felt his eyes shift color, a seductive purr rumbling in his chest. "We can always be on better, don't you think?"

Alastor just chuckled, bringing up red-clawed fingers to card gently through Lucifer's hair, making him melt against the taller man. "I'm not opposed to telling Charlie and her paramour. However, I reserve the right to smack her on the back of her head if she tries to make a scene while we're in public. I don't care for the temper tantrums, nor squealing parties she might throw at the hotel, as I don't care for her opinion on our relationship one way or another, but I will not be humiliated in public because of her uncouth behaviour should it come to that."

"I'll transport us right back to the hotel if that happens," he promised drowsily, still trying to merge on a molecular level with his lovely deer.

Red on red eyes regarded him with so much fondness - and amusement, but he was focusing on the love shining in those hellish eyes - that Lucifer wanted to shout at the top of his lungs so all realms would hear how lucky and in love he was with his amazing soulmate. "And here I thought you wanted us to get along even better."

All drowsiness vanished in an instant and a huge grin split Lucifer's lips, his grip tightening on that deliciously small waist.

"Always, Bambi."

00000

Charlie was up almost before dawn, waiting for the arrival of her mother. The Queen had reassured her she had her own way of making it to the hotel and that she'd be arriving early in the morning, probably eager to clear things up with dad so the royal couple could spend a romantic day together, rekindling their bond and thousands of years long romance. They were, after all, the love story and Charlie can only hope she and Vaggi can have something similar.

After all, Charlie can't have a soulmate - good riddance! - and Vaggi was a fallen angel, they were basically a lesbian copy of the first lovers! And they're defying Heaven by redeeming sinners! Though Heaven welcomes their attempts now. And they've not redeemed another soul after Sir Pentious.

But surely with her mom back, they'd have her charisma to help. And with her, dad should be far more inspired to try and do better by sinners so he might even help in a more significant way besides rebuilding the things that get blown up every other Thursday! She's sure that between the four of them, they'd fill Heaven full of redeemed souls! She could already see it!

By the time the portal opened - which turned out to be closer to noonish than early morning, making Charlie wonder if her mom just got confused, had some things to do that kept her up or if perhaps she was somewhere where time flows a bit differently than in the Pride Ring? Sloth can be messy where time is concerned, after all - Charlie had nearly vibrated out of her skin. She outright screamed her joy when the tal, beautiful woman stepped through, a suitcase and carry bag in hand, running to hug her mom.

"Wait, those trees ... Is that Heave-"

"MOM! YOU'RE FINALLY HERE! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Blubbered Charlie over whatever it was Vaggi had tried to say. Who cares if her mom had gone to Havana on Earth for vacation, she probably needed it, all that mattered was that she was back and that she can see her dream coming true and that they can be a big, happy family again! "I'm so glad you're here, I have so much to show you! Oh, and first, you gotta meet Vaggi, she's my girlfriend-"

"That's lovely, sweety," her mom's melodic voice washed over her and Charlie felt her heart settle. No one else could calm her down like her mom. Oh, how she'd missed her! "You can tell me all about it later, okay? Where is your father? I have some things I'd like to discuss with him."

"Oh, Dad is unfortunately not here today. An urgent thing popped up in Lust, he's in meetings with Uncle Ozzie about a stolen Asmodean Crystal causing trouble with some drug trafficking, so he won't be available until tonight. But! He promised to make it to dinner and we decided to go to Ozzie's! A double date, to ease the tensions and help everything move along smoothly! Isn't that fantastic!?"

There was a downturn to her mom's lips and she guessed she was disappointed dad wasn't here to greet her, too, but she composed herself with a grace Charlie could never hope to replicate and nodded. Thus proceeded the introductions. Charlie has to admit that her mom wasn't nearly as welcoming towards Vaggi as her dad had been, but perhaps that's because Charlie could now introduce her as a fallen Exorcist, something that she hadn't been able to when dad first met her? Again, she might've told her mom in advance about her girlfriend, but hearing over the phone and seeing in person is not the same. And with Vaggi being so super awkward when she's intimidated or unsure, it made sense that the conversations Charlie tried to drag them both into were stilted at best. It's fine, they'll work on it!

Lilith was much warmer towards the sinners, though, which she supposes also makes sense. When she was little, Charlie used to listen to Lilith preach how sinners were far more their people than the hellborn, because the hellborn had no choice about where they were born, while the sinners had arrived to Hell by choice. It might not have been great life choices that led them to supposedly eternal damnation, but it was choice either way, an expression of free will. Charlie remembers more than one ... disagreement between her parents when she was a teen and they were debating whether she should continue private tutoring at home or go to a 'public' school. Her mother had been against it, since the only schools in Hell that existed were explicitly for hellborns, which was why her father had insisted on them in the first place. Her mom hadn't let it happen, since those schools teach everyone just how horrible sinners are, not highlighting at all that not every sinner has committed major sins or that the majority of them are as subjected as the hellborn are in Hell's rigid hierarchy.

In the end, however, her dad had won, citing that many of Charlie's friends were hellborn, that her peers and prospective future consorts would also be hellborn in case anything happened to them, because no sinner can get pregnant without a miracle from God or one of his First Angels, and if Charlie is to become Queen, clearly Lucifer would not be there to bless them. For the sake of Hell, if nothing else, Charlie was pushed to grow up around hellborn rather than sinners, in one of the most prestigious schools in the entire realm.

Things were very different now, of course. Charlie was not only surrounded by sinners, but so was Lucifer, so hopefully she and her mom can change his mind on his still very negative opinion of their people.

Either way, Lilith thrived around the guests. She asked them about their lives in Hell, why they pursued Heaven and some other, stranger questions that almost sounded like she was trying to dissuade them from redemption, but surely it was just a method to get the sinners to think more deeply about their situation for future therapy sessions! No way would her mom ask people if they're sure if they even want to go to Heaven without a good reason for such a delicate line of questioning!

While Lilith thrived around the guests during the tour, she did not click with their core group, the staff and most persistent residents of the hotel. She sneered at Angel when he'd been excited to meet her, complimenting her songs, looks and the reputation she has as the mother of succubi even if she actually had nothing to do with them as they were the collaborative effort of the Prince of Lust and the King of Hell. Her not one hundred percent positive reaction to Angel's genuine admiration of her definitely soured Husk's and Cherry's first impression, because before today, Charlie knows Cherry had admitted to openly admiring her rebellious spirit. Husk didn't even say anything, just gave a nod in a greeting with ears folded down and were those wine caps in there? Why? Was the music too loud, perhaps? She'll have to talk with Alastor about that, though she thought the volume was fine.

Nifty had tried to greet the Queen as she had the King, but Charlie had had to grab the small woman before her mom flung her off of herself in surprise, an indignant, almost murderous look in her eyes. Charlie had seen that expression a couple of times, usually when some of the staff at the palace and later their private mansion messed something up really badly or someone startled her later on, when Charlie was older, closer to the time Lilith had left.

"Sorry about that, mom, Niffty just sometimes greets people like that," she'd explained awkwardly as she set Nifty down.

The maid frowned up at the Queen. "I don't like her." And then she scurried off to who knows where.

Baxter neither bowed, nor nodded, nor extended his hand to greet the Queen. Instead, he asked her a slew of questions, the most intriguing to Charlie being the ones regarding her mother's seven years absence and whether they correlated with Alastor's sabbatical and/or the start of the Exterminations. She denied, of course, and Charlie was relieved that her mom had nothing to do with Alastor since she would feel kind of betrayed if he hadn't come here for her, but rather because it was a favor or something. Lilith did seem intrigued by the presence of the infamous Radio Demon at a redemption hotel and asked to meet him, as well, since he's the host, but Husk relayed the same message he'd given Charlie last night, saying the man was out and busy for the day.

She thinks her mom tried to pry more about it while she was colding Baxter about asking sensitive questions when he brought up her lack of a wedding ring or how it felt to be the only human soul incompatible to have a soulmate, but Husk probably didn't even hear her with the improvised ear caps he had on.

Other than that, the tour was overall successful and Lilith had some constructive criticism about the decor and lack of more staff! Charlie noted it all down and hoped neither her dad nor Alastor would feel offended by some of the comments. She really didn't want to hurt their feelings, but she supposed her mom was right and that too much red and gold would not help with some sinful tendencies since they represent luxury and riches. The last thing she wants to promote is greed, despite that being the complete opposite on the color scale in regards to the Sins themselves.

They tried to situate her mom in her dad's room, but a strong ward kept everyone out, not even Niffty could go in and KeeKee not only refused to open the door as the Master Key, but also couldn't even squeeze into the lock, something keeping her out.

"Dad must've upgraded his security after what happened six months ago," she hurried to reassure her mom. "An Overlord captured him and used him to power a weapon that destroyed several districts in the Pentagram and the Heavenly Gate. He's been acting weird since. But like a good weird! He's more energetic, he's been interacting with sinners around here, he' started getting better at names, he even occasionally takes over art therapy! And he and Alastor seem to have finally buried the hatchet." She paused at that last one, backtracking. "Well, maybe not buried, but they've surely piled some dirt and leaves on it!"

Since they couldn't put her in her dad's room until he came back and pulled down the wards, they tried to settle her into another room on the top floor. Only there were no other rooms up there, just Lucifer's and Alastor's.

"Maybe we can ask Alastor to temporarily move to a different room?" She suggested, already making her way towards his door. He usually left one of his weird shadow puppet things around to take messages in case they needed him, so she'd just relay that he's being moved to a different room until her parents get back together tonight, or in the upcoming days, but really soon, surely!

"Charlie, hon, I don't think that's a good idea. He'd never agree, you know how he is. Besides, I don't think he can move that entire fucking swamp he has in there. Nor do I think that room is even sanitary for anyone else to stay in there even if he could. Just think of all the mold and the smell. You know he eats raw deer in there, right?"

"A swamp, you say?" Lilith had asked, intrigued. "I think I'd rather like to see that. I haven't seen Earth in what feels like centuries and I'm certain I've never actually been in a swamp."

However, Alastor's door was also warded and it's not one of his small puppets that came out, but rather one of the black and white ones he usually uses for construction. When Charlie tried to relay the message to it, it just shook its head and crossed its arms over its chest in the shape of an X. If she didn't already know from Alastor that these things weren't real people, she would have thought it was giving her a Look and quite a bit of attitude.

Resigned by the pettiness of her hotelier, they instead turned to try and make a new suite in between the two towers, but even with Lilith's experienced guidance, KeeKee could not renovate anywhere on the top floor. After a while, she started meowing and yowling complaints before just turning back into her cat form and vanishing into thin air.

Charlie groaned. "Dad probably warded the entire floor, too. Or maybe Alastor. We won't be able to do anything until they come back."

So with no other choice, they found the best room they could for the Queen in the overflowing-with-guests hotel and for the first time since her dream was slowly chugging along towards further success, Charlie was displeased by how many sinners were in the building since the room she ended up giving her mom was far from adequate for a Queen.

"When did you say your father was coming back?" Lilith asked when they settled to have a late lunch. She had taken Charlie away from her girlfriend and friends so they'd have some mother-daughter bonding time, which was great! Charlie just wished her mom would get to know her friends better so they could fix botched first impressions. If her dad and Alastor could do it, surely something as minor as what had happened earlier would be an easy fix if they all just sat down and talked.

"Like I said, the plan is to meet up with him for dinner at Ozzie's! So we have time to get ready! Do you need help, mom? Angel and Cherri are really good with make-up and Niffty can help modify a dress however you want. Oh, and we can paint each other's nails! I've gotten really good at it," she suggested excitedly and tried not to wilt when her mother assured her that she can get ready on her own. She supposes it makes sense, her mom had always been a very independent person and she's been getting ready for dates, galas, courtroom meetings and the such five hundred times longer than Charlie's been alive. So she didn't let that dismissal sting too much lest she ruin the big night before it even began.

Later, once they were ready to go, Charlie called her dad to remind him he should join them in Lust by Ozzie's and got a duck with a thumbs up emoji to confirm he'd seen. Just before they got in the limo to take them to the Elevator that goes between Rings, her dad even added that he'd be there in half an hour, which is just perfect!

"Dad's waiting for us~!" She sing-songed as Dazzle closed the door after them and settled into the driver's seat. Vaggi looked beautiful in the short black, form fitting dress that had a subtle pattern of glitter to make out a wing design just above her thigh, her hair done up in a stylishly messy bun. Lilith was dressed in one of her long gowns, this one a lighter purple to match her eyes but fading into darker shades until it was almost black at the hem, with a really, really high split that almost showed her underwear, black crown between her horns, black shawl around her elbows, no gloves for once. Charlie found it strange that she hadn't seen her mom wear the pearl necklace she used to wear all the time when Charlie was younger. Even before Lilith left for seven years, she'd sporadically wear them, usually when going to Court or meeting with the Sins, but she'd always take them off when she got home. Wasn't that necklace the one dad had gotten her? So why was she wearing a black crystal now, with matching earrings?

Charlie herself had wanted to go in a suit, but Lilith had tsked when she saw her and clicked her fingers and now Charlie was in a similar, if more flowy dress to Lilith's, just red with a rose clipped over her right breast. Her Princess of Hell tiara was also on her head and her hair had been done up into a stiff, elegant bun to further show off the crown. Her mother had scolded her for even trying to go out among their people not dressed in accordance to her station and while Charlie really did prefer suits, Vaggi's blush and appreciative gaze was enough to soothe her for the evening.

If Lilith had glared when Vaggi's wings popped out in surprise and fluster when she first saw the Princess all dressed up, Charlie missed it.

"Lust sure is ... a lot," Vaggi commented when they finally arrived at Ozzie's, having looked extremely flustered or uncomfortable from looking out the window during the car ride from the Elevator to the restaurant/club. Which makes sense, Charlie supposes, because for all the sex and 'sin' she and Vaggi had committed together, Lust was probably a lot for an angel, even one who'd seen how depraved sinners can be in Pride. There was just a different vibe down here. While both Rings were shameless, there was sensuality and class in Lust that was sorely lacking in Pride, even in public orgies.

"It is Valentine's Day, so it's rather tame compared to how it usually is," corrected Lilith, who was watching with interest a threesome happening just a block away from Ozzie's. Charlie tried not to think about that, or her parents' rumored wild days before she was born. Honestly, even if she didn't want to gag at the mere thought of her mom and dad being sexual beings in, like, a thousand mile vicinity of her, Charlie just didn't understand some aspects of open relationships, or relationships containing more than two people. Yes, she had a lot of love to give and yes, she can see when someone is attractive even while she's in a relationship, but she could never try to introduce a new person into her own current relationship. Even before Vaggi, it just seemed weird to her. And on a more personal level, regardless of sexual preferences or appetites, Charlie just ... couldn't imagine her dad with anyone besides her mom.

Yes, she knew her mom had ... flings, she's even met a few of them, actually, but her dad had never looked at another besides her mom.

And that stupid soulmate mark on his back.

But even outside all of that, her dad just ... didn't seem like the type to like to surround himself with or meet new people. She worried about him sometimes because of it, because it persisted even at the hotel where arguably the best of the sinners had gathered chasing redemption, but at least recently it seems he and Alastor might be going in that direction! And while her dad will never be a social butterfly, maybe having mom back will help him at least peek out of his shell?

The bouncer at the front appraised them for a short while, seemingly not recognizing them, even Lilith, before letting them through. Ozzie's was infamous for being a couples - or relationships in general - only and the bouncers made no exceptions even for demon nobility. The hostess that greeted them asked if they had a reservation or if it was a table for three.

"Actually, we're here to meet up with my dad? He should be here already."

The hostess shot her a weird look but pulled up a list. "Name?"

"Your King, succubus," her mom replied instead, looking down at the hostess in a way that really made Charlie uncomfortable and she laughed awkwardly. Her mom had always scolded her for not acting like the Princess she is and instead being 'overly polite' to 'the help'. But Charlie just couldn't help it. She'd tried to take her mom's approach, but it always came out stilted and unnatural. She felt much more like herself when she bumbled through politely like her dad in these moments.

The succubus - Maggie, ironically enough, considering she'd been thinking of her dad - popped her bubblegum, cocked a hip and crossed her arms. "Lady, I don't give a crap if it's God Himself, if you don't give me a name so I can check which table to lead you to, I'll deny you service and call security to kick you out."

"Lucifer Morningstar," Vaggi rushed to say, trying to avoid further confrontation. She was in her element there, considering she often had to defuse situations at the hotel lest Alastor do it his own way and leave the guests quaking in fear hard enough Charlie sometimes wondered how they didn't cause a mini helquake and take the hotel down with them. And Alastor was absolutely incorrigible about it since they never actually asked him to stop, considering how useful it was for people on the verge of a brawl. "Thank you," she added, as Maggi arched an eyebrow at them.

She frowned at her list. "He's here, but it says here that the table is for two in the VIP lounge, with 'a good view of the stage and even better acoustics and that they're to be disturbed as little as possible unless called upon." Maggie looked up at them and arched an eyebrow. She didn't say anything, the look said it all.

Charlie awws. "Maybe he realized you were coming after all, mom! Maybe he sensed you when you came back to the Pride Ring, figured out we were trying to surprise him and he decided to throw you a surprise instead!"

Something in her mom's lilac eyes flickered at that, like she didn't know how to feel. "Perhaps."

Charlie barely held back a squeal! Even before they saw each other, her plan was already working! And it seems dad was pulling out all the stops! Just like they'd sometimes told her about their relationship's heyday! She turned to the hostess, who was now looking at them impatiently. "Would you please escort us to my dad? My girlfriend and I want to say hi since he's expecting us so he doesn't worry and then we can either take whatever table is available or maybe we'll join tables!"

Maggie's mouth twisted into a pretty impressive scowl but before she could answer, Uncle Ozzie sauntered by, a deeply satisfied and giddy expression on his face as he seemed to be headed towards an imp clown just getting off the stage? When she called out to him, he froze in his steps and turned. All three pairs of his eyes went wide when he caught sight of their group and suddenly his previous mood vanished. Still, he smiled at her and came over to give her a huge bear hug.

"Charlie, sweety, look at how much you've grown! Oh, and is this your date?" He turned to Vaggi, bending down to kiss her hand in greeting like a true gentleman. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, little lady. Welcome to the House of Asmodeus! Your pleasure is our pleasure," he winked and Vaggi gave an awkward laugh as Charlie quickly introduced them. But her Uncle Ozzie's eyes didn't stay on them long, instead boring into a tense Lilith.

"Asmodeus," the Queen greeted coldly.

"Lilith," came the equally chilly reply and Charlie wondered what was wrong. Surely if her dad was planning a surprise, her Uncle Ozzie would know what it was about, especially since it's in his establishment. "Finally decided to crawl out of whatever hole you buried yourself in? Although," he took a long, dramatic inhale, seemingly scenting the air. "With how much purity is wafting off of you, you haven't been anywhere where you needed to crawl for a while now, have you? You're positively glowing! Perhaps a little vacation to a tropical paradise?"

"I am not interested in chitchat," the Queen replied with increasingly colder authority. "I wish to speak with my husband."

"Ex," he emphasized and Charlie tensed so much her shoulders were practically to her ears. "You left and took off your wedding ring eight years ago, Lilith. Lulu did, too, a couple of months ago. You're too late to try and worm your way back to the throne. Not that any of the Sins would accept you back, anyways. Not with you smelling like that. Not even Mammon would be bribed into it. Traitors belong in the Ninth Circle, after all."

Lilith scowled. "You have no authority to speak on my and my husband's marriage. Now, if you'll excuse us," she turned to the succubus who'd just been waiting to be done dealing with them. "Take us to Lucifer Morningstar," she commanded and Charlie watched as Maggie grew tense yet her body became lax like a puppet on loose strings, her eyes glassy and distant as she almost clumsily turned around and moved to follow the order.

A flare of blue flames and she stopped in her tracks, shaking her head and swaying on her feet before Asmodeus' large hand caught her until she got her balance. "LILITH!" Thundered the Sin of Lust. "You dare use that type of magic in my Ring!?"

"Whoa, what's going on!?" A familiar voice called and Charlie could have sobbed in relief.

"Dad!"

Lucifer landed in front of them in a fairly scandalous outfit. Baggy, black pants with a dangerously low V-waistband and mesh openings on the side of his thighs, tucked into a red version of his usual boots. A black crop top that exposed the place where his belly button would have been had he been born instead of created with only more red mesh being the only thing keeping the top at a somewhat decent length. He had a black and red short version of his usual jacket on and the same for his hat. The white of his wings really stood out with the outfit but accentuated his pale skin, so it worked. He'd even put on some red eyeshadow to cover the usual purple of his eyelids!

"Wait, Lilith? What are you doing here?"

That had the group tensing, besides Asmodeus who was taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"Dad? You didn't know mom was coming?" Charlie asked uncertainly while Lilith grimaced at the King. "But then who did you make the reservations for two for?" Surely she would have noticed if he'd started dating! Or was this a first date kind of thing? Then surely he could drop it and actually focus on his wife!

Her dad shot her this look she'd never seen on his face before, certainly not directed at her, before he answered while looking her dead in the eye. "With my soulmate. It's our first date, so if you could not, I'd be very grateful, thank you."

Charlie almost didn't realize the moment the color of her eyes inverted and her horns grew from her forehead, her carefully arranged hair loose and trashing on non-existent wind as her blood boiled at her father once again screwing everything up for her. And over some supposed destined soulmate!? When her mom had stood by him for thousands of years!? "So you'd rather throw away your family for some stranger that happens to bear some meaningless mark on their skin!?"

She thinks Vaggi made a wounded sound to her side, but she couldn't focus on that. Instead, all her focus was on her father ...

Who had cowered at her rage when his failed intimidation tactic at Vox's holy war rally had screwed up her dreams and her hotel, but now stood unflinching and unimpressed.

"Uh huh, you done, kiddo? Because I have to deal with Satan on an almost daily basis nowadays. Wrath kind of gets predictable and boring after, oh, two minutes. And I didn't throw away anything. Least of all our family. If anything, maybe you should look to your right and ask Lilith where she's been for eight years or why she left and took you with her around one hundred twenty years ago. Because I may have been a bit excited about my soulmate finally being born, but I've never even insinuated that I want a divorce. Or better yet, let's not lay all the blame at Lilith's feet. She decided she wanted to divorce, we are two mature, grown beings as old or older than humanity, we can decide to do what we want with our lives. That's kind of my whole thing, ya know. Free will, freedom of choice, all that nice jazz." He even did jazz hands, unserious as ever! "No, Charlie, how about you look in a mirror, because let's be frank here: you never called unless you needed something. You never visited me, period, and any time I tried to visit, you were always busy busy busy! Until you needed that meeting with Heaven, of course, then you had all the time in the world. And while I will never deny you anything or regret doing you any favor or giving you any gift, I won't let you say to my face that I gave up or threw away our family when I was the only one still trying to keep it together. Lilith left without a truly official divorce, so I waited and waited and waited. You took her side, even when there weren't any, and are now throwing a temper tantrum that is unbecoming of you for your age and title over the fact that I finally met someone who won't abandon me. I mean, I knew you wouldn't have a normal reaction, I know how you feel about soulmates, even if it's for no reasonable reason, but this is excessive, Charlie. You, trying to intimidate me? Sure, maybe when I do something wrong or fuck something up for you, I'll feel guilty enough to allow it. But now? Over love? Yeah, no. Don't make me ground you, Charlie. I've never done it before but I can and will now."

"Hmm, you've grown," her mom commented and Charlie turned stunned eyes in her direction, to find her smiling the most fond smile she's seen on her face directed at her dad in decades, if not for the entire time she's had long term memory, which is around two hundred years. "They must be good for you. I'd like to meet them before we discuss our divorce. I want to see how low you've had to stoop to replace me and our marriage. I would have liked to do this in a more business-setting, like that one place in Envy, but it seems we all had different expectations of this day."

"Yeah, no, fuck you, I've upgraded, bitch," her dad replaied but there was no heat or venom in his words even as he flipped her mom off and before Charlie could boil over in rage, her mom giggled. Giggled!? Over her dad insulting her and saying he found someone better!? Who could be better than the First Woman!? Also, divorce!? Why would her mom want to talk about divorce!? This was supposed to be their reunion! The most epic, romantic, lovey-dovey, proof-love-isn't-about-soulmates reunion to ever reunion! "Also, what the fuck? I'm on a date, Lilith. Whatever you want to talk about can wait until tomorrow."

"No can do," Lilith denied and Charlie just watched in confusion as her parents casually talked about officially separating right in front of their only child. Doesn't she get a say in this!? "I plan to leave the day after tomorrow and knowing you as I do, I rather doubt you'll be able to unglue yourself from your mate after whatever wild night you two have tonight. So this has to happen right here and now."

"Wait, you're leaving already!?" Charlie asked desperately, but Lilith shushed her.

Lucifer ran a hand down his face and groaned. "Urgh, fine. But you're going to regret that."

"And why is that?" Lilith arched an eyebrow as Lucifer's face twisted into a sharp grin.

"My soulmate really likes deals and contracts."

00000

While Alastor certainly hadn't been pleased to have their date be interrupted and intruded on, he was certainly the one having the most fun as Lucifer and Lilith sat on opposite sides of the table.

Charlie had been beyond furious when she'd seen her business partner seated at the table Lucifer had led them to but Alastor had just shot them all an unimpressed look before going back to sipping his rye. He was polite to Lilith when they exchanged greetings, but that was basically his show of disrespect. If Alastor didn't try to put the charms on you within five seconds of you existing in his orbit, you can be sure he didn't like you. And he certainly didn't like Lilith.

He'd said as much many times over their months of growing closer and getting to know each other, whenever Lucifer had a bad day or a bad dream that involved his soon to be officially ex-wife. It wasn't jealousy, Alastor thought too highly of himself to ever be jealous, especially since the universe had basically promised Lucifer to him for all eternity - and beyond, as angels of his caliber were likely to survive the End of Days. Rather, Alastor had developed a protective streak that most others would find scary but was honestly mild in comparison to how possessive and protective angels can get, so Lucifer just appreciated the care. He let Alastor's words of vitriol at Lilith for leaving 'someone as precious as him', for instilling more trauma, more abandonment issues, for worsening whatever depressive disorder the Fall had caused in the first place. Alastor, when he thought Lucifer was asleep, tended to promise in featherlight kisses to never leave him, to haunt and hunt him to the end of Creation itself, and he had no idea how much such words helped Lucifer sleep peacefully at night.

Now here they were, their date interrupted and on the way to being ruined by his ex-wife, daughter and his daughter's girlfriend. Ozzie had had to step away to cool off from being so enraged when Lilith had tried to use her voice to command that hostess lest he cause even more tension at their table. The entire VIP lounge had been emptied save for the royal family so they can have this discussion in peace.

Poor Vagriella looked so uncomfortable like she wanted to crawl out of her skin and she has been trying to disengage the physical contact Charlie seems to insist on. She's been trying to step away from Charlie ever since that soulmate comment earlier. She might be just an Exorcist created some eight years ago, so low on the hierarchy she was probably only just above those pesky Cherubs, but the soulmate phenomenon is so deeply ingrained in all angels that it was no wonder she no longer wanted to touch the person who not only dismissed, but indirectly badmouthed a soulmate Vagerona probably hadn't even met.

Charlie was still seething and it got worse with every second that Lilith, Lucifer or Alastor didn't acknowledge her rage. Unfortunately, Lucifer couldn't dedicate his usual amounts of attention to her or try to soothe or fix things, not that there was anything to fix, anyway, as he was busy with turning down Lilith's divorce demands.

"I get full custody of Charlie, the Palace and the ruling of the Pride Ring."

"Charlie is a fully grown adult woman, even by Adamic standards. Even if by angelic standards she's still a child, she would fall into my custody and Heaven would literally erase your soul from ever having existed if you tried to make a case with them and the Sins would laugh you out of Court. So no. The palace is my home, you were the one who left it, so not going to happen. I am the Sin of Pride and while I am not the most fond of my people there, you do not get to take what is not rightfully yours. You wanted me to step in where sinners are concerned, so here I am. So no."

"I get the Sovereign Overlords, the Entertainment District and our manor on the outskirts."

"After what they did last time? Hells to the no! I don't trust you not to try another uprising, either. We just got Heaven to not slaughter sinners after your last little rebellion, Lilith. And no, you won't get the Entertainment District. You think I'd let you anywhere near a sinner with another version of hypnosis? I may have been absent from politics because it doesn't interest me, but I'm not stupid, Lilith. As for the manor, take it, I don't care. I've not gone there in centuries anyways and you always ran there when you were in a snit."

Lilith slammed a fist against the table, her horns emerging and curving over the back of her head as her eyes glinted dangerously. "Damn it, Lucifer! Work with me here!"

"And why should he?" Alastor, for the first time since greetings were exchanged, spoke up. He must've been having a grand time until then if he'd stayed silent so long. Then again, he'd reluctantly admitted that he liked seeing Lucifer 'getting his King on', as the kids would say these days. Or would they? Was that last decade? Bah, not that Lucifer cared. Vulnarcular changes every couple of years, how was he supposed to keep up? "From what I understand, Heaven never recognized you as a married couple to begin with, Hell has considered you divorced for eight years, if not longer among the higher circles who actually personally know you two. You left, your former Majesty, and that's the gist of it."

"It's not that simple," argued Lilith even as Charlie's horns had re-emerged at Alastor critiquing her mother. Lucifer wasn't sure if he should stop his soulmate or let Alastor continue. The man had a dangerously sharp tongue, after all, and Charlie was already unstable enough about this situation.

Honestly, Lucifer never understood Charlie's aversion to the notion of soulmates. It's not like it's some newfangled thing that had appeared around the time she was a kid and that it suddenly started tearing families apart. Hell, Charlie had rarely ever been around someone who could even have a soulmate besides Lucifer until she and Lilith moved out when she was in her goth teen phase or whatever it's called.

No, soulmates have been around even before even the virgin universe was created, empty of everything until God and His First Angels started making matter and shaping it in accordance to His plans or their collective random whims. (They'd all been exploring and experimenting back then and no idea was too dangerous, too taboo or too outrageous and Lucifer will freely admit to missing those days at times, long before his Fall.) He'd thought that she was perhaps envious that she as a hellborn and daughter to the cursed Lilith couldn't have a soulmate, so she rejected it to keep herself from getting hurt, but Leviathan had said she'd never felt that emotion coming from the Princess whenever she would stop anyone from even mentioning the concept. If anything, according to her, Charlie only felt genuine disgust, which Beelzebub confirmed, even if they were all confused as to why.

It couldn't really be from Lilith, because Lilith had never cared. She'd said she was glad she was never doomed to be tied to someone by fate and left it at that. She didn't begrudge others for trying to find their soulmates, she didn't get in between soulmates, she didn't even mind bringing some soulmates to bed if they were up for a threesome or an orgy. (Lucifer himself rarely participated; he'd loved Lilith for thousands of years and indulged her almost every whim for just as long, but most of the time touching someone other than her so intimately had left him in a slump for months at a time because he'd felt he was betraying a soulmate who hadn't even been born yet back then.) In fact, it still confused Lucifer as to why Lilith had suddenly requested they seperate after Alastor was finally born in the human world.

Contrary to what Charlie believes, soulmates are not necessarily romantic. Hell, Lucifer knows of a pair of soulmates who quite literally hated each other, had been on opposite sides of a human war and had yet still died in each other's arms on a battlefield and arrived in Hell, still hating each other, but God help anyone who tried to get in between them or hurt one of them and the other find out.

This rule especially applied to angels. They will live to see the End of Days, most of them anyway, and the Firsts (if any besides Lucifer are even still a conscious, sentient being instead of having melded with their aspects; he knows his Twin is at least still partially conscious, but in a dormant state up in High Heaven where not even the High Seraphim has access) will probably live beyond that, too. If they didn't have someone destined for them, they'd experience the loneliness which had driven God to Create, starting with His Firsts, of course, and no one wants to feel that Loneliness. God never wanted it for His children.

Lucifer had tried, once, to explain it to Lilith, way back when, back in Eden when she'd asked about the black marks on his back. He knows she never understood, because she'd been too young to, back then, with not nearly enough experience to process that there was something beyond what her human soul could feel or her human mind could comprehend. A bond so profound not even love was necessary for it to keep two people together, because they will complement or contradict each other just right that no matter how many times they antagonize each other, it will always be a relief to see them again, even if they will never acknowledge it consciously in their minds.

Adam had understood, eventually. Part of the reason he'd turned out so hateful and bitter towards sinners is because his soulmate, Eve, had decided she couldn't let her children and her children's children and so on to suffer alone and had instead tried to offer them solace in Hell. Lucifer hasn't been in contact with her for centuries by now but he knows she stopped trying to see Adam at the Embassy, which probably made him even more resentful and eventually led to such a scornful hate that he'd taken the first opportunity Heaven had been given to smite the damned souls in Hell.

Lilith's little rebellion had only served as the more unwanted version of the First Humans reunion.

"Isn't it, though?" Alastor contradicted because, ultimately, more than anything, he loved being contradictory. "You threw away thousands of years of not only marriage, but also friendship for the mere fact I was born. I was but a babe when you decided to sever those ties, Lilith. And for all you knew, I could have ended up incapable of feeling romantic attraction towards Lucifer, or he would have not loved me in that way, either. We could have been platonic soulmates. We could have been enemies." Vaggi flinched at that and now Lucifer was really wondering who her soulmate could be. He'll never ask, that's rude, especially to angels, but damn if he wasn't curious. "You jumped the gun and now you're reaping the consequences. Or were you, perhaps, just waiting for an excuse?"

Lucifer couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. Of course, such thoughts had occurred to him, especially in the last eight years, but to hear them voiced and posed as a question that might get an answer ... He grabbed Alastor's hand on the table to stabilize himself. Lilith's eyes flicked down to their hands and she sighed, rubbing her forehead as she relaxed.

"Of course I wasn't. I've loved that duffos for ten thousand years. I fell to Hell with him. We built this place together, made it our home. And a part of me will always love him, but ... I always expected to feel jealousy when he found his soulmate, or when he got any idnication that they were alive or dead and in Hell. I always thought I'd resent having to share him in whatever capacity that weird thing manifested as, since he did explain it's not strictly a romantic bond. However, when he started talking about the possibilities with you ... I felt nothing. And that was when I realized our own relationship might've shifted long before you were born, or before either of us realized just how much we've drifted apart. By the time I asked to end it, I've had a good amount of time to think. A couple of years, I believe. We didn't even officially seperate, let alone divorce, until later. And, well, when I was leading my revolution ... I was glad for the seperation, because Heaven wouldn't have been merciful if they even suspected Lucifer was in some way endorsing my actions. I finalized the seperation, but I couldn't finalize the divorce on my own, and it was to protect Lucifer and Charlie from the consequences of my own actions. Charlie is, first and foremost, his Heir, after all, so severing ties with him severe all ties between us two, too, keeping her safe. I thought that I'd done good with that, at least, only to learn that she went and aggravated Heaven all on her own, anyways, and all over some frivolous project meant to further subjucate Hell to Heaven's imposible standards and rules and erase all my work in empowering siners to be exactly as they are, who they are, perfect as they should be. You lot were just lucky most of Heaven doesn't want to get their hands dirty and that they hadn't sent anything higher than Adam down here."

Charlie flinched at the reprimand. She stared at her mother flabbergasted and brokenhearted and Lucifer didn't know how to fix it. He'd never wanted to tell Charlie Lilith wouldn't support the hotel, either, because they both believed sinners belonged in Hell. Only for very diferent reasons. And while Lucifer was relieved to be proven wrong of the fact that they can't change, that at least a select few can become better people, that was never Lilith's issue. No, Lilith had always wanted the sinners who arrived in their kingdom to be exactly as they were, never once flinching away from the murder, theft, abuse and torture. She sang songs meant to empower them, to make them feel pride for who they are, and they loved her for it, for her accemptance, for her embrace of who they are. And while Lilith didn't have any hard nos to the sins committed around her, even she had mellowed out just a bit since Charlie's birth. She didn't go out of her way to stop rapists, kidnappers, slavetraders, pipms or pedophiles, but if any of them even breathed in Charlie's direction, they were dead meat. And God forbid a would-be-murderer walked the same street as Charlie was on.

Lucifer could appreciate that, since he himself is not able to do the same due to his punishment. Instead, he'd ensured that the Court could never cause Charlie any form of harm, nor could they try to foester off their offspring onto her as potential suitors at any time in her life. Sure, Lilith and Lucife greatly approved when Charlie started dating Saviathan from the Von Eldtritch family who were closely related to the Sin of Envy, but that was mostly because the royal formerly couple had been close with Frederick and Bethista since before the Roman era. In fact, they'd become close when they had been ring shopping when the humans had made it a marital trend around that time!

But Charlie had never been forced to do something she didn't want to. And while they hadn't always been the most supportive of parents, this must still come as a shock for Charlie because she'd misunderstood the message Lilith had always been trying to convey, to the sinners, to Heaven and to Charlie herself, and had instead interpreted it as some bid to save sinner souls via redemption. That it worked was the true stroke of luck here because otherwise they wouldn't have needed Vox to almost start a holy war after Adam's death.

"Excuse me if I'm misunderstanding something," Alastor began in what Lucifer recognized as his dangerous tone, one that was deceptively polite and pleasent but hid beneath it a boiling rage that could melt a thousand suns. And he thinks he knows where this is going. "But did you just imply that the bottom of the barrel of society, the rapists, murderers, abusers, slavers, collonists and fascists are 'perfect' and 'as they should be'?"

"Bambi, I know where you're coming from with this and where this will go, but please not now?" He squeezed the hand he'd been holding to try to calm his soulmate down but there was no mistaking how pissed off he was now, what with his antlers branched out and eyes ticking radio dials. That his sclera hadn't turned black is showing how much self-control was being applied for him not to jump at Lilith from across the table.

Alastor's step-father was his first step down the stairway to Hell. Alastor's biological father had been his mother's soulmate and had died before he even learned Alastor had been born. His father had been conscripted for that mess going on in the Philipines, if Lucifer's got his history right, and never returned. His mother, pregnant and with minimal soldier's pension to keep her afloat, had had no choice but to remarry. And her second husband had been an abuser in all senses of the word. The only reason he hadn't crossed certain incomprehensibly gross lines with the child he'd supposedly signed up to raise as his own was that Alastor's mother had always offered herself up to him to spare her son.

Alastor had hated that man with a passion so fiery and seemingly infinite that had he not become so proud later in life, he might;ve just launched striaght into the Wrath Ring to entertain Satan with his rage.

In the end, it was a story with a tragic ending. Alastor had been barely a teenager when he'd returned home from school to find his mother dead in the kitchen and his step-father kicking her cooling body, drunk as a skunk and demanding she 'get up from her nap and make lunch already'. Alastor had quoted those words when he'd eventually told Lucifer of his first murder, words he would probably be haunted by for the rest of eternity. The boy Alastor had been had killed that man on the spot and, orphaned, Alastor had spent what little money he had to give his mother a decent funeral and then joined the Great War, also known as the First World War, where he'd been forced to grow up and learn to live entirely by himself and relying on himself only. The rest, as they say, was history.

Alastor didn't know his bilogical father. They'd been too poor to afford even a single picture back in those days, not that it would have helped, anyway, had the man ended up in Hell. Alastor did, however, hunt down his step-father and his was the first voice added to Alastor's broadcast after he learned the skill in Hell.

So for him to hear that Lilith was empowering such people among those who had committed fairly minor sins, that she may have made the same attempt Vox had to breach Heaven with more sinners like his step-father, Lucifer was honestly more surprised he hadn't gone full Eldritch monster on her already.

Finally, Alastor calmed down enough to nod with teeth grit so hard that Lucifer could hear them grinding an winced. Alastor's jaw and gums were going to ache so much tomorrow if he doesn't stop that. But he let Alastor deal with that for now, knowing he can't help at the moment, and instead turned back to his ex-wife. He tried not to melt and ruin his stern expression when Alastor twisted their hands around so he can return Lucifer's hold, even if it would be painfully, bone-breakingly tight had he been anyone else.

"Listen, Lilith, there's not much to negotiate. Pick the villas and mansions you want to keep in each Ring, or the establishments we used to frequent or endorse. You will not, however, have any political sway or power in Hell ever again. Your previous actions have proven that you are willing to sacrifice hundreds of billions of people to prove a point to Heaven and that you'd then fuck off there for vacation when you fail, abandoning our daughter whle you were at it. I don't want this to be a messy split, Lilith. You have to see where I'm coming from."

Lilith, however, didn't pay him all that much attention, insteda looking contemplatively at Alastor's antlers. "You know, I always did wonder at the design of Lucifer's soulmark. The apple and snake had become obvious fairly quickly after we met, but I always wondered about the deer antlers, especially after meeting you. I had thought it ironic that the mark displayed a magnificent rack yet you had nothing but little barbeque prongs at best."

"MOM!"

"LILITH!"

A squeal of static quickly cut off as Alastor took a deep breath. "Are you perhaps feeling inadequate among your subjects, your former Majesty?"

"Excuse me?" Lilith asked dangerously but Alastor just shot her a shark-like grin.

"After all, every sinner is unique and the hellborn vary in their own ways. You, however, look like an ordinary human who put on a cheap cosplay."

"You insolent little-"

"I think we're done here," Vegetable interrupted, hastily sitting up from her chair and dragging Charlie along with her. "C'mon, babe, let's go home." She turned to Lucifer, hesitating to ask, but he just nodded and snapped his figners, a portal leading straight to the girls' floor at the hotel. "Thank you, sir." She turned to Lilith and hesitated again at the heated glaring match the King's former and current loves were exchanging.

Lucifer spared her the awkwardness. "Go back with them, Lilith. She's right. We're done here. Consider the divorce finalized." No sonner than the words have been said, a thin, golden thread connecting the two former spouses appeared, only to be severed a second later and disolve into thin air like it had never been there. Lilith staggered, probably feeling a decrease of power and the lack of the weight of the Crown. She stared at Lucifer with wide, furious eyes.

"This isn't over," she warned, promised, as she turned around and walked through the portal with their daughter and her girlfriend.

Lucifer didn't relax until he closed the portal, then he slumped in his seat and leaned into Alastor. "What a fucking mess."

"I could have handled her."

"Yeah, probably," he agreed, since it was possible. Alastor was the strongest sinner in Hell and witty and slipery to boot. Even with the power Lilith gained as his wife and Queen, she wouldn't have been able to match him, because she is a sinner. And a broken deal in Hell forced the agreed upon conditions to be met in favor of the wronged party. Lucifer had been rather impressed when Alastor had regaled him with the tale of the breaking of his contract. And while Lucifer wishes he could murder that TV-headed idiot more than ever before now that he knows all the details of Alastor's imprisonment as well as wrap his partner in bubblewrap and several thousand pillows, he had to agree that Alastor's insane plan had been executed masterfully. He thinks Alastor doesn't even realize just how much power he holds now, as a free soul and with that deal forcably broken. Strongest sinner in Hell indeed. "But you're still meant to work and life with Charlie in the morning and I don't think that would be possible if she saw you beating up her mom."

"Speaking of our girl Charlie-"

"I have no clue, before you ask," Lucifer interrupted with a shrug. "I have no idea where she got this strange hatred towards soulmates. Lilith, as you've seen, couldn't care less and you know my stance on things." Lucifer had worshiped every inch of Alastor's body once he'd been given permission, but he especially liked laving loving attention to their shared mark. That it happened to be beneath his navel and so close to other sensitive bits that would have the deer melting under his hands and mouth is just a happy coincidence Lucifer aboslutely abused to get all the best reactions out of his lovely soulmate.

Alastor was also always fascinated by how the magenta markings stood out against Lucifer's white back. Their mark's color matched the real shade of Alastor's hair when not under the Pride Ring's red glare, so it fit in perfectly with his whole aesthetic besides such a provocative location. On Lucifer, though, it stood out now far more than it ever had when it had been inactive before Alastor's birth, the black matching his sin-burnt hands, lower arms and legs (besides his red hooves). The magenta had nothing to match or pair up with besides his soulmate and that was a satisfying thought on its own for the both of them.

"Dear Vaggi had seemed uncomfortable and upset by her views," Alastor observed, shuffling closer so they were presed together from ankles to knees to hips to shoulders. Lucifer even rested his head on Alastor's shoulder, his smaller height allowing for the perfect headrest without much adjusting.

"I already told you how big of a deal soulmates are to us angels." He'd gone into depth about it when Alastor had finally admitted he would be interested in trying something more intimate than just friendship, after all. "Even if it seems she has a bad relationship with whoever her soulmate might be, potentially an enemy situation or at least something close to it, that's a bond our very instincts demand we defend. I'm hoping she and Charlie are a permanent thing, given how cute and happy they seem together, but that has the potential to be temporary. A soulmate is for forever, even if you are killing each other."

Alastor sighed and looked heavenward. "We might be in for another rough patch in their relationship at the hotel in the upcoming days, I fear."

The Devil groaned, smushing his face into Alastor's arm. "At this point, let's just go home. The date is ruined. I'm sorry I ruined our evening with my family drama, Al."

The redhead tugged him back against him when Lucifer made a move to get up. "Nonsense! That was very entertaining! And very impressive, my dear, how you held your own," the taller all but purred and that never failed to ignite Lucifer. "Besies, I won't let that ruin our first official date. We came here for good drinks, good food and good music. I expect to be wined and dined, Lucifer. And I expect to be swept off my feet on the dancefloor."

The blond couldn't help but smile fondly as Alastor called over the waiter to ask for menues so they can finally order.

Ozzie came by later to check on them and apologize for being a bad host. He joined them for a while with his own partner, that famous clown guy whose name reminds Lucifer of some sort of pasta. By the time they left, Ozzie had thoroughly approved of Alastor and had promised to warn the other Sins that they might not be up for any new adventurous dates for a while, probably however long Lilith decided to stay plus some time. After that, they were left alone and Lucifer had taken Alastor's words to heart. And for once, as they danced, Alastor actually let him lead instead of insisting that it looked funny with Lucifer so much shorter.

By the time they grew tired, Valentine's Day was over and most of the guests at Ozzie's were shifting back into their usual gear. Alastor, however, surprised him by bending down to whisper in his ear. "Take me to bed, Lucifer."

It was Lucifer's most delighted, greatest pleasure.

However, as magical as that night had ended, when the finally made it downstairs at the hotel later than usual - it was a long night, after all - things were rather tense. Lilith had already packed her bags and was trying to leave while Cherri and Angel took turns berating her for being a bad mother and begging her to stay to help Charlie through the rough patch in her relationship with Vaggi that Alastor had predicted.

Acording to Husk, who handed them both coffee strong enough to wake the dead, Vaggi had asked for a break and had even taken some days off, away from the hotel, saying she needed to think through some things and that she'd asked Charlie to do the same. She had also given her an ultimatum: learn to deal with 'this soulmate shit' or they won't continue their relationship.

"Said she was tired of having to wear wraps and patches all day long just cuz the Princess had sensitive sensibilities about it without even wantin' to explain why." That was how Husk, who lamented his fur hiding the seemingly pulsating, pink heart that was his soulmark connecting him to Angel Dusk or whatever he was called when Angel's was visible over his chest fluff, had explained it.

Charlie, who sat almost cathatonic near the bar, didn't even register they were talking about her. Lucifer was really worried about her. She'd been rather heartbroken when she and Saviathan had broken up and she'd had her parents there to offer some support, but Lilith was leaving and Lucifer doesn't think she'll want his help now anymore than she had the last time he'd fucked up.

He'd hoped Lilith would stay, at least for a little while. Charlie needed her and he himself was hoping to get his oldest friend back, if nothing else. He also wishes Lilith and Alastor would get along better. Not likely, given the pride painting the both of them, but they were more alike than they would probably appreciate. They both hated his duck bed, after all, so that should be a good bonding moment. Maybe if they talked outside a divorce negotiation dumped on a first official date, they would get over their issues.

Unlikely, since Alastor was being driven by soulmate instincts to protect Lucifer from the ex that hurt him. Which, while hot as fuck, was a shame. Lilith could use a friend like Alastor to bring her back to the reality of their people, as he'd helped Lucifer do over the months.

Truly a tragic loss, that terrifying alliance.

Mostly, though, he regrets that Lilith is leaving so soon when Charlie could have really used her mother at her side.

"Give them time," came the surprisingly wise advice from Baxter. The man had been studying soulmates ever since he and Niffty realized they were fated for each other. Those two had given Alastor a lot of grief over the months, but even more so to the rest of the residents and staff with their shenaigins. "Time's best in these sorts of situations, studies have proven. Let them cool off, come to decisions they need to and hopefully talk it out. Studies have also shown proper communication is key."

"Sounds like sound scientific advice," Alastor agreed brightly, squeezing Lucifer's shoulder as a show of support or comfort. Or maybe just because he needed help to gingerly it his little tush on the barstool. Lucifer may or may not have gone a bit overboard last night to compensate for how the evening had gotten there in the middle, but Alastor certainly hadn't complained. Or, well, he had this morning, but that was just to be contrary and to make Lucifer carry him around throughout thier morning routine, as though that was a hardship or punishment for the Fallen Angel. He'd carry Alastor in his arms forever if only he'd be allowed to. "They both need to cool off and someone should really go and check on dear Vaggi, offer support, so she doesn't feel isolated or so she doesn't do something stupid. The rest of us can keep an eye on Charlie and take care of the hotel in the meantime."

Lucifer wondered if he'd have to be the one to talk to Vaggi, apparently - did she even change her name? He thought she had been trying to change it and he'd tried to rememeber every new pick but he'd always messed it up, anyways - as a fellow Fallen Angel. Maybe she'd want to talk about her soulmate, maybe not. He hoped that she and Charlie could work things out, they were mostly great together. He'll pobably have to sit down with Charlie, too, try to figure out why she hates soulmates so much and for so long, because that certainly hadn't come out of the blue when her girlfriend happened to show her soulmark.

He would never get over how grateful he was that he'd found Alastor, because the man has been such a support. He would have never been here, casually watching two sinners rip into Lilith and Charlie dealing with the consequences of her own shitty behaviours, instead of panicking and trying to appease and please them so they wouldn't leave him alone. He felt comfortable in his skin for the first time since the Fall and it was all thanks to the knowledge that Alastor would always be there, in the end. Even if they'd turned out to be enemies, Lucifer would have been almost just as chill as he was now, but their tender relationship had helped him leaps and bounds. Ozzie has been raving about it in the Sins' group chat and now they were all the more eager to meet the man who had helped rebuild Lucifer's genuine confidence and pride, who could get him out of his head and help him in his depressive spirals.

Lucifer hates the box-headed freak more than anything, probably even more than Adam or the worst of the sinners who had landed in Hell for what he'd done six months ago, but he was grateful to him, too. Had it not been for his delusional megalomania, he and Alastor would have never cared for each other's wounds and would have probably remained oblivious to who they are meant to be to each other. They would have never made a genuine attempt to get to know each other. Lucifer now couldn't imagine a world without Alastor right there by his side and he hopes they always clear up any arguments or misunderstandings in the future because he found he was a better him around his soulmate and Alastor, too, seemed more grounded these days.

So he raied the coffee to Alastor, Husk and Baxter as they watched Angel and Cherri scold the oldest human remaining. "To time, then."

Time, at least, was something they all had.

FINIS