Chapter Text
As time passed and fell further and further into the night, Lucifer and Alastor were still up. Exchanging stories, setting boundaries, learning about each other - it was reminiscent of a memory from Alastor’s past that he couldn’t quite put into words, apart from that it was one of the best moments of his time on Earth.
The radio demon determined risking his pride and image was worth it to have Lucifer for his own. The embarrassment, the awkwardness, the confusion - all of it was so incredibly perfect, having it lead him to this moment now: he and Lucifer, together, still sitting on Lucifer’s bed. He wasn’t familiar with being in a relationship, but he could trust Lucifer more than he’d trusted anyone else before besides his own mother. He knew the king would never overstep Alastor’s boundaries. He would never take advantage of him. And that was all the radio demon could ask for.
If Alastor was being completely honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if he deserved Lucifer for all he was. Alastor had sinned - he earned his place here. He knew Lucifer didn’t think any less of him because of this, but… Alastor couldn’t help but wonder.
“Here’s a question for you,” Lucifer piped up, breaking Alastor’s train of thought. “What’s one thing you regret? I mean, we’ve all got something we regret in some sense.”
“Good question,” Alastor responded, thinking for a moment. “Do you want a sappy answer or a more serious one?”
“Oh, delving into that territory, huh?” Lucifer chuckled as if he was trying to keep his cool, yet his emotions were so easily plastered onto his face - his cheeks tinted a light pink that Alastor always thought made him look prettier than ever. Alastor grinned with a nod.
“I say I regret not getting to know you sooner,” Alastor said, glancing over at Lucifer to see the ridiculous smile on his face. “That would be my sappy response.”
“Aww, you’re too kind,” Lucifer laughed, the king resting his head against Alastor’s shoulder. “Really though. Be serious.”
“That is my serious~! How dare you think otherwise?!” Alastor gasped and pulled his hand to his chest dramatically, earning a series of giggles from Lucifer.
“No, that’s not what I meant! I mean, like,” Lucifer readjusted himself to face Alastor. “Something… I don’t know, something more serious.”
“Hmm…” Alastor nodded, putting thought into his answer. “I regret many things, but I’d be lying if I said I regretted killing my father.” He admitted, looking out the window.
“Really?”
“He was an asshole, Lucifer,” Alastor chuckled as if making a joke out of it, but the flashbacks came before he could stop it. The long, harsh nights of listening to his mother cry because of the abuse she endured. The days where his father would torment Alastor and his mother - physically and verbally. The nights where Alastor would lay awake out of fear his father would storm in on him and beat him to a bloody pulp.
The way Alastor flinched, even now, was unlike him to do.
“I’m sure he was.” Lucifer lowered his voice to a gentle murmur, clearly taking note of Alastor’s sudden change in mood. The king wrapped his arms around Alastor’s torso. “He was probably the biggest ass to ever see the light of day.”
Alastor could only nod after trying to force a laugh and failing, feelings unfamiliar to him piercing his heart like a thorn. “He was.”
“And hey,” Lucifer reached up and placed a hand against the side of Alastor’s face, bearing a soft smile. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“You’re right.” Alastor chuckled, embracing the shorter man, his heart filling with gratitude for the person he held in his arms. Lucifer seemed to understand him and what had happened, even without a real introduction to it. The radio demon allowed his tensed shoulder muscles relax, planting a kiss on top of Lucifer’s head. “Thank you.”
Alastor pulled away to see the same ridiculous smile Lucifer wore, his face tinted pink. “Always,” he grinned stupidly; something Alastor thought to be quite adorable.
It seemed Lucifer was naturally good with words of comfort. Alastor could never have comforted Lucifer in that way. Or maybe it wasn’t Lucifer that was good with words, it was that the words went well with Lucifer. His partner.
He’s all mine. This thought sent tremors down Alastor’s spine, and he smiled.
“Also,” Lucifer said, his voice suddenly more shy sounding. “Want to… I don’t know, try sharing a room tonight? Not to try anything, just to be close! Since, I mean, we’ve gotta get closer somehow, so I figured maybe, if that’s alright with you—”
“Mmm, sure, why not~?” Alastor responded, noticing Lucifer’s nervous rambles and stopping him before he could continue. Alastor pat Lucifer’s head slowly to soothe the shorter man’s nerves. “No need for an explanation, I understand~”
Lucifer breathed deeply, Alastor watching him regain his composure as Lucifer dropped his gaze. “Okay then. Say, uh, I do that a lot, don’t I?”
“Do what? Go on rambles?”
“Yeah. It’s probably annoying.”
“Nonsense!” Alastor reassured Lucifer, placing a hand on top of the king’s. Alastor couldn’t help but feel a twinge in his heart at the look that posessed Lucifer’s face at that. “It’s just a habit, that’s all~ besides, it’s not like we’d be talking about any other ordeals.”
“Good point,” Lucifer smiled, albeit halfheartedly. Alastor could tell Lucifer wasn’t entirely convinced of this.
That’s just something we’ll work on then.
“Say,” Alastor responded, giving Lucifer’s hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Shall I conjure myself some clothes to sleep?”
“Oh, it’s alright, I probably have something in my wardrobe somewhere,” Lucifer told Alastor. He opened his mouth in protest — he wasn’t sure if Lucifer had anything oversized, given the significant height difference between them — but Lucifer shushed him.
“I’ll be back! Just a sec—” The king stood up and walked towards the bathroom, leaving Alastor to wallow in his thoughts.
He hadn’t felt this happy in a long, long time.
…………
Lucifer hurried to his closet, browsing the clothes there. He usually slept in oversized things, and he remembered something that could fit the taller man.
The events in the past day had exhausted him fast. He was already tired before Alastor came, and now facing the reality of what had just happened, he grew even more so. But, even so, he wouldn’t change a thing about today. It had all happened so perfectly; so evenly — Lucifer wouldn’t trade it for the world.
He never anticipated this. If he could go back in time and tell himself that he would be in a relationship with Alastor, three months ago, he wouldn’t believe it. He’d call bluff. But here he stood, about to spend the night with the guy — and genuinely happy about it.
I guess things do change, Lucifer thought, an eerie calm settling over him. I guess sinners can change as well. Such as myself.
He chuckled to himself in the silence of his bathroom, folding and hanging his clothes from today onto a shelf for him to clean later, and got dressed into his usual sleeping attire. He knew Alastor would make a comment on it, but there was no use in trying to hide it. The man had already seen him wearing his (admittedly embarrassing) choice in pajamas.
Who am I to care?
He seems to like me anyways, so… does it really matter?
The answer is, not really.
Lucifer stared at his wardrobe some more, placing his index finger on his chin imploringly. He didn’t want to make Alastor humiliated, so he picked out a particularly large, red T-shirt with baggy, darker red pants. He figured this selection would be more to Alastor’s liking, over something Lucifer would typically wear. He gazed through the shelves still, wearing a smile. He was never the person to collect fancy clothes, he mostly picked out the things he thought were either comfortable or too silly to pass over.
Maybe I can poke fun at him a liiiiitle bit.
Lucifer grabbed a pair of fluffy deer slippers from the top shelf and grinned mischievously at them. Perfect.
“Al~!” Lucifer announced the moment he opened the bathroom door, holding the carefully folded clothes neatly and gently. “I’m back! And here you go, use the bathroom to change.”
He placed the clothing bundle next to Alastor with a knowing grin, and Alastor’s ears fell back on his head.
“What in the name of the lord are those things?” He pointed at the deer slippers with disdain and Lucifer burst into laughter.
“I thought you’d like them!” At Alastor’s pointed glare, Lucifer snickered. “Just go with it~”
“No. Never.” Alastor picked up the clothes — and the slippers, Lucifer noticed — and walked into the bathroom to change.
In the meantime, Lucifer turned around to make his bed. May as well prep for his guest. He finally took notice of the old-fashioned radio sitting on his nightstand, playing soft jazz music. The notes seemed to dance delicately in the air, and as Lucifer made his bed and picked up some blankets from drawers nearby to sleep with as well, he felt himself humming and dancing to the music. He felt more relaxed than he’d been in ages.
Soon enough, he found himself dancing in slow circles around his room, carrying various blankets and pillows to and from the bed as to make it look nicer. He had learned to dance a while ago — some kind of fever dream, or so it seemed — and he found it freeing. Like he could be creative and make something beautiful rather than the literal Hell he’d created prior to that. But after his divorce with Lilith, everything changed — he’d stopped dancing and doing pretty much anything else. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he felt like being isolated was his best bet.
In any case, he was here now, feeling freer than he had ever felt before.
Lucifer was about to stop his dance and actually continue cleaning up his room, when he felt someone catch his hand. He sharply inhaled with surprise upon seeing Alastor, catching ahold of his hand and continuing the dance. The man was actually wearing the clothes Lucifer had supplied. The red T-shirt hung over his thin frame, and the pants were just as baggy, just as Lucifer had anticipated. (To his disappointment, Alastor was not wearing the deer slippers, instead just normal shoes.)
“Why, hello to you too.”
“Were you watching me this whole time?” Lucifer felt heat gathering under his cheeks in embarrassment when Alastor nodded.
“Do you think it takes me that long to change~?” Alastor chuckled, and Lucifer felt his heart flutter when he found Alastor gazing fondly at him. “Your dancing is stunning.” The man grasped Lucifer’s right hand and held it up, his other hand placed gently against his back. Alastor lead the both of them in slow, well-timed spirals around Lucifer’s room.
“Thank you,” Lucifer responded earnestly, letting himself drift away in their dance. “I used to do this a lot. I know, hard to believe.”
“It isn’t, really~! If anyone, you have perfect dancing posture. I’m surprised I didn’t guess sooner.” Alastor pulled away briefly to gaze down at Lucifer, and the king met his eyes, an odd sense of vulnerability settling over the both of them. Lucifer chuckled softly into the T-shirt Alastor wore, and the two continued their dance for as long as the song continued. They didn’t speak to each other — their movements conveyed whatever emotions they could possibly be experiencing.
This is what Lucifer loved about Alastor. He didn’t have to fill the silence with strange rambles — he could be himself without fearing being too boring or not being enough. He felt complete.
And now, Alastor is all his.
Lucifer smiled through the rest of the song.
The moment the song slowed to a stop, so did the two of them.
“I tried making the bed prettier,” Lucifer told his man with a grin. “I don’t know if I succeeded, but I’d like to think it looks nicer than before.”
“I’ll say,” Alastor commented with a chuckle. “Do you have a side preference?”
“Not really… I usually sleep on this side, but honestly, it’s up to you.” Lucifer walked to the left side of the bed, patting the mattress with a smile. Alastor smiled back, taking the right side as his own.
“That reminds me.” Alastor turned around and walked towards the bathroom, and Lucifer gazed after him, confused.
“What does it remind you o-” Lucifer gasped dramatically when Alastor returned, immediately bursting into laughter. “Yes! It’s perfect!!” Alastor looked immensely humiliated wearing the fluffy deer slippers, but Lucifer found that all the more hilarious. In between breaths and laughing, he dashed up to the man and hugged him. “You’re the best.”
“Oh, the things I do for you.” Alastor mused, affectionately slugging Lucifer’s arm gently as not to hurt the shorter man. Lucifer stuck his tongue out at Alastor, giving him another hug.
This is the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.