Chapter Text
Sandalphon would never forget the second words Lucifer spoke to him. Second, because the first were describing his drink order which, while memorable, was painfully boring.
He'd rung up the price of one medium black coffee, nothing added, and had the tip of a marker pressed to a cup when he looked up to ask for a name. Instead he got,
"Have you ever worn a pair of heels?"
The clearest, most sincere blue eyes stared at him from over the register, and Sandalphon stood frozen. This was the part where he was supposed to write whatever the customer wanted him to shout out to the entirety of Skybucks—a name usually, but customer creativity proved boundless. The Big Bad Shadow had been a memorable one.
But this, inquiries of his shoe experience, was a first.
"...is that your name?" he tried, aiming for witty and amused but approaching bored and tired territory instead. It'd been a long afternoon and as quaint as coffee shops looked, working at them was a special level of hell. Most people, he figured, wouldn't laugh at a joke told like this.
Blondie didn't exactly lose his shit, but he did chuckle, which was more than Sandalphon expected. And his eyes glittered with amusement when he spoke, which was way more than Sandalphon expected.
"No, I just think that you're someone who would look good in the perfect pair of heels. My name is Luci."
Right. That was something he heard all the time, from customers who couldn't even see his feet. "...uh huh," he got out after an awkward stretch of silence. With nothing else clever enough to say out loud, Sandalphon busied himself scribbling "Lucy" onto a cup.
"Could I ask for your name?" came a gentle, probing voice. One that had Sandalphon looking back up just to convey with his stare alone how stupid he thought that question was.
"I'm wearing a name tag." He had just enough time to glimpse Lucy's face as the revelation hit him before he turned on his heel to brew the most boring coffee on the menu.
His break just happened to come up right after he was done, and Sandalphon couldn't decide if what he felt lounging in the back room was disappointment. He didn't get deliver Blondie's coffee.
If that had been the end of it, Sandalphon probably wouldn't have lingered on the feeling too much. It figured then that their encounters didn't stop there.
The second run-in occurred later that week. There was no mention of heels, and Sandalphon was too busy silently marveling over Lucy's upgrade to a repeat customer to remember how they last parted.
Smiling in a way that was just a bit sharp, that curled at the edge of his lips too much to be merely soft and sweet, Lucy said, "Thank you, Sandalphon," after receiving his order. The barista recalled his childish stunt too late, and fumbled with a, "Sure." He swore Lucy laughed at him on his way out.
The shoes didn't reappear until Lucy's fifth visit a couple weeks later. It was towards the end of Sandalphon's shift, around the time he'd usually keep his eyes glued to the clock so he could bolt the second his shift finished. Today though, he had bigger concerns and they all had to do with a certain customer that, truthfully, was only sitting and minding his business. Except he wasn't really, not with the way he glowed. Sandalphon would cringe at his own wording if it wasn't so obvious that everyone else felt it too.
Lucy turned heads just existing, and every eye in the shop wandered his way at least once. Sandalphon wasn't an exception, but instead of awestruck he liked to think his stares were more confused and weirded out. They didn't last long either because when Lucy looked back at him, he waved, and that caused everyone's attention to zero in on Sandalphon instead. Glaring shooed them off, but there was only so much unwanted attention he could take in a shift.
The next time he checked the clock, Sandalphon had to resist cursing. His shift had ended five minutes ago.
He just had to make it out the front door to be free from today, sporting the looks of an average Skybucks employee that no one would recognize out of uniform. Usually it was a quick and painless process. Lucy made sure that didn't happen by calling out as he walked by.
"Sandalphon!"
He couldn't pretend he hadn't heard, no matter how tempting it was. Lucy was already approaching him.
His hands suddenly seized by the sun incarnate, Sandalphon didn't have time to bawk and ask what the fuck was up before Lucy beat him by asking, "What's your shoe size?"
If only because he didn't want this conversation dragging on longer, Sandalphon rattled it off while casting glances at everyone around them. Most stared back, but some were engaged in furious whispers.
Someone asked what was going on.
I wish I fucking knew.
Lucy apparently felt none of the awkward tension in the air and in the next moment lightly released Sandalphon, beaming at him. "Excellent. I'll see you next week."
His words were almost cut out by the door swinging shut behind Sandalphon. Almost.
The entirety of next week Sandalphon was on edge. Not out of dread or worry, but... he didn't want to say he was anticipating what Lucy was going to bring. Sandalphon could end up hating it, since if all the signs were right Lucy was going to come in with a pair of shoes and Sandalphon wasn't interested in making a fashion statement that'd be hidden behind a counter. But no one had ever given him special treatment before.
The bar was low when an eccentric customer interested in his feet counted as "special treatment." Framed like that though, Sandalphon could allow himself a little excitement. Excited curiosity, maybe.
Enough that when his last shift of the week ended, with no sign of Lucy, Sandalphon felt a tiny bit disappointed, and a larger bit pissed for feeling a tiny bit disappointed. What was he expecting? Someone like Lucy, popular and special, probably thought it was fun to mess with the grumpy barista for a bit before forgetting that barista's very existence at the drop of a hat.
What was Sandalphon ever going to do with special attention anyways? He'd still be a barista, still grimace at his bills every month, and then occasionally wonder if he had a purpose in this world besides serving coffee to the ungrateful public.
He swore the only thing that made Skybucks worth it was the employee discount he qualified for when he needed a caffeine boost. Gran should be better by now, even if last week he'd sounded like death asking Sandalphon to cover for him. That meant on top of paying less, Sandalphon wouldn't even need to say his order; Gran could just make it for him the moment he saw his face.
As expected, a familiar brunet perked up behind the counter at Sandalphon's entrance. They exchanged greetings as usual, but instead of confirming if Sandalphon's order was the same as always, Gran craned his neck and looked a little past Sandalphon.
"It's a good thing you stopped by you know! Someone came in looking for you earlier. He's sitting over there still; you know him?" Gran pointed, and before Sandalphon even turned to look he almost knew who to expect. If he was wrong, he'd kick himself.
But there Lucy was, scrolling through his phone before looking up just in time to meet Sandalphon's stare. The first thing Sandalphon thought was how weird the smile on Lucy's face was, how it brightened the space around him when all he'd done was see Sandalphon. The second thing was how Sandalphon's mouth twitched with a reflex to smile back.
Obviously that meant he had to frown harder.
"The usual is fine, let me know when it's done," he said briefly to Gran, then stalked towards his (late) guest.
"I thought you worked today as well," Lucy said in lieu of a greeting. "If I knew you didn't, I would have come earlier."
"I was covering for someone last week," Sandalphon replied, "but it's not a big deal. We didn't have an appointment or anything." Maybe he'd been a little pressed at the time, but Lucy didn't need to know that. It made it sound like Sandalphon cared.
"I said I would visit this week, but I ended up being much busier than I anticipated," Lucy continued explaining nonetheless. "I kept putting off my plans because I thought I had time, but it seems that was an oversight on my part. I apologize for making you wait."
It was the apology Sandalphon wanted but wasn't supposed to get. No one was that nice that they'd sincerely apologize for something that wasn't all that bad or intentional. Frankly, people like Lucy were only supposed to exist in books.
"I said it's fine. I have things to do, so it'd be better if we moved on to why you're here." Sandalphon had a grand total of zero items on his agenda for today, but he wanted this thread of conversation to end.
Lucy didn't even seem fazed by his curt response. He only agreed and then reached down to place a box on the table before withdrawing a pair of shoes from it. Heels. The outside was made of some velvet-looking material, colored dark brown, and contrary to Sandalphon's assumption, they were more like boots than the kind he saw on super models.
"...are those for me?" he ventured, unsure whether he should reach for them or not. His fingers twitched by his side.
"Of course. I asked you for your shoe size last week didn't I? These were specially made, but since I wasn't able to see your feet clearly the fit might be imperfect. Do try them on; I can have changes made as needed."
Sandalphon took that as his go-ahead to take the shoes and inspect them personally. He wouldn't consider himself fashion savvy, but these were clearly fancy and undoubtedly expensive. They had the look of money.
They didn't belong on his feet.
A few more seconds of silence passed, and it was the look of anticipation on Lucy's face that startled Sandalphon. "Wait, you want me to put them on right now? Here?"
Lucy blinked. "Of course. I want to see you wear them."
A refusal died in his throat. Pretty people had an unfair advantage over everyone else. They could pressure others with a single look, and land the final blow by opening their mouths. Foul play.
Pulling out a chair and kicking his own shoes off, Sandalphon felt a little embarrassed he had to check whether the boots had some kind of zipper or not. It showed how much he didn't know about shoes or the latest trends. There was no such zipper though, which meant he really did just pull it on.
Maybe if he were a model he'd be able to tell if it was a little too wide or too long or whatever, but because he wasn't Sandalphon's only standard for a shoe fitting was if he could put it on and walk. Step one was a success, step two he was about to find out. He stood up and went in a circle, the clack of the heels against the floor triggering a sense of self-consciousness he didn't know he had, and concluded he'd sit back down and take these off as soon as possible.
Then Lucy spoke up.
"I was right, you look good in heels."
The fondness in the other's eyes was enough for Sandalphon's collar to feel unnaturally warm, and he couldn't think of a better time for Gran to call out his order. The next minute consisted of Sandalphon clacking to the register, then clacking right out the door without a single thank you or even good-bye.
He only realized when he moved to take his shoes off at the entrance of his apartment that he'd basically stolen these boots and left behind his actual shoes at the shop.
It was some reverse Cinderella shit, turning up at the address Lucy provided Gran with to retrieve his lost shoes. Sandalphon went to Skybucks the next day only to be passed a note that read, [I have your shoes, come visit me at xxx] with no date or time specified. The many ways this could go utterly wrong flashed through his head, so the sooner he got it over with the sooner his pain could come and go.
Lucy had to have written down the wrong address. This was some bigwig building that people in suits came and went from. Sandalphon didn't fit in here at all.
Case in point: how, after attempting to explain his situation, he ended up in the hands of security under suspicion of theft that he couldn't completely deny.
He heard the words "delinquent punk" used to describe him to an unknown figure at the other end of a receiver, and couldn't help scoffing. "I'm a barista delinquent punk. The only things I beat up now are coffee beans."
Sandalphon had been in his fair share of fights, but the better a fighter you were the better you knew when you were outmatched. These security guards could grind his face into chalk dust. So a brief glance from one of them had Sandalphon glaring back, but otherwise silent. That was apparently good enough to warrant a pass on face pummeling.
The note Lucy had written him crinkled in his pocket. Uselessly. Sandalphon didn't even bother brandishing it as proof because there was no name or time or any indication Sandalphon hadn't just scribbled it himself despite the fact his penmanship wasn't that neat.
"Sandalphon?"
His head snapped up at his name, and that was definitely Lucy striding towards him. Except he wasn't wearing average clothes. That was an outfit whose wrinkles were probably steam pressed out, hand cut to precision, and wore its price tag in every stitch. Lucy might as well have walked out of a photoshoot, and if this building was any hint, he just might have.
Lucy chatted with the guards, and after a short protest they nodded and walked off. Sandalphon supposed it was a plus that he wouldn't be arrested today.
"I didn't expect you to come so early, my apologies. If you'd contacted me in advance I could have notified the front desk."
Lucy probably meant well, but Sandalphon wondered in that moment how airheaded this guy really was. "How was I supposed to do that? It's not like I have your number—"
"I was going to give it to you!" Lucy jumped on the opportunity so quickly Sandalphon could only stare as the note was taken from his hand. With a pen produced out of nowhere Lucy wrote something else then handed it back with a smile. "Here, this is my personal cell phone."
"Uh... thanks..." Never mind he didn't actually need it considering he was here already. He fumbled his follow-up next. "—here, the shoes!" Sandalphon grabbed the bag he'd put the heeled boots in and held them out.
Lucy didn't take them.
"What are these for?" he asked with too much sincerity to be joking. Sandalphon blinked.
"I'm giving back your shoes. And if you return mine too, that's... that's why I'm here." It felt an awful lot like for all the things Lucy had, common sense wasn't one of them.
"Those aren't mine, they're yours." Lucy grasped the hands holding the bag and pushed them back towards Sandalphon's chest. "I gave them to you as a gift. Your old shoes are in my dressing room, follow me."
Lucy didn't ask about his schedule, or if he was in a rush, and for that reason Sandalphon frowned the whole way there. Because he wasn't concerned about either of those issues, he went along with it anyways.
"Lucifer! There you are. We have to leave soon, the crew is already en route." A staffer was coming towards them, and though they eyed Sandalphon suspiciously, time was evidently a more pressing concern as they continued to go on about the urgency of Lucy's—Lucifer? It kind of sounded familiar...—departure.
Lucy nodded, and looked back at Sandalphon before nodding again to himself. "I'll be right there. About my bags, they were in the corner of my dressing room..."
The staffer waved a hand. "All packed up, we're just missing you. Come on, we're already late."
Lucy wrinkled his nose at that, and the look he cast Sandalphon was apologetic. "Your shoes were amongst those belongings, but if you wouldn't mind coming along to a photoshoot, I can return them right away.”
The stupid answer would be to agree to go along on a fancy trip who knew where just for a pair of shoes.
Sandalphon once, at the very beginning of his coffee making hobby, tried to use unroasted coffee beans for brewing.
“Uh, sure, whatever’s easier.”
Lucy grinned and pulled him along. “It'll be my first time having a guest.”