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Morning was always so slow.
Lucifer closed his eyes, listening to the flimsy chatters of sleep-deprived night owls and lenient excitement of morning birds. A tender hum slipped past his lips in the tune of a familiar popular song, head slightly tilted to follow the tone. The smell of coffee wafted around his frame, clinging to his hair and clothes, mingling with the mouth-watering scent of freshly-baked pastries.
At this time of day, Eden was truly a heaven.
The gentle tinkling of bell pulled Lucifer out from his reverie. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips upon catching the sight of the newcomer—one whom he always saw exactly at this hour. “Good morning, Gran,” greeted Lucifer, straightening his back to welcome the young man.
Gran beamed, his eyes were bright as he nodded politely to the older male. “Good morning, Lucifer, I’m here for another delivery.” He offered Lucifer the bouquet in hand; of alstromerias and gerberas, tied together to make a small-sized arrangement that almost fit snuggly in one hand.
Lucifer took the offered bouquet with two hands. “These look so lovely, thank you.”
The young florist across the counter grinned sheepishly upon the praise, rubbing the back of his head in a bashful manner. Gran gestured to the bouquet in Lucifer’s hand, shaking his head, “The order said I can just throw whatever I like, so I just threw whatever I like.”
Lucifer chuckled, honesty dripping from his lips as easily as drizzle from the sky. “And your whatever is still so delightful.” He wondered whether Gran would want to make a bouquet for his future wedding, and then he wondered whether he would actually get married; it seemed far away.
Gran beamed, again. There was sun in his eyes, just like his little sister whenever Lucifer sneaked her a pastry from Lucio’s kitchen, and his twin sibling whenever Lucifer gave her extra whip cream for her afternoon coffee. It was almost endearing how Gran wore his delight in his eyes, in his entire visage, no wonder a certain someone took a liking to him.
“It’s my job, after all. Well, then, see you.” The young florist waved as he pushed the door open, his back quickly swallowed by the crystalline doors, leaving behind a pleasant tinkling bell amidst the pitter-patter of words leaking all over the spacious coffee shop.
Lucifer waved to his back, his smile so wide until his eyes crinkled around the corners.
However, right after Gran’s figure was nowhere to be found and nobody paid attention to him anymore, a frown took over Lucifer’s countenance as he turned to the other side of the counter, bouquet forgotten in his hand. “Sandalphon, you still haven’t talked to him?”
The said male paused, broom in hand. He stared blankly at the older male for a while, as if showing how the gears in his head were turning and churning when Lucifer knew better his gears were already turning since he woke up this morning; Sandalphon was always so high-functioning, just like Lucilius, sometimes it made Lucifer wondered how and with what Sandalphon was raised.
“To whom?”
Lucifer shook his head, not impressed by the confusion Sandalphon displayed.
“Gran.”
Sandalphon turned almost immediately to the task in hand, in such way he wasn’t interested in where the conversation was going. “Why would I?” His query was almost nonchalant, yet, Lucifer could see the dust of red on the tips of his ears, almost covered by his strays of messy brown hair.
Lucifer sighed. Protest formed on the tip of his tongue.
It had been weeks since Gran first delivered flowers to Eden for Lucifer. He knew it was Sandalphon’s doing and a silent excuse to see the young florist every day at exactly nine in the morning. At first, it was an adorable gesture, but now, Lucifer was extremely concerned with how this was going.
Lucio beat his brother’s words as he strode out from the kitchen with a tray full of muffins, not even bothered by the fact he eavesdropped on a private conversation and had now ruined the tension. “Look at this young man lying in vain. Do you know your crush is showing?” He raised an eyebrow, pushing the tray to Lucifer’s hands, making a point to stay in Sandalphon’s line of sight.
Sandalphon rolled his eyes, annoyance alight in his gaze. “Go back to your pastry, Lucio.”
Lucio smiled teasingly. It was one of the only differences he had with his twins; the way they dressed and smiles. Lucifer’s was always so kind and soft, the type of smile that would bless your day with its light. Lucilius smiled as if he would strangle your neck and leave your body in the nearest dumpster, which he would probably do in a particularly bad day. Lucio’s smile was filled with mischief, one that would make you wanted to brace your heart for mysterious reasons.
Before Lucio could say his defense, another voice piped in. “Sandy has a crush?”
Sandalphon’s annoyance promptly turned into a pure disgust. He grasped his broom in such way he was ready to fling it to the owner of the voice at any given second. “Lucifer, you forgot to sweep this garbage,” he said, gesturing to the lump of black leather jacket that sat across the counter.
The lump of black leather jacket, that wasn’t there a moment before, made a series of awed noises upon Sandalphon’s words, slowly turning it into indecent sounds none too low. Some heads immediately turned, wide-eyed, wondering what kind of conversation the baristas, the chef, and a lump of black leather jacket had to the point of making obscene voices.
A smack ended the noises in a sharp cry. “Belial, shut up.” Lucilius narrowed his eyes, gripping the back of Belial’s jacket as if he was gripping a kitten’s neck, ready to throw it out from his coffee shop without an ounce of remorse. “Don’t come to the counter,” he hissed, bringing the noiret down effortlessly as if Belial didn’t weight twice or thrice of his own weight.
Belial laughed, shameless. “I’m just helping Sandy release his pent up frustration.” At the end of his words, Belial winked at Sandalphon from past Lucilius’ shoulder, sending shivers of disgust down the younger male’s spine and incredible rush of the urge to snap Belial’s neck with Lucio’s tray.
Sandalphon raised his broom. “I have a broom here.”
The threat only made Belial even more daring. He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking, knowing full well Sandalphon hated his entire face. “What would you do with that broom, Sandy? Are you gonna hit me? Better make it count, better make it hurt, better kill me in one shot.”
Lucifer shook his head. “Don’t taunt him, Belial.”
Lucilius rolled his eyes, dragging Belial away from the counter.
Lucio chuckled, emptying his tray to the cake display and ambling back to the kitchen.
Sandalphon frowned, standing still with his broom. Belial was a regular in Eden, there was a rumor he was Lucilius’ roommate back in his college days, but not even Lucifer was sure about that although they were in the same university. Despite being a regular, he was incredibly annoying, and even Lucilius himself let Sandalphon get rid of Belial with whatever means necessary.
He still came back, though. Someone should put a legal restraining order on him.
“As I was saying.” Lucifer continued, gently waving his hand in front of Sandalphon’s face to pull him back from the depth of his mind. There was genuine concern in Lucifer’s eyes, just enough to not make it seemed like he was meddling or trying to force his point of view. “You should talk to him. Ordering flowers online from him won’t make him talk to you, you know?”
Sandalphon slowly nodded, absentminded, his mind was still somewhere else, far away from anything that remotely mattered. “I will.” He internally winced when he remembered how many times he had said the exact same words every time Lucifer confronted him about his entire life choices.
“You said that days ago.” Lucifer pointed out.
Sandalphon nodded again, a little more vigorous.
“I will.”
And Lucifer, being Lucifer, left it as it was. Although difficult, Sandalphon always listened to him even more than Lucifer’s own twin brothers did. Perhaps, it was out of respect since Sandalphon was far younger than him. Or mayhap, it was because Lucifer was more experienced in life than him.
Either way, Sandalphon knew Lucifer tried to help. And for that, Lucifer was thankful.
The next day, morning was still so slow at Eden.
Lucilius was mumbling numbers on the counter, scribbling balance on his phone. Customers after customers couldn’t stop glancing at him when they took their orders; taken aback by Lucilius’ entire existence. It was a public knowledge Lucifer and Lucio were a pair of twin, but no passerby ever seen the oldest of the triplet before. Except when he dragged Belial out from his café.
Lucifer turned when the bell tinkled again, smiling his business smile that soon turned into a genuine one when Gran bounded in. The brunet walked to the counter, offering the bouquet to Lucifer with a grin. Lucilius begrudgingly moved to the side with his phone.
“Good morning, Lucifer, another delivery for you,” Gran chirped, presenting his work. Lilies and roses, a classic one, Lucifer wondered if Sandalphon was running out of ideas. He made a point to stare at Sandalphon’s back across the quaint coffee shop, his smile fell just a little more when the younger male tried to ignore him and started aggressively sweeping the corner.
Lucifer nodded. “Thank you, Gran. As always, these look so lovely.” He took the bouquet from Gran’s hands, smiling reassuringly to the young florist. Usually, the conversation would stop at that. Yet, like Sandalphon, Lucifer had started to run out of ideas to make Sandalphon talk to Gran. Thereafter, he pulled another query. “Still no name?”
When Sandalphon first started to send flowers to Lucifer as an excuse to make Gran stepped into Eden, Gran told Lucifer it was an anonymous delivery. Everyone in Eden knew it was Sandalphon—for he was the one who told Lucifer about it, but Gran himself was clueless regarding the sender. It was quite aggravating, Lucifer knew sometimes Lucilius wanted to smack Sandalphon across the head for his bothersome and confusing pining.
Gran shook his head, his smile turned apologetic. “Still no name.”
Lucifer made another point to stare at Sandalphon’s back. “How unfortunate,” he sighed, quite loud even for himself. He nodded to Lucio when his brother walked out from the kitchen with his new creation of puddings in preparation of lunch. “I want to know who sent these.”
Lucio masked his snort with a cough.
Obvious to the meaningful looks that both Lucifer and Lucio threw to his general direction, Gran nodded in agreement. There was no one more curious of the secret admirer than one who do their bidding every morning without fail. “Me too. They always placed an order right before we closed it, so I have to wait for them,” said Gran, his words frayed around the edge, as if he just spilled a secret not meant for anyone’s ears but his own.
Lucilius leaned his head on his arm, joining in. “Don’t you find it annoying?”
Gran turned, blinking, in such way he was just realizing Lucilius was beside him. It was almost comical seeing the triplet so close to each other, as if there was a massive glitch in the matrix, for when they were idle, there was almost no differences between Lucilius, Lucifer, and Lucio. They were an exact replica of each other, copy-pasted clones.
Meanwhile Gran and Djeeta weren’t even remotely identical to each other.
The young florist shook his head. “Not really. Rather, I like it, their orders are always so amusing to read, like yesterday’s whatever.” He chuckled, gesturing to the bouquet that was placed on the counter. The tips of his fingers brushed against the roses, fondness dripping from Gran’s voice.
This time, Lucilius also made a point to stare at Sandalphon’s back.
Lucio tilted his head, placing his empty tray on the counter so Gran could hear him better. “If you have to guess who sent these, who do you think it is?” He worded it so innocently, so purely out of curiosity, it made Lucifer remembered how Lucio was always so good at acting even in reality.
Only Lucifer who winced when Sandalphon almost tripped over nothing in the corner of the room.
Gran hummed, folding his hands on his chest in a manner of thinking. Eyes fluttered close, the young florist tilted his head. Answers jumbled on the tip of his throat, bouncing along his tongue before he opened his mouth, reluctant. “Someone who likes Lucifer so much, obviously.”
Lucio smiled, throwing his own gaze to Sandalphon’s back.
“Ah, then, I’ll take my leave now,” Gran nodded to Lucilius who didn’t even spare him another glance, and both Lucifer as well as Lucio who waved their goodbyes. The brunet ambled to the exit, smiling to Sandalphon who opened the door for him just because he stood behind it.
When Gran’s back disappeared from the sight, Lucilius turned to Lucifer.
Lucifer was almost so sure his sibling would just get up and leave him to tend to the counter as far as the end of afternoon right after Gabriel came for her shift, however, Lucilius remained sitting until Sandalphon walked within the earshot, tap tapping his fingertips on the surface of the counter.
“So,” Lucilius began.
“So?” Lucifer blinked.
“So,” Lucio chirped in,
Lucilius shook his head, sighing as if he was a father whose son failed to reach his expectations, even if the said expectations were actually lower than one might think. “Sandalphon, you’re so pathetic,” he said it akin to a judge who passed his final judgement, only missing the hammer.
Lucifer frowned, ignoring how sharp his brother’s words were. The three of them were always so good at ignoring each other’s words, after all. “I thought you said you would talk to him.” It almost sounded like an accusation, but coming from Lucifer, it was more like a soft disappointment.
Sandalphon grimaced. “I was … reluctant.”
Lucifer’s eyes soften.
“Aah, youth,” Belial sighed wistfully upon nowhere, crossing his legs from his place beside Lucilius. He leaned on the counter, peering alike a maiden from beneath his eyelashes. How and why he could get there was a mystery, and Lucilius didn’t want to deal with his tomfoolery.
“Belial, get away from the counter.”
Lucio quipped, trying to be helpful. “Just go to his shop, or somewhere. Isn’t Gran also in your university?” He tilted his head, remembering bits and pieces of the young florist who lived blocks away from their café. Most teenagers of Sandalphon’s age went to the same university as him. So, Lucio wasn’t entirely wrong; it was the only university in this town.
Sandalphon let out a harrumph. “Our major is different.”
Lucio blinked, in such way as if Sandalphon’s weak exclamation was the strangest sentences he ever heard. “Can’t you just give him something and then talk to him like a civilized human being?” He worded it as easily as flipping a pancake, Sandalphon couldn’t help but narrowing his eyes.
Lucifer raised his eyebrows, wondering why he never thought about it. He turned to the brunet, whose tongue was filled with protests to the edge, nodding encouragingly. “Lucio is right. Try it.”
Sandalphon opened his mouth, and yet, nothing tumbled down.
The younger male admitted his defeat only to Lucifer. “I’ll try.”
And after the sun crowned the sky for yet another day, Lucifer almost couldn’t wait to see the development from Sandalphon’s promise. Eden was slower even more than usual, for it was weekend, and there was no sane person who would drag themselves to a coffee shop in the morning on weekend except people with too much time and energy like Belial—whom Lucilius let to sit on the counter, impressively quiet as he designed something for his work, although he still very much poked fun to an annoyed Sandalphon every ten minutes or so.
Lucifer perked upon the sound of tinkling bell; its gentle ring draped around the silence alike mist, Lucilius glanced at the door from his place slumped with numbers in the corner of the counter, while Sandalphon had his face turned to the coffee maker, trying to make a cup for himself.
Gran greeted them with his usual hail. “Good morning, I have another delivery.”
Lucilius was quick to roll his eyes and go back to his numbers, mouthing vain to Lucifer.
Lucifer simply smiled, ready to receive yet another bouquet; another mark of Sandalphon’s attempt. However, before he could recite his trademark praises, Gran halted distances away from the counter, blinking at his phone, and then tilting his head. “For Sandalphon.”
Sandalphon reacted quicker than Lucifer, striding out from the counter and holding out his hands. The bouquet was bigger than the usual, Gran had to use both of his arms; most of the flowers were none that Lucifer could identify, combusting with clashing colors, breathtakingly appealing solely because Lucifer was a mere outlander in the language of flowers.
“There you go.” Gran passed the bouquet to Sandalphon’s hands, careful as to not squish it.
“Thanks.” However, before Gran could step away, Sandalphon grasped onto his sleeves, holding Gran’s hands in place, pushing the bouquet back to his arms. “Here,” he spoke with so much confidence, only Lucifer could see how the tips of his ears dusted with a different hue of his hair.
Gran paused. “… huh?”
Sandalphon answered without missing a beat, in such way he already recited his response the night before. “It’s for you,” he said, ignoring how Lucilius actually turned from his seat to watch, and how Belial stopped working and blatantly stared at them with a wide grin. Lucifer could feel his chest filled with warmth and pride, somehow brimming with a sense of glory and honor.
Dumbfounded, Gran repeated the words. “For me?”
Sandalphon rolled his eyes, pushing the bouquet deeper into Gran’s arms so he couldn’t physically return it back to him. Lucifer could see how Gran’s eyes swirled in endless questions and tangible confusion; clearly, nobody had hit him the way Sandalphon did, his poor mind couldn’t even take it.
Belial whistled, grinning when Sandalphon shot him a warning look.
The whistle actually shot Gran out from his confusion. The young florist blinked rapidly. He stared at the bouquet in his hands, and then back to Sandalphon’s nonchalant mien. His gears turned rather easily, for finally, a tiny grin bloomed in his countenance. Gratitude dusted his cheek pink, but Gran managed to salvage his dignity with grace.
“Thank you.”
Lucifer wondered what kind of story he would watch from now on.